About Us

We started Hardy & Knox principally as a reaction to other forces in the literary consultancy marketplace. Our decision to found Hardy & Knox was motivated by three main factors:

  • The approach of other consultancies was too 'nurturing'. Successful writers are rarely delicate little flowers in need of protection from the elements. They are much more liable to be raving egomaniacs. The implication of this 'nurturing approach' was that consultancies are principally motivated by the desire for repeat fees from clients, many or most of whom have no chance of ever becoming published professionals.
  • All writers who have a real shot at publication are 'struggling writers' and we felt that the fees of other consultancies were too high, and the products too cumbersome. That is why we made the Slush Report. We are convinced that the Slush Report is the best of its kind.
  • No one was producing the kind of advice that we wanted, and that serious writers would want. Neither Hardy nor Knox feels any great desire to have our hands held and to be seduced into mediocrity. The best thing about Hardy & Knox is that we are making a product that we would buy.

We love books. We want more good books in the world. We love finding them and being the first to read them.

The most important thing about Hardy & Knox is that we can give our honest opinions without feeling the need to repackage them. We can just say what we think and stand or fall on the basis of our own expertise.

There are no compromises at Hardy & Knox. There should be none in your writing.

Staff

Britt Pflüger (Hardy)

Britt Plfuger - Hardy & Knox

Britt was born in Germany. She has worked in publishing since graduating from King's College London with a BA in English Literature and has been a literary scout since 1991, representing Spanish, German and Italian publishers. She works closely with UK agents.

Her first book, The Stranger on the Bridge, co-written with mental health campaigner and vlogger Jonny Benjamin, is due to be published by Pan Macmillan in Jan. 2018. Read the announcement in The Bookseller

In 2009 she set up as a literary agent.

What I love
  • Jonathan Franzen, Gabriel García Márquez, Thomas Mann, Philip Roth, Kate Grenville, Joseph O'Connor, Michel Faber, Vikram Seth, Sarah Waters, Douglas Kennedy, Amor Towles, Sharon Pomerantz, Joseph O'Neill, Nathalie Abi-Ezzi.
  • A good storyteller, clarity of style.

What I read for pleasure
All of the above and (favourite beach reads): Nicci French, Linwood Barclay, Margaret Atwood. I also have a love/hate relationship with Patricia Cornwell. In a purely platonic sense.

Usman Suhail (Knox)

Usman Suhail - Hardy & Knox

As every school has a nerd, Hardy and Knox has Usman. He has 10 years of IT experience in developing and managing enterprise level websites. When Usman can spare some time from his gaming consoles (Xbox 360) he keeps Hardy and Knox up to date and functional.