Representation in publishing does not begin when a book lands on a shelf. It begins far earlier, in the inbox of an agent who reads your query letter and immediately understands the world you are writing from. The Black British Book Festival recently shared a timely and necessary reminder of this truth on their Instagram, spotlighting Black literary agents based in the UK who are actively seeking new voices and fighting to get their clients’ stories into the world. We are amplifying it here because every writer in our community deserves to know these names.

The agents on this list — Elise Dillsworth, Davynia Andrew Lynch, Emma Paterson, Kemi Ogunsanwo, Kerry Ann-Bentley, Nelle Andrew, Gyamfia Osei, Natalie Jerome, Shanika Hyslop, Donna Greaves, and Vanessa Grossett — represent a growing and powerful force within a publishing industry that has historically centered very narrow perspectives. These are professionals who not only understand the craft, but who bring lived experience and cultural fluency to the work of advocacy.

For writers who are currently drafting, revising, querying, or simply sitting with a story they have not yet found the courage to send out into the world, this list is for you. The path to publication can feel opaque and unwelcoming, but knowing that agents like these exist, agents who are actively looking for voices like yours, reframes that journey entirely. Save these names. Follow them on social media. Let their presence remind you that your manuscript has a place in this industry.

We are grateful to the Black British Book Festival for continuing to do the work of making the literary ecosystem more visible and more accessible. Amplifying resources like this one is part of how communities are built and how careers begin. If you are a Black writer navigating the publishing landscape, do not overlook the UK market, there are people there who are already rooting for you.