Laura Williams

Description

I love working on literary fiction and upmarket commercial fiction, of all different kinds, and I'm always on the lookout for meditative or moving novels about modern life. I prefer warmth and heart to coldness or ennui, although I love novels with a bit of bite and sharpness to them.

I'm also always on the lookout for a high concept love story that will sweep me away and make me cry happy or sad tears. At the more commercial end of fiction, I love funny novels with warmth and romantic comedies with a bit of depth. I think I’ve probably read every book by the masterful Marian Keyes. I love feeling feelings - give me your well-worn beloved romantic tropes with a fresh angle and gorgeous writing.

I’m keen on darkness and a claustrophobic feel in novels, from gothic to horror to murder mysteries to ghost stories to psychological thrillers to speculative/magical realist fiction to novels that feel like true crime, or intense and emotional narratives about dark things, and I think being truly scared by a story is one of the most difficult things a writer can achieve. I love weird and wonderful stories with unexpected twists, I love being amazed by an author’s imagination, but I also love brilliantly plotted conventional murder mysteries or procedurals, as long as there’s something fresh and exciting about it.

Most of all I’m looking for novels I haven’t read before – something unusual structurally or thematically, something that shines a light on a subject the author is passionate about, something that’ll break my heart or raise my blood in an entirely new way. I don’t want protagonists in novels to hold a mirror up to my own life, I want them to show me an open door into theirs. I’m always looking to promote diverse voices from across the globe, and I’m particularly keen on LGBTQI+ stories.

I also have a very small list of young adult and middle grade fiction, which I love working on. I’m looking for something that feels current and contemporary, with a real conversation at its core. I’m not currently looking for fantasy, or anything younger than middle grade.

On the non-fiction side, I love working on memoirs of extraordinary people, or narrative non-fiction about something the author feels passionately about. I’ve worked on many books about mental health, and I’m interested in untold stories across popular science, history and popular culture. I’d also really like to find a brilliant true crime book. Cookery, wellness and lifestyle would be a better fit for one of my brilliant colleagues.