Mara has been an editor at Walker Books since 1983 and claims to be part of the furniture but she's far too lively and creative to be that wooden. As well as being a brilliant editor, she is a widely published poet and an award winning picture book writer. Her latest 'Oliver' book is, 'Oliver and the Noisy Baby'. ' Her next book is 'Snip Snap, Look Who's Back!' and is out in February 2012. Phew!
Caroline Sheldon is a literary agent running her eponymous literary agency. "As shoes to Imelda Marcos, so books to me," she writes on her website profile. "I love to read them; I love to hoard them; I love the feel of them". She is always on the lookout for wonderful new books but she says the market is tougher than it’s ever been.
The Oxford Critique Group formed about a year ago, and it’s been a rollercoaster of a year. Along the way we gained a few agents, acquired a few publishing deals (totalling 14 books!) and scored an Undiscovered Voices win. We graced several cafes, pubs and restaurants in our search for the perfect submission. We never found it. We did find members, though, and lost others; we misplaced characters and created voices. We swapped genres and switched age-ranges, ate way too much cake and had a fantastic time. Big Slushpile welcome to Teri Terry (who lives here), Nick Cross (he's back again), Paula Harrison, Tina Lemon, Nicky Thornton, Penny Schenk, Amy Butler-Greenfield and Jo Wyton. Oh wait. That's me.
