Ella Diamond KahnDiamond Kahn and Woods Literary Agency

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A young and highly driven agent, Ella set up Diamond Kahn and Woods Literary Agency with Bryony Woods in 2012. Her passion and drive have landed her numerous industry recognitions including a spot on the 2013 Bookseller's Rising Stars list, the 2016 London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards and the Young Stationers' Prize 2016.

For the most part, Ella is interested in fiction. While she does take the occasional non-fiction piece, her wishlists and general interests are focused in commercial and literary fiction. She represents a range of adult, children's (ages 9-12), and YA fiction. Ella's interests range from historical and women's fiction to science fiction, fantasy, and thrillers. It should be noted that she has a weakness for fairytales and fairytale retellings. On her manuscript wishlists of the past few years has been crossover genre fiction with wide, commercial appeal.

When it comes to submissions, Ella asks authors to make sure they cover the right sort of content in the cover letters -- she (and other agents!) want to know what the book is about. It's great to get a sense of the author's personality and their professional history but the one crucial piece, that is also often overlooked, is the hard pitch on the book. Think about what would make you pick up a book in a bookstore and try to sell your book to an agent in the same way.

To really catch Ella's attention your manuscript needs an excellent hook. Outside of solid writing, a unique voice, three-dimensional characters, and a good plot, what she loves to see is a truly original and intriguing concept. And be sure to remember that trend chasing is never a good idea. Write a story that you love and you would want to read rather than trying to pre-empt a market trend -- by the time your book is published, that trend will be long gone.