A Masterclass with Literary Agent Emma Paterson
Global Majority & Underrepresented Writers' Programme
What does an agent actually do, and when should you approach one? How do you prepare your work and position yourself effectively? What makes a strong submission, and how do you identify an agent who is the right fit? These are questions familiar to many budding authors.
However, for writers from the Global Majority and other historically underrepresented communities, barriers to industry knowledge and connections can intersect with questions of whose stories are published, how they are received, and how writers can retain agency over the stories they tell. This is especially significant for life-writers, for whom personal experience, community and history are so often central to their work.
Emma Paterson is a literary agent and Director of Aitken Alexander Associates, where she represents acclaimed writers including Bernardine Evaristo, Mona Chalabi, Natasha Brown, Shon Faye, Elaine Castillo and Mary Jean Chan. Drawing on her extensive experience in the publishing world, Emma will discuss the challenges and possibilities of building a literary career: from finding representation and developing professional networks to bringing distinctive stories and perspectives to a wider readership.
You will leave with a clear sense of:
- What agents do
- How writers build visibility and recognition, and what can help get your work noticed
- How to prepare a strong submission, and what makes it feel intentional rather than formulaic
- How to identify an agent who is the right fit for your work
- What to expect once you have an agent, from developing and positioning your work to navigating the publishing industry
- How to build the profile, relationships and networks that can sustain your career as a writer, and how stories rooted in particular communities and histories can reach new readers
Emma will begin with a presentation on literary representation, followed by a conversation with author and mentor Ana-Diamond Aaba Atach. The session will conclude with an extended Q&A with the audience.
This masterclass will appeal to budding writers from the Global Majority and other historically underrepresented communities who want to find literary representation, publish their work, and explore the practical and creative aspects of developing a writing career.
Speaker Details:
Emma Paterson joined Aitken Alexander in 2018, following eight years at other literary agencies. She is a member of the Booker Prize Foundation Advisory Committee and an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. British Vogue and The Sunday Times Style have profiled her work as a literary agent.
She represents writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, including bestselling and prize-winning authors such as Bernardine Evaristo, Mona Chalabi, Natasha Brown, Martin MacInnes, Shon Faye, Claire Kilroy, Elaine Castillo, Sanam Mahloudji and Mary Jean Chan.
Across genres, she is drawn to writing that surprises, transports and, above all, demonstrates exceptional literary quality. In fiction, she particularly seeks character-driven work that engages deeply with complex moral and social questions, as well as richly realised realist, historical and speculative worlds. In non-fiction, she represents academics, journalists and critics, with a particular interest in books that illuminate wider historical and social currents through individual and community stories.
Ana-Diamond Aaba Atach is a human rights advocate, scholar, writer, and mentor. Her writings, commentary and analysis have appeared on CNN and the BBC and in The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, and New York Times. She has provided expert insight on Iran’s current affairs to outlets such as the Financial Times, Channel 4 News, Sky News and Al Jazeera. She is the co-founder of the Alliance Against State Hostage-Taking, alongside Richard Ratcliffe (husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe) and Jason Rezaian. She has also spoken at events organised by the United Nations, Hostage International, Amnesty UK and the International Observatory of Human Rights. Diamond was the Alistair Horne Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford and was previously a Clarendon Scholar. Her writing, under the name AD Aaba Atach, has been recognised through selection for the London Library Emerging Writers’ Programme (2023–4), the Spread the Word Early Careers’ Bursary (2024–5) and the Arvon Memoir-Writing Course, and she was previously a finalist on the PRH #Merky Books New Writers’ competition. Her forthcoming family memoir, Breaking Silence: The Daughters of Iran, which recounts Ana’s experience as a teenager being imprisoned on death row in Iran’s “notorious” Evin Prison, is scheduled for publication by Canongate in spring 2027. Ana currently mentors scholars as part of OCLW's Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme.
About The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme:
The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme (GMUWP) at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing supports talented emerging writers whose voices remain underrepresented in literary culture.
Building on OCLW's longstanding role in supporting writers and researchers in the field of life-writing, the programme offers scholarships, mentoring, professional development and public events for writers from communities historically excluded from life-writing, publishing and academia. Through sustained creative and professional support, we help writers develop their work, establish themselves as authors and practitioners, and contribute to the future of life-writing globally.
The Global Majority and Underrepresented Writers' Programme relies on the support of our donors. Every donation helps talented writers access opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. Your support enables us to provide the opportunities, professional support and leadership needed to sustain and grow the programme, while creating a lasting community in which writers can develop their work, build professional networks and contribute to the future of life-writing.
Donate and find out more about how you can support the programme here.
Further Details and Contacts:
This event is free and exclusively open to people who self-identify as members of the Global Majority and/or as belonging to minoritised groups, as defined below.
Eligibility:
Members of the Global Majority are defined as people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, Indigenous to the Global South, and/or have been referred to as 'ethnic minorities'.
Minoritised groups include Black, Asian, or other ethnic minority groups; LGBTQ+ people; people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds or who identify as working-class; care leavers and care-experienced individuals; people with disabilities, including neurodivergent people; and immigrants or refugees.
If you are able, please consider donating £5, £10, £20, or more to support OCLW's free events, outreach activities, and programmes, helping us to keep life-writing open to all.
Donations can be made when booking your place or via our online donations portal. Every gift makes a difference. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
This is an online event. Registration is required. Registration closes at 14:30 on 24/11/2026.
The event will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording.
Queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
