Richard is a prizewinning writer of fiction and poetry. In 2020, his YA novel ‘The Wolf Road’ was a book of the year in the Sunday Times, Guardian and Financial Times, longlisted for the Carnegie Award and won the Mal Peet Award. He has since published two MG novels, ‘Shadow Town’ and ‘The Republic of Dreams’, books of the year in the Times and Guardian respectively. His novels were published by Everything with Words. Richard also writes contemporary and literary fiction; his stories have been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story award and won the Fish Short Story prize. He has published two poetry collections. His second, ‘The Nameless Places’, came out with Arc. From 2022-2024 he was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of East Anglia, working one-to-one with students on their writing. He has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA, and has delivered more than 40 creative-writing workshops across the UK. Richard is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: MG, YA, Contemporary and Literary Fiction, Poetry.

Laura Marshall is the Sunday Times top ten and Kindle No. 1 bestselling author of five psychological thrillers. Her debut novel, FRIEND REQUEST, was published by Sphere (Little, Brown) in 2017 and sold over half a million copies in the UK alone. It was translated into twenty-five languages and optioned for TV. She went on to have a further three bestselling novels (THREE LITTLE LIES, THE ANNIVERSARY and MY HUSBAND’S KILLER) published by Sphere. Her fifth novel A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE A BODY was optioned for TV prior to its publication by Hodder & Stoughton in July 2024, and a sixth novel is coming from the same publisher in 2025. Laura also works as a freelance editor and mentor and has a strong instinct for commercial fiction and what makes a story spring off the page. She is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: commercial fiction/crime/suspense/psychological thriller

Clare is a middle grade author. Her debut, The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre (2021, Usborne) was selected as a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month. The historical mystery, influenced by Clare’s passion for languages and her time studying French at university, went onto be a bestseller and its sequel, and The Bad Brothers, was published the following summer. Clare’s latest middle grade eco-adventure The Wanderdays: Journey to Fantome Island published in summer 2024 (Usborne) and she is currently working on another Wanderdays adventure due to be published next year.

She has visited hundreds of schools for creative writing workshops and has an in-depth, commercial knowledge of the middle grade market and the children's publishing landscape. She has a real passion for working with middle grade writers to create the best possible characters and stories for children. 

In addition, Clare has worked in publishing for over eight years and created the W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize in 2018 where she reads and offers feedback on every submission. She was also a judge for the 2023 and 2024 Sadie Massey Portico Prize and, most recently, wrote her first mystery play, The Book of Eternity, for the Northern Opera Group which toured venues across Yorkshire.

Interests: All middle grade genres, with a particular love for adventure, mystery, historical, horror.

Victoria is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader with fourteen years’ experience in the profession. She has a master’s in literature and is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. Working with both self-publishing authors and established publishers, she enjoys line editing and copyediting fiction and narrative nonfiction, helping authors to elevate their manuscript from good to great! Having a passion for the Great Outdoors, she particularly enjoys working on travel, adventure and nature writing and has worked for Cicerone, Wild Publishing and Vertebrate Publishing, among others. When she’s not working, she can be found – more often than not – out on the hills with a map and compass in hand. Victoria is a Cornerstones copy-editor and proofreader.

Interests: fiction – commercial, science fiction, fantasy, young adult, thrillers, dystopia. Narrative nonfiction – travel, adventure and nature writing; biography and memoir; self-help and personal development

Hannah is a freelance fiction editor who works with publishers and independent authors. She began her career, in 2015, as a proofreader for academic texts, but she soon transitioned to fiction editing. In a previous life, she worked in administration and IT support, and she holds a BA (Hons) in Politics.

Today, she assists authors with the science and craft of effective and engaging storytelling. Her aim is to provide sensitive, thoughtful and encouraging editorial support, while working to the highest industry standards. Hannah is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and serves as a tutor on their proofreading trainingcourses. Hannah is a Cornerstones copy-editor and proofreader.

