How to write a winning non-fiction book proposal

Discover the secrets to writing a book proposal which impresses, with non-fiction authors Sheela Banerjee, Preeti Dhillon and Lucy Fulford.

Do you have a great idea for a non-fiction book but don’t know where to begin? Are you bamboozled by the publishing process? Have you started a proposal and want some support to finish it? Then this workshop is for you. Non-fiction books are usually sold on proposal, so the quality of your proposal is crucial. It is the difference between making an agent or editor stop what they’re doing to hang on your every word, or take a cursory glance before moving on to the next submission in the slush pile. This workshop will help you to write a must-read proposal. There is a lot of information out there about how to write submissions for fiction, but a serious lack of advice for non-fiction proposals. We are three published, non-fiction authors who have created the workshop we wish we would have had when we were writing our proposals. In this workshop you will learn:<ul><li>How to turn your initial idea into a substantial, book-length project</li><li>The must-have sections in your proposal</li><li>What to ask yourself to help guide the proposal writing process</li><li>How to start the proposal (and you will write the first paragraph in the workshop)</li><li>Common problems and pitfalls you may encounter when writing your proposal</li><li>How to submit your proposal to agents</li><li>What happens between getting an agent and submitting to editors</li></ul> By the end, you will feel confident about what you need to do next to write a stand-out proposal. You will be able to draw on the vast experience of three published non-fiction authors, and ask any burning questions you have. Whether you are hoping to write a proposal to catch the eye of an agent, or have an agent and are struggling to make your proposal work, this event is for you. What better time than the new year to get your book off the ground? Who are we?Sheela Banerjee is the author of <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sheela-banerjee/whats-in-a-name/9781529367607/" title="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sheela-banerjee/whats-in-a-name/9781529367607/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">What’s In A Name?</a>, Preeti Dhillon wrote <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/preeti-dhillon/the-shoulders-we-stand-on/9780349702834/" title="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/preeti-dhillon/the-shoulders-we-stand-on/9780349702834/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Shoulders We Stand On</a>, and Lucy Fulford penned <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lucy-fulford/the-exiled/9781399711210/" title="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lucy-fulford/the-exiled/9781399711210/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Exiled</a>. Our debut books were published in 2023, to much acclaim, and we want to share our hard-learned lessons about proposal writing to you. We’ve made the mistakes so you don’t have to. For this workshop you will need:<ul><li>Ideally a computer or tablet with internet access</li><li>Paper and pen</li><li>Your idea for a book/your proposal draft</li></ul> The event will take place on Zoom, and the link will be sent before the event. The number of attendees will be kept small to make sure we have a conversational environment, and to allow plenty of time for everyone to ask questions. --- More about the books and authors: What's In a Name?Our names are so mundane we hardly notice them. Yet behind each one lie countless stories: of belonging and persecution, colonialism and resistance, cultural inheritance and conflicted identity. In this intimate exploration of British multiculturalism, Sheela Banerjee traces the personal histories of friends and family through their names. Spanning centuries and continents - from west London to India, 1960s Jamaica to pre-Revolutionary Russia - What's in a Name? is a remarkable ode to friendship and a vital celebration of Britain's diverse history. Sheela Banerjee is a writer, journalist and academic and her work has been published in The Guardian, Observer, Metro and Grazia. Her debut book, What’s In A Name? was published by Sceptre/Hodder, and is a New Statesman Book of the Year and won the Eastern Eye Award for Best Non-Fiction 2024. She directed TV programmes for the BBC and Channel 4 for many years, which told powerful stories of individual lives. She later followed a passion for literature and left TV to do a PhD on ghosts in modernist literature. She grew up mainly in Hayes, west London, and in India, and her work often focuses on questions of culture and belonging in the UK’s diaspora communities. The Shoulders We Stand OnHave you heard of the Indian Workers' Association? The Grunwick Strike? The Brixton Black Women's Group? The Battle of Brick Lane? If the answer is no, you're not alone. The Shoulders We Stand On tells the stories of ten remarkable movements, campaigns and organisations led by Black and Brown people across Britain from the sixties to the eighties that fought against racism and capitalism and impacted the way we live now. Researcher and historian Preeti Dhillon wants us to reclaim the history that has been kept from us, and use these vital movements and inspirational moments to better understand the UK we live in today and how change happens. There is a long and deep history of activism by Black and Brown people spanning the UK. Their stories can inspire all of us to make a difference, just as they did. The Shoulders We Stand On is a book of hope. Hope that together we can make a difference, that together we are powerful, and that we don't have to tackle society's challenges alone.We're not alone, we've been here before and this is the book we all need now. Preeti Dhillon is a researcher, writer and historian. She is passionate about capturing hidden stories from oppressed and marginalised communities. Her debut book The Shoulders We Stand On: How Black and Brown people fought for change in the United Kingdom was published by Dialogue Books. It was Eastern Eye’s non-fiction book of the year and shortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown Awards. Preeti’s essay ‘How I Grew A Life’ was published in Fox &amp; Windmill’s anthology Tales From the Kitchen, and she has written for the Byline Times, Black History Month magazine, and The Rights Collective, and was longlisted for Penguin WriteNow in 2020. She was an Independent Research Fellow with the Women’s History Network 2021-2022. The ExiledAfter packing scant possessions and countless memories, 50,000 Ugandan Asians vied for limited space in countries including Canada, India and the United Kingdom. More than 28,000 expellees from Britain's former colony arrived in the UK and began building new lives - but their incredible stories have, until now, remained largely hidden. Fifty years on from the exodus, The Exiled draws on first-hand interviews and testimonies, including from the author's family, to illuminate a time of painful alienation and incredible courage. As an entire people stepped into the unknown, a global diaspora was born, and the fate of the United Kingdom changed forever. Journeying across continents and decades, this staggering work of reportage illuminates an essential, and under-explored, chapter in post-colonial history, challenging politically expedient narratives to uncover the true fate of minorities at the end of empire.Lucy Fulford is a journalist and author who focuses on migration and identity, often through the lens of conflict and trauma. Her debut book, The Exiled: Empire, Immigration and the Ugandan Asian Exodus (Coronet/Hodder 2023) explores the ramifications of this landmark, unexplored forced migration on the generations which followed and was longlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown Awards. Lucy studied History at the University of Bristol, writes for publications including The Guardian, The Sunday Times, CNN and The New Humanitarian, and manages multimedia production for environmental organisation Global Witness.