Sarah has asked me to host this week’s blog entry and I’m taking it as an opportunity to cosmic order!

Reading Sarah’s post about the US market and what she’s looking for, it strikes me that there are some similarities with what’s going on over here in the UK.

Right now is a watershed moment for young adult fiction - the TWILIGHT effect. Based on the theory that over here we roll a bit slower than the US in terms of our big trends, we’ve been predicting a major growth in the UK YA market for quite some time. It’s now underway as more books in this age range are being sought, acquired and published by UK children’s book publishers. Even some adult publishers are starting YA imprints to capitalize on this development.

All this is hugely exciting.  A section of the market, that has for so long been resistant, has opened up. This means that the business has had its eyes trained on YA for the last 18 months or so and the middle grade – the 8-12 heartland - has been overlooked. We’re going to see opportunities opening up in this area.

The feeding frenzy for YA paranormal is still on, though there’s a little less blood in the water. But I’d love to find a 9+ adventure that brings in the darkness and threat of these great, older paranormal stories. There will be a drip-down starting soon and I’m keeping my eye on it.

Like Sarah, I’m looking for extraordinary what-if scenarios - a book with a really natty proposition. I can’t wait to read MR MUMBLES: INVISIBLE FIENDS. What if your imaginary childhood friend turns up years later and wants to kill you? And I’m loving GONE. What if, in the blink of an eye, everyone over the age of 15 disappears and no one knows why? Or what if you wake up one morning and find that a wall has been built all the way round the world, cutting your house in two and separating you from your family on the other side? Actually, I don’t think that is a book yet. I’ve just come back from a weekend in Berlin, celebrating the fall of the wall, and it struck me that this might be a powerful, resonant premise for a story.

I have had my eyes raised to the planets recently. I’ve got a theory that space is the next big thing. There’s the scent of dystopian, post-apocalyptic, end-of-days in the air. Fear of future, fear of meltdown. And the logical step from there is leaving the burned-out shell and taking to the skies. I’m looking for a space book. And I’m not looking for nifty gadgets but a big, dark story about mankind looking our greatest fears in the face.

I’m hearing a lot of editors asking for books for girls about friends, families and feelings in the Cathy Cassidy/Jacqueline Wilson vein. There’s always real hunger for new voices in that market. And also something older, and laugh-out-loud funny for young teenage girls - like the Georgia Nicholson books.

So that’s my cosmic order posted. I do need to say though, that I’m wide open to anything else: a great chapter book series for 5-7’s with a really natty concept or something as funny, offbeat and irresistible as MR GUM. People talk about hooks in books, but voice is the true hook. It’s the human contact. So I’d love a stand-alone story with a great concept and a voice that connects with me and imprints upon me - HOW I LIVE NOW, THE BOOK THIEF, THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. Greedy, moi?

The most exciting moment in my job is when I’m reading a submission and my professional eye loses focus for a minute. I stop appraising the manuscript and for a second I’m a reader, invested in the story and asking myself ‘What is going to happen next?’ So yes, I have a list of stories I’d love to see, but really all I am looking for is that moment when the shift happens - all of a sudden I become a fan, rather than an agent. The moment that I start to see through the page and beyond the words to the scenes, characters, feelings and drama below - that’s what I’m looking for.

If you’re based in Great Britain, Ireland, Australia/New Zealand or Europe and you’ve got a children’s book to share, do submit it to me. Submissions are a treasure hunt and I can’t wait to see the next glint of jewels in the sand.