Emma Shercliff, founder of Suffolk-based Laxfield Literary Associates, has been shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year at the 2026 British Book Awards, one of the most coveted trade honours in British publishing, known widely as the Nibbies. She is among eight agents recognised for outstanding work in 2025 and was also nominated in 2024, celebrated specifically for building one of the most varied lists in the industry, championing underrepresented voices, and going beyond deal-making to advocate for authors with strong values and genuine care.

Photo: Enuma Okoro on Instagram

We are sharing this at Brittle Paper because Emma Shercliff is not simply a good agent, she is one of the most important allies African literature has in the British publishing industry. Her connection to the continent runs deep and long. She was Sales and Rights Director of Cassava Republic Press UK, the award-winning independent African publisher, until 2019, and before that was Publishing Director for Ankara Press, an African romance imprint launched in 2014, where she conceived and coordinated the acclaimed Valentine’s Day Anthology featuring contributions in multiple languages from authors and translators across Africa. She has attended the Aké Arts and Book Festival in Nigeria and begun a PhD examining the role of women in the African publishing industry.

The African writers she has worked with and championed over the years read like a roll call of some of the most important names in contemporary African literature. They include Nigeria Prize for Literature winner Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Leye Adenle, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Olumide Popoola, and Emmanuel Iduma. Her current client list at Laxfield includes Brian Chikwava, Kalaf Epalanga, Olumide Popoola, and Kayode Somtochukwu.

Laxfield Literary Associates was founded in 2020 with a mandate to represent authors in Norfolk and Suffolk, writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and literature in translation with a particular interest in working with authors based in Africa and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Ukraine. In an industry still overwhelmingly concentrated in London, that geographical and cultural commitment is itself a statement. For African writers navigating the opaque world of British publishing, the rise of an agent with Shercliff’s depth of commitment to the continent is genuinely significant. The British Book Awards will announce their winners later this spring.