[QCrit] THE MARRHAVEN CURSE - Upper Middle Grade - Historical Fantasy - 55k - First Attempt
Hello! I really hope you can help. I’ve queried 13 agents in two batches, and had a mixture of form rejections and complete silence, with one personalised reply saying that the agent generally tried to offer feedback but there was nothing that stood out; she just didn’t connect with the story as strongly as she’d hoped. I realise my comp titles are getting old, so if anyone has any suggestions, they’d be gratefully received. Thank you in advance for any advice.
Dear [agent name],
I’m excited to send you [the first three chapters and synopsis] of The Marrhaven Curse (55,000 words), an upper middle-grade historical fantasy.
A green moon and cold skies. A hidden treasure. A determined girl versus a hard-hearted fishwife with a long knife.
In cursed Marrhaven, where the fishing has failed, 13-year-old Tilda dutifully helps Gran make buoys from dogskins and knit stockings for the men. When Tilda defies Gran to go out fishing with Da, she’s only trying to please herself for once. Da drowns, and Tilda starts to ask questions. Is there really a curse? And what if Da wasn’t going fishing; what if he was trying to escape?
In writing described by the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award panel 2026 as ‘charming and [having] a fresh, distinctive voice,’ The Somerset Tsunami meets The Lie Tree, beside - and beneath - the North Sea.
The Marrhaven Curse is currently a standalone novel (although there would be space to follow Tilda further in a sequel). I’m working on another upper middle-grade novel, set in abandoned Londinium. I recently began writing poems and had one published in [magazine name].
I grew up on the north-east coast of Scotland and later lived in a Scottish fishing village. I still swim in the sea when I can. Of the writing courses I’ve taken, I was particularly influenced by [children’s writing course]. I enjoy leading writing and drawing workshops for community groups, helping out with literacy in the local primary school, and meeting with my local SCBWI group.
[Agent personalisation sentence.] I do hope you enjoy the extract, and look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
[My name]