The Literary Consultancy

A mountain illustration in the background and text that reads: Join The Literary Consultancy on Instagram this December for Story Seeds. Let's write our way to the end of the year together, planting seeds for new stories along the way. Starts Thursday 4 December.

Writers, how would you like to round off 2025?

Follow along with Story Seeds, our writing prompt series over on Instagram, and ease your way to the end of the year in style. Let’s plant seeds for new stories, together.

We'll see you there! #StorySeedsTLC

🌱 www.instagram.com/theliteraryc...

Submissions are OPEN for our 2026 flash fiction, poetry, short story and novel prizes! 📝⭐

Don't forget, you may also be eligible for our Young Writer Award, Dorset Award or Never Too Late Award (you don't need to enter these separately).

All info at bridportprize.org.uk

A quote from TLC Director Aki Schilz in an interview with Caro Clarke from Portobello Literary. "I love the idea of there being many possibilities to make a writing life work. It feels much more open and possible. In more practical terms, the ability to give and receive feedback is a real skill. It takes time and, in my view, training. To imagine it’s all instinct is to deny those without access or privilege the opportunity to move forwards, and that feels suspiciously like exclusion to me. I think we should have more opportunities for editing training available to everyone."

What does an emerging writer need to build a successful writing career?

Our Director, Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social spoke with Caro Clarke @portyliterary.bsky.social about making a writing life work and seeing opportunities to move forwards.

Read the full interview here🗻 bit.ly/Portobello-L...

Annah, Infinite — Tilted Axis Press

For those of you who haven’t read ANNAH, INFINITE—the e-book version is now on sale on the @tiltedaxispress.bsky.social website:

www.tiltedaxispress.com/annah-infini...

Support small presses!

Mentoring - The Literary Consultancy Mentoring Service from The Literary Consultancy Chapter & Verse Classic and Premium. Finish your book draft and learn about publishing.

Our writers in an intimate setting, all focussed on finishing their book projects with one to one support from their TLC mentor.

📓 One literary agent
📓 One publisher
📓 A non competitive pitch session
📓 Live feedback

A holistic overview of the journey of a book from draft to publication.

Speakers and editors guide discussion at a TLC Industry Day.

Mentees at TLC's Industry Day discuss the ins and outs of publishing

Our mentoring programme includes our in-person Industry Day, a day to be in a space with other writers, and one that our mentees consistently tell us is one of their favourite aspects of the programme.

Have you considered mentoring with TLC?

Our #ChapterandVerse Mentoring Programme can be...
📚 Classic - via email & ideal to fit around a busy lifestyle
📚 Premium - either in person/on Zoom with mentors across the UK

Our mentors are committed to supporting writers with serious literary ambitions.

Conscious Writing Month A month of workshops, readings and talks for writers wanting to lead more conscious lives. Curated by Jade Cuttle. Hosted by The Literary Consultancy.

Stay with #ConsciousWritingMonth Masterclasses a little longer with the wonderful writing, poetry and stories from our speakers.

Find them all our dedicated #ConsciousWritingMonth bookshelf, all on UK Bookshop.org @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social

You might find your next read - or gift inspiration!

It’s been a wonderful five weeks.

🍂 To all our amazing speakers, our thanks for wonderful workshops, enthusiastic discussions and engaging sessions.
🍂 Thank you to you, our writers. We hope you enjoyed the last few weeks, that there were highlights and inspiring nuggets for you to take away

Thank you Alycia Pirmohamed @alycia.bsky.social, Salena Godden @salenagodden.bsky.social, Khairani Barokka @mailbykite.bsky.social, Penny Batchelor @pennyauthor.bsky.social, Maxine Mei-Fung Chung, Natasha Carthew, Rishi Dastidar @betarish.bsky.social and Anthony Anaxagorou @aanaxagorou.bsky.social

The last week of November wraps up #ConsciousWritingMonth for 2025.

