Ed Wood
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edwoodagent.bsky.social
Ed Wood
@edwoodagent.bsky.social
Literary Agent and Director of Fiction Development at The Blair Partnership.

Crime, thriller, mystery, book club, gothic. All views my own.

Submissions: https://www.theblairpartnership.com/literary-submissions/
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I'm now open for submissions at
@tbpagency.bsky.social! I'm dying to see your exceptional crime, thriller, mystery, whodunnit, gothic and high-concept book club fiction:

More on me:
www.theblairpartnership.com/literary-age...

Submissions guidance here: www.theblairpartnership.com/literary-sub...
Literary & Entertainment Agents | The Blair Partnership
The Blair Partnership literary & entertainment agents are always actively looking for promising new writers and established talent to represent.
www.theblairpartnership.com
That Celebrity Traitors finale was even better than expected. It had everything you could hope for and more. Wonderful.
November 6, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The latest Not-So-Secret Agents Substack from @tpbagency.bsky.social written by me, on comparison titles: why they’re a thing, how they’re used in queries, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to master them.

open.substack.com/pub/thenotso...
Comparison Titles – The No-Nonsense Guide
By Ed Wood
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:49 PM
My first takeaway from the Frankfurt Book Fair is how much I respect solo diners in hotel bars who order dessert. You do you lone wanderer!
October 13, 2025 at 7:08 PM
What's Hot: Horror is our latest Substack, by me but mainly by fantastic publishers Sophie Robinson of @torbooksuk.bsky.social and Anna Jackson of Orbit. What's hot now, what's oversaturated, and what are the emerging trends? Find out here.
open.substack.com/pub/thenotso...
What's Hot: Horror
By Ed Wood (representing crime, thriller, gothic, horror, and book club authors)
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Interesting that I received an 'opt-in' contract addendum from Bloomsbury for a book I wrote years ago with Nick Rennison which does not feature the word 'AI' in the email. Only once you open the addendum does it explain what you're opting into. Authors need this stuff to be very, very clear.
October 8, 2025 at 8:41 AM
I feel like this won’t help get my crossword answer. Cheers Google AI.
October 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
New client signed! We're talking intense literary body horror entwined with Scottish folklore... Delicious.
September 30, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Every publisher's nightmare. And it's happened to us all at one time or another.
If you’re feeling discouraged by the publishing world, here’s the rejection letter for LORD OF THE RINGS. Tolkien’s trilogy was judged “too Nordic” for the publisher’s taste. (Spotted today in a wonderful Tolkien exhibit in Trieste.)
September 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM
RIP Robert Redford, star of one of my top ten films (All the President's Men), and producer and star of the film version of my client Nicholas Evans' smash hit novel The Horse Whisperer. He was one of the last greats of the second golden age of Hollywood.
September 16, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I had the joy of acquiring this book as a publisher and did the first bunch of edits. It's unbelievably fun, the absolutely best of historical fiction while being about as accessible as it gets. Just go and buy it! Also Tony is the nicest man in the world.
My lovely dad’s book, THE HOUSE OF WOLF, is out today. Buy it, it’s brilliant and enormous fun 💙🐺
September 12, 2025 at 11:23 AM
I'm completely perplexed as to why Netflix made The Thursday Murder Club a film rather than a series.
September 1, 2025 at 12:58 PM
For over a week the BBC has lead the news with immigration stories, culminating in a huge platform for the Farage speech today. Make no mistake, just as in the US, the UK media is, deliberately or not, preparing the ground for our own Trump-style government.
August 26, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Ed Wood
always preferred "know what you write about", since that's something you can do something about
Unsolicited Writing Advice: no. 12675:
"Write what you know" does NOT mean "Stop learning." The more you learn, the more you read, the more you experience, the more people you meet with different lives to yours, the more you're going to know, and that knowledge will make you a better writer.
August 17, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Test cricket really is a wonder.
July 13, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Every now and again I picture the Betty’s fondant fancies I’ll be eating in a week at the Harrogate crime festival and it pleases me.
July 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
What does a book editor actually do? I lift the lid on life as an editor. Great for any authors, new and experienced, wanting a peek behind the publishing curtain. @tbpagency.bsky.social substack.com/@thenotsosec...
What does a book editor actually do?
By Ed Wood
substack.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I’m absolutely thrilled this exceptional book I published by a truly talented author is getting its dues. Katy Massey’s All Us Sinners is a terrific book, a worthy #CWADaggers winner!
🗡#CWADaggers
And the ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger 2025 WINNER is…

KATY MASSEY, for ‘All Us Sinners’
(Sphere)
July 4, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Everyone has been praising Department Q but the first episode seemed fairly depressing and had the violence against women that older Scandicrime (like the original novels) tended to have. Is it worth continuing?
June 15, 2025 at 4:53 PM
I had a great time talking to The Book Machine podcast about the development of fiction IP, working in partnership with authors and thinking about how ideas are created for readers. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/f... @tbpagency.bsky.social #booksky
For the Love of Stories, with Ed Wood of The Blair Partnership
Podcast Episode · The BookMachine Podcast: Conversations in Publishing · 06/06/2025 · 34m
podcasts.apple.com
June 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Our new Substack is live! Authors, check out our guide on How to Find an (Amazing) Agent, courtesy of my fine colleague ‪@dearrhian.bsky.social‬ @tbpagency.bsky.social #booksky #querying substack.com/home/post/p-...
How to find an (amazing) agent
by Rhian Parry
substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 10:18 AM
One of the strongest shortlists the #TheakstonsAwards have had in years, but I’ll be cheering on @brookmyre.bsky.social - The Cracked Mirror was one of the final books I published, and without question one of the best. It has EVERYTHING and couldn’t have been written by anyone else.
The suspects are in... 🕵️‍♀️ We're thrilled to reveal the shortlists for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McDermid Debut Award 2025!

Discover who made the cut! 👇
bit.ly/Shortlist2025

@waterstones.bsky.social @express.co.uk
June 5, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Listen to Pet Semetary, I thought. It will be fun - undead animals etc. WHY DID NO ONE WARN ME.
May 21, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Thanks for clarifying, Google AI!
May 21, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Good. Now change direction on the AI opt-out and go for opt-in, with payment for authors who do, @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
ICYMI: Proposed changes to the UK’s intellectual property framework post-Brexit that might have had a “catastrophic impact” on authors and publishers have been scrapped 👇 #BookSky
Trade welcomes scrapping of 'catastrophic' plans to change IP rules post-Brexit
www.thebookseller.com
May 16, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Our new Substack is up, by me, on what's hot for crime and thriller. Writers querying in this area, you need to read this! Views from the amazing @mirandajewess.bsky.social of @viperbooks.bsky.social, Charlotte Brabbin of @harpercollins.bsky.social, and Emily Griffin of Century. #BookSky #amquerying
Our second Substack is now live!

Take a look here: thenotsosecretagents.substack.com/p/whats-hot-...
May 15, 2025 at 11:38 AM