Annabel Barker Agency is a literary agency specialising in books for children and young adults.

Founded in 2020, we provide a home for writers and illustrators who create primarily for young people.

We look for work that showcases the depth of the Australian experience, seeking to ensure the publishing landscape is accessible to all and inclusive of new voices. We also love to nurture the careers of experienced writers and illustrators. We provide a complete agency service, with a collaborative and open approach - and we love nothing better than helping our clients find worldwide success.

You can find some of our latest deals here.

Annabel Barker

Annabel began her career in books in working with Macmillan Publishing and Hachette Children’s Books in London, returning to Melbourne to work for Pan Macmillan and for Hardie Grant, where she was managing director of the children’s division. Across her career Annabel has participated in many industry roles including serving on the Australian Publishers Association’s children's publishers committee and the export working group. She has contributed as an award judge, a Creative Australia peer assessor and as a member of the committee for the Visiting International Publishers Program. Annabel’s background is primarily in international rights, and it is still her favourite thing to see Australian writers and illustrators published across the world.

Bella Suckling

Bella joined the agency as Agency Assistant in 2023. She has worked as a bookseller at various bookstores across Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. She is currently studying a Masters of Publishing, Editing and Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne. Her work as a writer has been published in Voiceworks and Screen Queens. She lives in Melbourne where she spends much of her time reading (her favourite authors are Natalia Ginzburg, Deborah Levy and Zadie Smith) and watching old episodes of Nigella Bites

Özge Sevindik

Özge was born in Turkey and grew up in America. She is the co-founder of The Right Pen Collective for Muslim Australian Writers. Özge holds an honours degree in Journalism and a Master of Information Studies (Children’s Librarianship). Books are her favourite thing in the world, and if you talk to her for a few minutes, she will recommend you one that you must read. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne with her two young daughters in a house filled with more yarn and books that she can consume in multiple lifetimes. Özge works with the agency on a project basis.

Contact us at hello@annabelbarker.com