We’ve come together to think about who we are as writers, and how we move through the world. We’ve looked at grief, ethics, creativity, how to have page presence, and how to navigate the industry with authenticity and purpose.

Have a gift all sorted before December comes around with a TLC Christmas voucher! And you've until noon this Sun 30 Nov to get a 10% a discount.

Reward the writer in your life with the gift of professional feedback on their creative project by a highly experienced editor.

🎄 bit.ly/TLC-Christma...

The Importance of Character Motivation - The Literary Consultancy Strong and clear character motivation is the thread that runs through the beats of your plot to make them a comprehensible storyline.

"Knowing why a character is making certain decisions, thus moving the plot in a certain direction, makes a story satisfying for a reader and ultimately makes them more invested."

On our November blog, TLC Editor Annabelle Sami investigates character motivation and the overall success of a story.

A quote from TLC Director Aki Schilz on knowing when to take a step back from writing, or when to plough on: " I have always mistrusted the aggressive emphasis on ‘pushing on’ and ‘just keeping going’ till something sticks. What if it doesn’t? What if to push on is to ignore vital stop signs along the way? What is it exactly telling you to stop and step back, and how can you honour that? Sometimes it’s simply a case of, 'I don’t have bandwidth for this right now.' 'My energy is depleted.' 'My health isn’t where it needs to be.' 'There are barriers in place not of my design, that are in my way and no amount of wishful thinking will disappear them'." From an interview with author Katie Hale, on her Substack Katie Scribbles.

How can you know when to take a step back from your writing, or to keep going?

Our Director, Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social spoke with author Katie Hale @katiescribbles.bsky.social about first seeing what is telling you to stop and slow down.

Read the interview here🪟 bit.ly/Behind-the-D...

On the look-out for a gift for the writer in your life?

Give them professional feedback on their creative project by a highly experienced editor, all with a TLC Christmas voucher.

Purchase your voucher before noon on Sun 30 Nov, and get a 10% discount

🎄 bit.ly/TLC-Christma...

Those with Being a Writer membership or a VIP Pass! Your special bonus #ConsciousWritingMonth webinar is tonight, Tue 25 Nov, at 6pm GMT

Our Director Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social will guide your vision to help overcome blocks and find confidence and clarity as you aim for agent success.

The Literary Consultancy, Editorial and Manuscript Services The Literary Consultancy (TLC) is the UK’s longest-established editorial consultancy, pioneering manuscript assessment, and editing for all writers.

Where are you on your writing journey?

Here at TLC, we have resources & guidance for writers at all stages, whether you're just getting started, finding your way through your first draft or getting ready to pitch your work to agents and editors.

Find more on our website 🔽

Cover of lamping wild rabbits by Simon Maddrell: title in off white block condensed sans serif caps, over a sketched black rabbit, on blue

In Simon Maddrell's wide and bracing world, childhood orbits the voice of a distant and sometimes dangerous parent. Memories of sex parties, dead friends and estranged lovers straddle the spaces between feeling and thought, loss and fatalism. lamping wild rabbits is a brave and expansive multiverse, exploring sexuality, queer desire, memory recall and testimony. With poems that pay homage to the late Derek Jarman, to verses which situate themselves in and around the Isle of Man, exploring Britain's colonial presence through the subverted interplay of English and the Manx language. A poly-vocal and multifaceted debut which is unafraid to confront the shame and stigma of HIV, while never allowing the poems to lose shape or pace, altering the lens to bring the reader's attention to birdsong and the queer body in nature. Maddrell has achieved a distinct and totally convincing sound through the literary geography of lamping wild rabbits, one that gives the impression it's been everywhere and returned because it survived.

We’re delighted to share with you the cover for LAMPING WILD RABBITS, the debut collection by @simonmaddrell.bsky.social forthcoming 12 February 2026.

