I am building an exciting literary fiction and non-fiction list, and I am also lucky enough to work across DHA managing director Lizzy Kremer’s list of internationally bestselling writers.

In terms of fiction, I am looking for immersive and insightful literary and upmarket fiction. My favourite novels can be enjoyed solely for the quality of the storytelling, but also question some aspect of human behaviour or the worlds we reside in. I always mention The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, and Trespasses by Louise Kennedy as novels that do just that; combine addictive storytelling with thought-provoking commentary on how we live.

I would love to find more sweeping love stories, or novels which explore what love is truly like (and not what we perhaps wish it were like). People in Love by Claire Daverley and Heart the Lover by Lily King are perfect examples – my copies are battered from being thrown across the room in frustration, with ripped pages from tearing through them or laughing too hard, and a little damp at the end from tears. A perfect combination.

I am always drawn to work on identity, and in particular novels that combine the political with the personal. How do our backgrounds and contexts – even if we have not lived through them personally – impact our lives and shape who we are? I adored Close to Home by Michael Magee, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna, and Moving Kings by Joshua Cohen for this reason.

I also love to see energy on the page, and I am looking to take on more zeitgeisty, contemporary fiction with strong hooks – the kind you have to pause life for until you get to the last page. My favourites include Green Dot by Madeleine Grey, Good Material by Dolly Alderton, The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donaghue and The List by Yomi Adegoke.

Nothing pulls me in more than the quality of the prose. I love novels that make the world a little quieter by incentivising me to slow down and experience every word. I love Caleb Azumah Nelson and Maggie Nelson for their lyricism, and Angela Carter and Polly Barton for the unexpectedness and thoughtfulness of their prose. If I reread their novels, I discover something new and delighting every time.

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I am also building a list of non-fiction work that appeals to broad audiences. I am drawn to work that helps us understand ourselves, equipping readers with knowledge about the bodies we exist in, the contexts we come from, and the world we live in.

I welcome submissions across genres, but particularly in the fields of of popular history, philosophy, investigative journalism, cultural commentary and popular culture, sex, sexuality and relationships, health and wellbeing (including interesting approaches to self-help and self-development), and work with an inclusive feminist angle, or which seeks to amplify stories that ordinarily sit on the margins. I am open to the form this takes, whether practical or narrative. I also really enjoy working with writers who have built meaningful online platforms and communities, and finding creative ways to use those platforms to support writing careers.

Favourites of mine across genres include Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, East West Street by Philippe Sands, Free by Lea Ypi, The Holocaust: An Unfinished History by Dan Stone, The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates, Love In Exile by Shon Faye, Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert, How To Know A Person by David Brooks, and We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole (perhaps he should read the David Brooks book).