Interests: Speculative fiction (particularly fantasy and science fiction); LGBTQ+ stories; general commercial fiction; British contemporary fiction

Tim has been a published author for more than 25 years. He has also worked as a TV producer, journalist, cultural commentator, and magazine editor. His first book, 'The Scent of Dried Roses,' won the PEN award for autobiography and is now a Penguin Modern Classic. Tim's first novel, 'White City Blue,' won the Whitbread Prize for best first novel, and his second, 'Rumours of a Hurricane,' was shortlisted for the Encore Award and the Whitbread Best Novel award.

Tim's Young Adult book, 'Fearless,' was longlisted for the Guardian Children's Book award. His thriller novel, 'The Seymour Tapes,' was purchased by Sony TV last year and is awaiting production. For ten years, Tim served as the President of the Prince Maurice Award for Literary Love Stories. He has lectured at a number of universities, as well as the How To Academy, and has taught extensively for the Faber Academy and Guardian Masterclasses. Tim is a Cornerstones Industry editor.

Interests: memoir, love stories, YA, fantasy, thriller, literary fiction

Helen has been a freelance translator, copyeditor and proofreader for over 20 years. During this time, she has worked on many published titles on topics such as equestrianism, dog training, natural history and alternative therapies. She regularly edits literary texts and has completed proofreading and developmental editing projects in the field of education. Helen is a Cornerstones copy-editor and proofreader.

Interests: non-fiction: equestrian, pets, natural history, countryside, farming. Fiction: psychological thrillers, domestic noir, coming-of-age, cosy mysteries

Alex writes under both Alex Campbell and Alex Cotter and has published YA and middle grade (MG) novels. Her MG titles, ‘The Mermaid Call’ and ‘The House on the Edge’, have recently been published with Nosy Crow. ‘The House on the Edge’ was chosen as a WHSmith Travel Book of the Month and she has a third MG story coming out in October 2023. Alex is also the author of YA novels with Hot Key Books, ‘Land’ and ‘Cloud 9’, with ‘Land’ being nominated for the CLIP Carnegie Award 2016.

In addition to her fiction writing, Alex is an experienced copywriter and mentor for writers across all genres. Plus, she works as an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. Alex is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: All YA and MG genres.

Naomi has over eight years’ experience working in children’s publishing. She began her career at Puffin (Penguin Random House) before moving to Orion, and then Hachette Children’s Group. Her previous experience as a Rights Manager brings invaluable insight into maximising a book’s sales potential and she has worked closely with both UK and international editors to develop a good knowledge of global publishing markets and trends. Naomi has a BA (Hons) in English Studies from the University of Nottingham and is a keen reader and writer. She has been the children’s book reviewer for award winning family travel blog Mini Travellers and a long-listing judge and mentor for the Jericho Prize. Naomi has been working as a freelance editor and mentor helping other children’s writers to develop their manuscripts and craft for over six years. Her picture books are published by OUP and HarperCollins. They have won and been shortlisted for multiple awards and are now translated into 19 languages. She is a Cornerstones Industry editor.

Interests: picture books, children’s fiction, YA.

Joanna has over twenty five years of experience in Senior positions within the publishing industry. During those years she has worked as a Commissioning Editor for Harlequin Mills & Boon, founded one of the first ever Literary Consultancies, (‘Write From the Heart’), worked as a ‘Book Doctor’ and given talks to Writers Circles across the UK and North America.

Joanna is currently employed by UCL as an Academic Lecturer on their Publishing MA course. She recently spent a year working as the Lead Researcher on an EDI project for Penguin Random House and continues to research and promote diversity and inclusion in all areas of the publishing world. For many years Joanna has also worked as a consultant ‘Book Doctor’ at the request of agents and publishers whose bestselling authors are in need of a fresh eye over their work. This fascinating, but confidential, role includes advising very well know authors who write historical fiction, crime, women’s fiction and romance, when their sales figures have dropped, or they are struggling with a new plot.

