'The Writing Life' at The Gainsborough Bath Spa with Juliet Pickering

The Writing Life: Conversations is a new four-part series of uplifting conversations with writers, agents and editors.
About this Event



The Perfect Conclusion

The Writing Life: Conversations, has been designed to demystify the creative process and make writing feel accessible to everyone; with Juliet, we bring the conversation full circle. She represents the industry side of the creative journey, offering practical insight into what publishers seek, what makes a story resonate, and how to navigate the path to publication. It's the perfect way to conclude the series.

Each intimate evening in the series includes prosecco, canapés, and engaging conversation designed for those seeking inspiration rather than instruction. Attendees leave with encouragement, practical wisdom, and a clearer sense of how writing supports creativity, wellbeing, and emotional connection.

A Champion of Contemporary Storytelling

Juliet Pickering is an Executive Director at Blake Friedmann, one of the UK's leading literary agencies. Her distinguished career spans roles at Waterstones and A P Watt before joining Blake Friedmann in 2013. In 2021, she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Agent of the Year Award, recognition of her commitment to championing writers and stories that reflect authentic human experience.

Pickering represents a curated list of intriguing, clever, conversation-starting writers across both fiction and non-fiction. She specialises in contemporary stories often led by themes of love, identity, and coming-of-age, with a particular passion for emotional depth, authenticity, and warm, engaging voices. She recently expanded into character-led crime fiction with works like THE DOGWALKERS' DETECTIVE AGENCY, exploring the complexities of people and small communities.

Her non-fiction list includes narrative writing on relationships, pop culture, social history, and food. Notably, Pickering is a vocal feminist committed to broadening the books published to include everyone, championing stories that empower and celebrate diverse voices.

What Makes a Story Matter 

Inspired by authors including Kate Atkinson, Claire Keegan, Elizabeth Strout, Shirley Jackson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Nora Ephron, Pickering seeks rich, multi-layered stories of women, families, friendships, and relationships. She is drawn to intimate explorations of close communities with depth beneath the surface, preferring the small and personal to the epic and world-defining. 

Beyond her agency work, Pickering is a regular presence at literary festivals, courses, and events, offering talks and workshops for writers. She has served as a judge for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Bristol Short Story Prize, and Manchester Fiction Prize, and currently collaborates with London Writers' Centre. 

1. Date & Time: Thursday, 26th November 2026 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM GMT
2. Location: The Gainsborough Bath Spa Beau Street Bath BA1 1QY
3. Ticket Price: £15 (includes prosecco and canapés)