Francis appointed literary scout for Louise Allen-Jones Associates

Helen Francis has been appointed literary scout at Louise Allen-Jones Associates (LAJA).

Alongside her role, Francis will continue to run her editorial consultancy and teaching at Roehampton University and Jericho Writers.

She said: “I’m thrilled to be rejoining the LAJA team. I’ve always loved scouting, and look forward to immersing myself in it once again.”

Francis has worked in publishing for nearly 20 years, during which time she has been an editor at Faber & Faber for eight years, and a commissioning fiction editor at Head of Zeus for two. For a period she also ran the classics list at Vintage, Penguin Random House, and was a commissioning editor for Arcadia Books. She previously worked with Allen-Jones in 2016. 

Allen-Jones said Charlie Mundy, who was appointed scout at LAJA in January 2021, no longer works at the agency.