Overall, this varied career has involved Joanna in almost every element of the editorial and marketing process for manuscripts, across diverse genres, and has honed her instinctive sense of a commercially viable manuscript in today’s trade fiction market. Joanna has a forensic ability to spot potential and knows the best way to help each writer develop their plot and characters into irresistible, plausible events, places and people. As an eternal optimist and a committed editor, she always works to give constructive feedback that will encourage and incentivise. Joanna has a 1st Class BA Hons in English Literature, an MA in American Studies and holds a PhD in Black Atlantic Studies. Joanna is a Cornerstones Industry Editor.

Interests: general fiction, romance, historical, biographies, and memoir.

Adam is the bestselling ghostwriter of more than sixty titles. He has collaborated on fiction and non-fiction books that have sold millions of copies worldwide and which regularly appear in the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists. He has accrued hundreds of thousands of five-star Amazon and Goodreads reviews, and his clients include many household names.

Adam was Editorial Director of John Blake Publishing for nearly ten years before turning freelance. Now, as well as routinely writing for all the major publishers (including Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Pan Macmillan), he is often called upon to book-doctor manuscripts that require substantial pre-publication editorial attention. He has worked extensively across most genres of adult and young adult publishing, and prides himself on his ability to work sensitively and discreetly with a wide range of clients on an eclectic range of books.

Adam has a passion for helping authors and publishers turn great ideas into brilliant books, and for empowering less experienced writers to transform their manuscripts into the best possible versions of themselves. Adam is an Industry editor.

Interests: All genres, with particular experience working on memoirs, thrillers, YA, self-help, humour, food & drink and true crime.

Bethany is a former Senior Editor at Penguin Random House, where she was involved in the WriteNow mentoring scheme and the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize. She has ten years' experience in the industry, working at both commercial and independent publishing houses. Bethany has worked on non-fiction by authors such as David Attenborough, Stacey Dooley and Ray Mears, and novels by Jenny Colgan, Rachaele Hambleton and Adam Hills. She has an MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) from the University of East Anglia and regularly teaches creative writing summer schools and weekend courses. Bethany is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: memoir, narrative non-fiction and contemporary fiction.

Clem (she/her) is a Bonnier Books UK editor based in Scotland. She has an MLitt in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling and a BA in Creative Writing and English Literature from the London Metropolitan University, and was longlisted for the 2019 Mslexia Novel Competition. She has worked as a freelance developmental editor, copy-editor and proofreader in genre fiction for nearly a decade, and now edits and commissions fiction for Black & White Publishing and Ink Road within BBUK. Her favourite genres are YA, fantasy, commercial fiction and (cosy) crime. When she’s not at work or writing her own novels, she spends her time wild swimming or renovating her cottage with her husband. Clem is a core editor.

Interests: commercial fiction, YA, fantasy, crime and romance.

Isobel has a broad range of experience in the publishing industry. As a reader for literary agencies for over four years, she specialises in in-depth, market-focused and approachable feedback that aims to help writers strengthen their manuscripts and bring out the full potential of their stories. After graduating with a degree in French from Oxford and working as a bookseller, Isobel started out at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, working on editorial development and project management across a range of manuscripts. She has also worked in International Sales at Canongate, and most recently in Translation Rights at Curtis Brown, where she handled rights across the children’s list and the French list of clients. Isobel is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: upmarket/book club and literary fiction, fantasy, adult commercial (women’s, historical, mystery/suspense), middle-grade and YA and crossover (across all genres).

Ericka was born in Hertfordshire, and has lived in Brighton for over half her life. Her debut novel, Dog Days, was published by Doubleday in 2021. Her second novel, Goodbye Birdie Greenwing, is due for publication in 2024. Ericka is an award-winning blogger, and her weekly ‘Fresh voice’ column for the Argus Newspaper won Columnist of the year in the Regional Press Awards 2015. She completed the Faber Academy 2018-2019, and runs writing classes for secondary school children as well as mentoring services. Ericka is a very keen fiction reader and dog lover, and is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: commercial and literary fiction – anything character led!

