Salma Begum
Salma is seeking confident, immersive, ambitious, narrative-driven writing. She works under the tenet that quality need not be to the sacrifice of commercial success. Having come from editorial at Picador (Pan Macmillan), Zaffre and Manilla Press (Bonnier Books UK), she is keenly aware of what it takes for a book to win a publishing contract. As an agent, Salma works closely on manuscript development while always considering marketability and timing to give her authors the best shot at finding their readership.
Story is non-negotiable for Salma, regardless of whether the work is a high-concept horror or a literary doorstopper. Her submission wishlist includes a sweeping love story set against a gritty urban backdrop like An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie; ingenious tales of time travel such as All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai and the TV series Devs; and a masterfully crafted multi-generational epic like A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.
Salma loves a love story, especially one that makes her belly-laugh and ugly-cry. Her favourites include The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, One Day by David Nicholls, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Tears of joy and laughter aside, she is looking for writers who take love, and the idea of love, seriously.
In non-fiction, she is looking for subject experts, journalists and memoirists who appreciate long-form literature and can breathe life into an idea, an event, a memory. Her non-fiction wishlist includes captivating music writing such On Michael Jackson by Margo Jefferson and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown; and ground-shifting journalism like Doppelganger by Naomi Klein and Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe.
She is also on the lookout for a YA series with the same energy as the books she devoured growing up: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison, Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami and The Sleepover Club. She would love to find a series aimed at young boys.
Salma has published the work of a number of prize-winning poets. As an agent, her preference is for the colloquial, rhythmic, or playful, written with the ambition of forming a cohesive collection. At this time, she is only taking on poets who are also writing prose.
Books published in 2024 that Salma enjoyed reading:
Poetry
Adam by Gboyega Odubanjo
Fierce Elegy by Peter Gizzi
Non-fiction
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
The Trading Game: A Confession by Gary Stevenson
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides
Fiction
All Fours by Miranda July
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
