Ask the Agent — John Jarrold

Simon Whaley chats to a literary agent specialising in horror, science fiction, and fantasy novels

This piece first appeared in print in the June 2023 issue of Writing Magazine.

The John Jarrold Literary Agency specialises in science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels for the adult market, and now represents over forty authors. Prior to that, John worked as a Senior Fiction Editor at Simon & Schuster, and was Editorial Director of Legend Books at Random House.

Since establishing your agency in 2004, how have changes in the publishing industry altered the way you work as a literary agent?

Audio is a much bigger deal now, and self publishing is a totally viable alternative to traditional publishing-as long as you deal with it as a business. I receive far more diverse submissions in all terms now, which is a joy! And then there’s Amazon…

What do you enjoy most about being a literary agent?

Since I started working in publishing in January 1988, I have loved working with authors above all. It’s wonderful to be involved with writers, to see their work and ideas gestate, to work with them…