Justin Ractliffe has held a number of senior executive positions in the Australian publishing industry, including Managing Director at Hachette, Publishing Director at Penguin Random House, and Commercial Director at Thames & Hudson. He has direct and managerial experience across every facet of the publishing process – creative, commercial and operational. Justin holds a Masters of Marketing from UNSW, is the recipient of the 2019 Copyright Agency Cultural Fund’s Publisher Fellowship, and the author of the children’s picture book DAD’S: A Field Guide.
As an agent, and a reader, Justin is a generalist. He works across fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.
Justin is looking for smart, upmarket crime fiction and contemporary literary fiction—stories that explore unique settings and subcultures and feature protagonists whose flaws and strengths are revealed with nuance and urgency. On the non-fiction front, he is looking for books with ambitious themes: subjects that are topical, thought-provoking, and conversation-starting, with a strong narrative engine—investigative journalism, history, music and pop culture, and memoir.
He is not looking for anything didactic or moralising. He doesn’t have to like a character or agree with their worldview or actions; he just has to find them believable and compelling.
Justin Ractliffe - Agent Assessments
Assessment Categories
- Adult Literary Fiction
- Commercial Adult Fiction
- Crime
- Literary Fiction
- Narrative Non-Fiction
- Non-Fiction
- Speculative Fiction
- Thrillers
- Memoir
Last day to book
01 June
Feedback
No written feedback will be provided
Payment plans
If you want to set up a fortnightly payment plan, use the code CYA26 at checkout. A 15% non-refundable deposit is required upfront for payment plans, with full payment due before your session.
Please note that payment plans aren’t available for early-bird tickets, and each attendee may have one payment plan.
Assessment sessions important information
- In-person assessments are only available to in-person attendees, unless by prior arrangement.
- They are available only to conference, bootcamp, and Writers at Sea Retreat attendees.
- May be booked before the conference, but you must book for the conference by 15 May; otherwise, your session will be cancelled and not refunded.
- A $25.00 administration charge applies if you cancel before 15 May.
- They are non-refundable if cancelled after 15 May, unless we can resell the session.
