#115: Rachel Blackmore & Literary Agent Juliet Pickering — Getting Published, Historical Fiction, Making Your Pitch Stand Out & Inside a Literary Agent’s World

London Writers' Salon

For decades, Rachel Blackmore dreamed of becoming an author. In 2020, she joined Writers’ Hour and began her first novel. Now, her debut, COSTANZA, is being published by Dialogue Books (Hachette) and is hailed as an addictive tale of desire and betrayal.

In this special interview, we're joined by Rachel and her literary agent, Juliet Pickering. We discuss Costanza's path to publication, what makes manuscripts stand out to agents, and techniques for crafting 'outrageously evocative' fiction.

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ABOUT RACHEL & JULIET

Rachel Blackmore spent more than a decade working and raising a family, before taking a career break to write historical fiction about marginalised women, as a way of looking at contemporary issues.

In 2021 she was a runner-up in Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Competition and won the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair in 2022. Her debut novel, COSTANZA, a historical novel set in Renaissance Rome telling the story of Costanza Piccolomini, the muse of Bernini, was published by Dialogue Books (part of Hachette).

Juliet Pickering joined Blake Friedmann in 2013, becoming Vice Head of the Book Department in 2017. Alongside literary, book club and commercial fiction, Juliet represents non-fiction writers including narrative writing on relationships, pop culture, social history and food, and a small number of cookery and other illustrated books.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• Costanza by Rachel Blackmore
• Signed Copies of Costanza
• Writers’ Hour
• Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition
• Juliet’s Q&A with LWS
• Irish Writers Centre Novel FairThe Wayward Sisters by Kate Hodges

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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