Hannah Sheppard is the founder of a boutique UK agency built around intersectional feminist values, champion of marginalised and underrepresented voices, hunting for high-concept commercial fiction across adult, YA, and middle grade.
In brief
HS-LA is a young boutique agency (launched 2023) with a clear ideological mission: Sheppard explicitly targets authors who face systemic barriers to publishing, including writers from the global majority, disabled, neurodivergent, trans, working-class, and older authors.
Her stated wishlist is unusually broad — spanning MG through adult, literary through commercial, horror through rom-com — which means the real differentiator is voice, high concept, and underrepresented perspective rather than category alone.
The agency added Associate Literary Agent Louise Buckley in 2024, making this a two-agent shop; writers should check whether their project is a better fit for Sheppard or Buckley before submitting.
Submissions operate on a strict monthly window (the 1st–7th of each month only) through an online form — email submissions are not read under any circumstances.
As of 8 May 2026, the submission form was observed to be closed; writers must verify the live form status before submitting, and should plan around the monthly window.
Lately
Sheppard has spoken publicly about the systemic barriers facing neurodivergent, global majority, trans, working-class, disabled, and older writers, framing her agency explicitly as a vehicle for dismantling those barriers — making identity and representation a front-and-centre editorial lens, not just a stated aspiration.
What Hannah is looking for
Sheppard has a strong appetite for commercial women's fiction, book-club fiction, and upmarket literary-commercial crossovers — especially stories centred on female friendships, mother-daughter dynamics, and feminist themes. She gravitates toward high-concept hooks and wants work with genuine emotional depth. Beach reads and 'big book' club picks are both welcome. Rom-coms and contemporary romance, including LGBTQ+ romance and time-travel romance, sit firmly in her wheelhouse.
Domestic thrillers, psychological thrillers, cozy mysteries, amateur-sleuth mysteries, and locked-room puzzles are all sought. On the horror side she wants everything from gothic and body horror to feminist horror, queer horror, paranormal horror, and Asian and BIPOC horror — monster-driven, atmosphere-heavy, and concept-led work all welcome. Speculative thrillers that blend genre boundaries are also of interest.
A wide remit across YA: contemporary, romance, rom-com, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and dark academia. She is particularly drawn to high-concept YA, LGBTQ+ YA, and stories with crossover adult appeal. Humor-driven YA and YA with layered contemporary romance are specifically called out. Diverse and own-voices narratives are a priority throughout.
Commercial and funny MG is actively sought — adventures, mysteries, contemporary, fantasy, horror, and magical realism. She wants MG that is both genuinely entertaining and reflective of a wider range of voices and identities than traditional publishing has historically offered.
Grounded fantasy, magic realism, African fantasy, Asian fantasy, and BIPOC fantasy with strong commercial hooks are all of interest, provided they carry the accessible, high-concept quality she prizes. Pure secondary-world epic fantasy does not appear to be her focus; grounded or contemporary-inflected speculative work is more aligned with her taste.
Her non-fiction appetite is narrower: feminism, women's issues, activism, and narrative non-fiction (including nature writing). The ideological alignment with her agency's mission is a clear filter — scholarly or technical non-fiction outside this lane is unlikely to be the right fit.
Graphic novels are listed among her categories, but this is not an area she foregrounds or discusses in depth. Writers working in this form should verify current interest before querying.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Hannah
Submissions are only accepted from the 1st to the 7th of each calendar month via the agency's online form — email queries are explicitly not read, no exceptions.
Check the live form status before sitting down to submit: as of early May 2026 the form was closed, and it only reopens at the start of each monthly window.
The agency's mission is intersectional feminist and pro-marginalised voices — if your book speaks to underrepresented perspectives, say so clearly and early in your query. This is not box-ticking for Sheppard; it is the core of what she is building.
High concept matters enormously: Sheppard returns to the phrase throughout her public materials. Lead with the sharpest, most distilled version of your hook before expanding into character and theme.
If your work crosses genres (e.g. horror with romantic comedy elements, or a cozy mystery with a speculative thread), lean into that — she actively names cross-genre and speculative hybrids as appealing.
The agency is still growing; new clients are a genuine priority for Sheppard, not an afterthought. Your query letter does not need to apologise for being from a debut or emerging writer.
Double-check whether your project is better suited to Hannah Sheppard or to Associate Agent Louise Buckley before submitting — targeting the right agent within the agency will strengthen your chances.
Do not address your query to a generic inbox or use a salutation suggesting email — the form route removes the need for a traditional salutation, but make sure all required fields are completed precisely.
Because the agency is boutique and the window is short, have your full manuscript polished and ready before the window opens — a request for pages could come quickly.