Philippa Donovan

Literary Scout

Philippa Donovan shares her thoughts on What’s Hot and What’s Not. And does it even matter? Book Scout for Dynamic Television, Vertigo Films, Jungle Entertainment, and previously for Mad Rabbit/Red Arrow, Circle of Confusion/ITV America, Fremantle Australia, Philippa will answer all the questions you’ve ever wanted to ask about pitching to a literary agent or TV book scout. Actually, you can ask Philippa anything because this girl’s industry knowledge is extraordinary!

Philippa Donovan established Smart Quill in 2011.

Since then she has worked with around 500 authors and recommends to literary agents based in the UK, the US, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Spain and France.

In 2014 she was named Publishing Rising Star by the Bookseller UK. In 2015 she moved to LA to help talented screenwriters make the leap to books. She ran the Authors' Club at Soho House West Hollywood from 2015-2017. During this time, she started scouting formally for several US producers who wanted to keep an eye on the UK and international markets.

Smart Quill has devised a recommendation service; we call this pre-agenting, and we are a valuable source of materials for literary agents. If your work is deemed to be of a very high standard, it will be passed to an agent representing fiction or non-fiction, as applicable.

Smart Quill works in conjunction with the following agencies, amongst others: Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, Eve White, Conville & Walsh, The Ben Illis Agency, Bright Agency, JULA, Lindsay Literary Agency, Rupert Crew, A M Heath, Abner Stein, Lorella Belli, The Bent Agency, The Blair Partnership, Blake Friedmann, Curtis Brown, DHH Literary Agency, DKW, Dystel & Goderich, Ed Victor, Greene & Heaton, Hardman & Swainson, Janklow & Nesbit, Charlie Campbell, LBA Books, Lutyens & Rubinstein, MMC Creative, Bath Literary Agency, Marjaq, Sophie Hicks, PFD, Rogers Coleridge & White, United Agents, WME, and Watson, Little.