New fantasy novelist Charlotte Naylor joins JJLA
John Jarrold’s latest client is British fantasy writer Charlotte Naylor, who is planning a fantasy series that will appeal to readers of Trudi Canavan, Kristin Cashore and Maria V Snyder, opening with The Lady of Eslaya.
“When I read the opening chapters, I was entranced by the immediacy and fluency of Charlotte’s prose and her young protagonist, Lily,” said John Jarrold. “It reminded me of my reaction to Maggie Furey’s debut Aurian, which I acquired for Random House in the 1990s. I wanted to cheer her and shout at her at one and the same time (and occasionally give her a clip round the ear). She’s bolshy, intelligent and hugely loyal to her friends. And her story is wonderful! It’s great to see another young writer in this genre.”
Jarrold will be working editorially with the author before submitting her work to major publishers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Charlotte Naylor is twenty four years old. She has always been a keen reader of fantasy and started writing her own novels when she was thirteen. Over the years both the world and the stories have grown and developed. When she was eighteen, and back to writing the umpteenth new incarnation of The Lady of Eslaya, it suddenly started to fall into place.
Throughout her pre-university writing career Charlotte was part of an online writing group, working on what started out as a role playing game but turned into a giant, ongoing story. Members of the group took it in turns to write sections, exploring different ideas, writing styles and influences.
She did a BA hons degree in English at the University of Lincoln, where her creative writing dissertation won the Nigel Winn memorial award for “Best Piece of Creative Writing by a Student Studying English”. She went on to do a Masters degree in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University tutored by novelists Graham Joyce (who suggested she contact John Jarrold as a literary agent) and David Belbin, for which she was awarded a distinction.
After graduating from Trent she and others from the course formed a writers group which still meets up regularly to critique their work. She lives in Nottingham with her partner and two pet ferrets.