Julie-Ann Corrigan

X: @juliannwriter

Instagram: @corriganjulieann

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Bluesky: @juliannewriter.bsky.social

Agent: Ian Drury

Agency: Sheil Land Associates

www.sheilland.com

Check out our #Agent121 page to book your own appointment.

Found her agent after coming 1st in the I Am Writing Sci-fi/Fantasy competition

After a lifetime of wanting to write professionally, in 2010 – and thinking it’s now or never – I signed up to the Open University’s “Start to Write” course. By the end of the module I knew one day I’d complete a full-length novel. And I did.

With a history degree in my back pocket, I wrote a sweeping historical thriller set in civil war Spain, although like many first novels it was relegated to my “rejection” files. With my second book I decided on a genre change – a contemporary psychological suspense/thriller, which went on to become my debut. I’ve gone on to have two further books published in this genre and during that time my historical novel found a publisher too.

In 2023 I began writing a speculative thriller, which I’d been researching on and off for several years. In early 2024 I entered the manuscript into the sci-fi fantasy category of the I Am In Print competition. I won! To my delight one of the judges, the literary agent, Ian Drury, signed me soon afterwards.

IAIP: What was the inspiration behind your winning story?

JC: Back in 2017 I was travelling from London on the train. I imagined a woman calling her husband to ask him to pick up supplies on his way home, but by mistake she dials their home landline instead of his mobile. It is she herself who picks up the call. The other her. Here was my “hook”.

This is all I had of the story, but over the coming months – and years as it turned out – my character, Dem, became a climate scientist. She also acquired a teenage daughter, and importantly, after the fated call, she meets Cate and her twin daughters on the train. Dem discovers Cate is a scientist like her, although her subject is quantum physics. By this point, the story began to unfold both inside my head and onto the Word document.

IAIP: How did you celebrate winning?

JC: With any ‘win’ in writing and publishing and no matter how big or small, I have two a rituals. Firstly, if the news comes in the daytime I go for a run! Later, I open a bottle of fizz! I did both these things, but because winning this competition meant so much, I also had dinner at our local Italian restaurant with my family.

IAIP: What has happened since winning this competition?

JC: After meeting Ian in London during the summer, much writing has been done! My husband and I had planned a fair amount of (very disruptive!) home improvements during the second half of 2024, but I put these on hold to concentrate on finishing the winning manuscript. Suffice to say the first few months of 2025 I’ll be catching up on those home improvements, although I am currently outlining my next book…

IAIP: Do you have any tips for anyone thinking of entering a writing competition?

JC: Ensure the submission is absolutely perfect, hook the reader in the first page, if not the first paragraph. Show your character(s) in those opening pages, give them depth and texture. If possible, give them an immediate conflict, which doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, but a hint of what it to come, a gentle rumble is sufficient. I mentor new writers and this is the advice I always give at the beginning of their journeys.

Read your work aloud, this picks up clunky prose and dialogue, it also picks up typos that your eye skims over (reading what you want to read.) Typos aren’t a deal breaker but bear in mind they tell the reader that the author may make more mistakes. Get your reader on board, make them trust you, because if they do, they will read on. If they don’t, they may give up.

IAIP: We know you have had Agent121 sessions in the past. Do you have any advice for making the most of your appointment?

JC: An Agent 121 is gold dust. Ask lots of questions. Don’t waste time telling the agent why they’re wrong if they try to give you advice. Don’t push back. It’s important to show that you are somebody they could potentially work with. So if they make suggestions, note them down, and ensure you clarify any issues so that you are both on the same page. Then, if you’re feeling bold, ask the agent if they’d be interested in reading the whole manuscript if you make the changes they suggest.

IAIP: What is next for you?

JC: As I mentioned earlier, I’m currently outlining and brainstorming my next book, which would be a sequel to the manuscript that won the competition. I do, though, plan to structure it in such a way that it can be a standalone read. I felt there was so much rich material I could use in a sequel, and I did love my characters and I really do want to know what happens to them next. I’m keen to follow them on their respective journeys. My greatest joy would be that readers feel the same way!