PRE-ORDERS are up now / outspokenldn.com/rabbits

Wasafiri 124: Presencia y Resistencia – British Latinx Writing & Art, Wasafiri 123, Wasafiri 122: The UAE Issue, and Wasafiri 121 against a blue and beige background

It was a pleasure to work on these four beautiful magazines and collaborate with the many diverse individuals and institutions we worked with in 2025. We hope you'll pick up a copy, share with your friends, and support our work nurturing literary communities across the world.

The Importance of Character Motivation - The Literary Consultancy Strong and clear character motivation is the thread that runs through the beats of your plot to make them a comprehensible storyline.

How much impact does your character have on the reader? In short, a lot!

In our November blog, TLC Editor Annabelle Sami investigates motivation, how this can impact plot, your character's inner world, and in turn, the reader.

Take a closer look on the #TLCblog

#ConsciousWritingMonth winds down this week with a special guided meditation tomorrow, Tue 25 Nov

Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social guides your vision to help overcome blocks and find confidence and clarity as you aim for agent success.

🍂 Free for Being a Writer members & VIP Pass holders

☕Good morning!

Those with Being a Writer membership or a VIP Pass, this is your 1-hour reminder. It's almost time to start your week with some early morning writing.

Thank you to everyone who has come along to early morning writing this #ConsciousWritingMonth. We'll see you there at 7am!

Conscious Writing Month A month of workshops, readings and talks for writers wanting to lead more conscious lives. Curated by Jade Cuttle. Hosted by The Literary Consultancy.

Reconnect with our #ConsciousWritingMonth Masterclasses with the wonderful writing, poetry and stories from our speakers.

You can find them on our dedicated #ConsciousWritingMonth bookshelf, all on UK Bookshop.org @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social

You might find your next read - or gift inspiration!

From manuscript assessment to one-to-one mentoring, reward the writer in your life this Christmas with a TLC Christmas voucher.

And what's more, with our Christmas voucher offer this month, you can secure a 10% discount on your purchase.

🎄 bit.ly/TLC-Christma...

Thank you to everyone who has joined us for our #ConsciousWritingMonth Masterclasses over the last four week. It has been so good to see so many of you.

Next week, we start the week with our last early morning retreat at 7am. Start your week off with some writing, together with TLC.

Conscious Writing Month A month of workshops, readings and talks for writers wanting to lead more conscious lives. Curated by Jade Cuttle. Hosted by The Literary Consultancy.

As Conscious Writing Month winds down, let's continue our exploration into contemplative practice with the writing, stories and poetry from our wonderful speakers.

You can find them on our dedicated #ConsciousWritingMonth bookshelf on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social

uk.bookshop.org/lists/consci...

What does an emerging writer need to be able to build a successful writing career?

Our Director, Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social spoke with Caro Clarke about barriers, persistence and talking about writing to writers.

Read the full interview here 🗻 bit.ly/Portobello-L...

Being A Writer A programme of support for writers that prioritises literary creativity and emotional resilience. Curated by the UK’s leading editorial consultancy, The Literary Consultancy (TLC), Being A Writer is…

Want to catch up on all the #CoosciousWritingMonth Masterclasses? Come join our Being A Writer community and access the series, with permanent watch-back for all recordings.

Plus, you're part of a supportive and motivating writing community, cheering you on.

You can sign up via our website 🔽

Conscious Writing Month - The Literary Consultancy Welcome to Conscious Writing Month 2025

Still to come this #ConsciousWritingMonth for our Being A Writer members & VIP Pass holders

🍂 Bonus webinar with TLC's own Aki Schilz @akischilz.bsky.social
🍂 Journaling Prompts from Elise Valmorbida, author of The Happy Writing Book
🍂 Early Morning Writing Retreat

We'll see you there!

The Importance of Character Motivation - The Literary Consultancy Strong and clear character motivation is the thread that runs through the beats of your plot to make them a comprehensible storyline.

How much do you think about character motivation?

In our November blog, TLC Editor Annabelle Sami investigates forms of motivation, how this can impact plot, your character's inner world, and in turn, the reader.

Take a closer look on the #TLCblog