Sarah has over six years of experience in the publishing industry. Following internships at OUP and Palgrave Macmillan, she spent the first stretch of her career as Desk Editor at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, where she primarily oversaw the development of fiction and nonfiction titles (adult and children's), and supervised a team of freelance professional editors. Sarah also acted as a scout for agents, preparing authors for submission through the consultancy's scouting programme. She is now an Editorial Project Manager for whitefox, and, as a freelancer, enjoys working across a range of books, identifying ‘big-picture’ issues that might be preventing manuscripts from reaching their full potential. Her goal is to help bring an author’s vision to life, and to ensure a book is perfectly-pitched to compete in the marketplace. Sarah is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: upmarket/book club fiction, contemporary, experimental fiction, queer fiction, campus novels and coming-of-age tales, noir, speculative fiction, narrative nonfiction

Lou has helped countless numbers of writers with written and one-on-one feedback and has over 25 years’ experience as a tutor. She studied Drama at the University of East Anglia, taught Drama, then returned to UEA to do their MA in Creative Writing, publishing two novels with Headline Review, The Water’s Edge and The Haven Home for Delinquent Girls. Lou then did a PhD, went travelling, and started a family while working full-time as a university lecturer. She left her job in 2017 to find more time to write. Poetry credits include Perverse, Rialto, Under the Radar and Shearsman, and her short story collection, Unusual Places, came out in 2018. She has since self-published several guides to the writing process. Lou currently teaches Creative Writing part-time for the Open University and has worked with New Writing South and Creative Future as well as several other community organisations. She is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: Quirky or weird fiction, coming of age stories, literary fiction, murder mysteries, self-help, short stories, neurodivergent or LGBTQ+ writing.

Kate Barker has worked in publishing for almost twenty years as an agent, commissioning editor and ghostwriter. She spent ten years at Penguin, as an Editorial Director for Viking. She has also worked for Orion, for Curtis Brown and for digital publisher Bookouture. Kate is eager to find new talent, particularly new voices in reading group, literary and commercial fiction. Like most agents, Kate is looking for stories that really stay with her. Something that tends to catch her eye is an interesting setting, be it contemporary or historical. Kate is a Cornerstones industry editor.

Interests: crime, thriller, suspense, commercial, reading group, and most nonfiction inc memoir

Jo has worked in literary agencies for over ten years and most recently was the Children’s Literary Agent at The Blair Partnership where she looked after a list of picture book authors and children’s non-fiction and fiction authors across the age range from 5 to YA. She has discovered and secured deals for many prize-winning and notable writers including Helena Duggan, Katy Birchall, Kieran Larwood, Sir Chris Hoy, Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden, JJ Arcanjo, Oli Hyatt, Nicki Thornton, Earthling Ed and PA Staff. Spotting commercial fiction has given Jo a strong sense of what works well in the children’s market. She thrives on working collaboratively and creatively with authors at any stage of their writing career. Jo is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: children’s fiction from young (5-8), through middle grade and teen to YA fiction

Kate has nearly twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, and is the Rights Director at a leading literary agency. She has always worked on the agency side of the business, and her career has taken her from New York to London. Helping an author realise their vision for a work is one of her many passions, as are books and reading. Her role in selling an author’s work abroad gives her a keen eye for what a manuscript needs to find a publishing home and captivate readers. She has sold translation rights for a number of bestselling writers in genres as broad as crime/thriller, women’s fiction, literary, memoir, narrative non-fiction and the sciences. Kate is a Cornerstones industry editor.

Interests: commercial fiction, women’s fiction, rom-coms, historical fiction, crime, literary fiction, memoir and narrative non-fiction