Carole Blake has written an article for newbooks magazine's debut supplement, nb Debuts. In the article, Debut Fiction, she considers the risks and rewards of first-time authors.

Carole writes: 'Representing debut fiction now is just as exciting as it's ever been' but goes on to describe the difficulties of launching a first-time author in the current climate saying 'it probably is more difficult now than at any time in the past decade.' She goes on to say: 'Ask any book business person - agent, publisher, bookseller - what they are looking for and you will hear phrases like ''a fresh voice'', ''a new take on a universal theme'', ''something that surprises me''. In those shorthand phrases lies hope. None of us really knows precisely what we are looking for, but we all hope we will find ourselves reading a manuscript that truly excites us.'

Blake Friedmann's success with debut novelists includes Elizabeth Chadwick, Billy Hopkins, Beryl Matthews, Michael Ridpath, Craig Russell and Julian Stockwin - all were picked off the so-called ''slushpile'' -  'a stellar crew. Some have long careers, in multiple markets: two were 70 when we took them on and are still publishing, many years later.'