Would-be authors bombard publishers with manuscripts

BUDDING authors have been inundating publishers with manuscripts during lockdown, with dystopian novels being among the most commonly offered.

The time freed up by working from home has given many aspiring writers more hours in the day to finish off their book proposals.

Avon, a commercial fiction division of HarperCollins, has seen “unagented submissions” increase threefold between March and May compared with the same time last year. They have received a large number of crime and thriller novels from writers who are drawing inspiration from their pandemic-induced social surroundings.

Literary agents, which represent writers and help send their scripts to publishers, have also seen a growing trend for dystopian themes.

Sarah Revivis-Smith, fiction reader at the Eve White Literary Agency, said: “I would say we are seeing lots of people working out their fears of the current situation through dystopias, with submissions that either explore Covid-19 overtly or have an unknown virus or disease spreading through humanity.”

The UK’s publishing industry reached record sales of £5.7billion in 2018, consolidating its position as the globe’s top book exporter.

Literary agencies are expecting even more manuscripts to flood in by autumn from those who started in late March.

Sam Copeland, director of RCW Literary Agency, which boasts Zadie Smith and Kazuo Ishiguro among its published authors, added: “Submissions have continued to be relentless during lockdown, increasing from around 80 a week to 100 … I am expecting that number to rise again still further, though, with all the people who have been writing their novel in lockdown.

“I have had the odd Covid quick book in, funny books, that sort of thing, and some canny authors have tried twisting their pitch to reflect the lockdown. But I think the main rush of Covid books is still to come.”