Silvia Molteni has a BA in Philosophy of Science from the University of Milan and an MA in Publishing and Creative Writing from Kingston University London. She is the head of the children’s and YA books department at PFD Agents. She has been at PFD for over twelve years and there she manages her own list of clients, alongside selling audio and foreign rights in the children’s and YA list worldwide. The Bookseller named Silvia 2019’s Rising Star.
Amongst her clients are bestselling and award-winning authors such as Ross Welford, Onjali Q. Rauf, Caitlin Devlin, Ida Tufte Michelsen, Cathy Faulkner, Eibhlis Carcione, Leanne Egan, Rachael Craw, Susie Bower, Jacob North, Alex Bertie, Lisa Lueddecke, E Latimer, Scarlett Dunmore, Isabel Marinov, Jamie Windust and Samuel J. Halpin.
Silvia is our resident children’s books expert. She provides manuscript assessments, structural edits and mentoring for children’s books from picture books to Young Adult.
‘In MG fiction, I’m drawn to strong and diverse voices, with a preference for contemporary and realistic settings and magical realism. I love a laugh-out-loud story, endearing characters, mind-blowing adventures and stories with lots of heart. I always enjoy dark and gothic tales and generally veer towards voice and character driven narratives and gorgeous writing.
On the YA side, I read across all genres, but again preferably literary, character-driven, voicey and beautifully written. While commercial fantasy that involves complicated world building, multiple books and high wordcount is not my cup of tea.
On the adult front, my taste is very eclectic. I’m a big fan of beautiful writing and complex character driven narratives, in a Donna Tartt’s vein, Michael Coleman and Jeffrey Eugenides, but I also enjoy reading more commercial and entertaining fiction in the crime, psychological thriller and bookclub genres. I adore adult narratives with young protagonists.’