Here are four established agents open to queries right now. All work with reputable agencies with good track records.
Caitlin Mahony represents romance, genre, and commercial fiction. She loves a hard-won, epic love story (historical and contemporary), a transporting fantasy or sci-fi novel that helps parse earthly questions, a delightful beach read, or a pulse-pounding thriller.
Jenny Savill is looking for literary fiction, literary and commercial women’s fiction, psychological suspense, gothic thrillers and stories with a touch of creeping horror, ghost stories, historical fiction (the whole gamut – including alternate histories), and memoir as well as children's and young adult literature.
Ingrid Beck is seeking compelling nonfiction proposals in the following categories: practical self-help, mindfulness, mental health and wellbeing, religion and spirituality, social and cultural issues, and lifestyle.
Marin Takikawa is looking for literary fiction, YA, and memoirs.
Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change.
NOTE: Don't submit to several agents at the same agency simultaneously. If one rejects you, you may then submit to another. (Some small agencies share. Be alert to a notice that "a no from one is a no from all.")
You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients.
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Caitlin has been at WME since 2016. Caitlin’s clients include bestselling romance authors Chloe Walsh and Shantel Tessier, fantasy author Henry Neff, among others. Caitlin is passionate about breaking out authors who originate from the self-publishing world, and bringing new opportunities their way—whether it’s a transition to traditional publishing in the US and UK, translation and audio deals, or merchandising.
What she is seeking: She represents romance, genre, and commercial fiction. Caitlin is looking for books that offer a total escape and full immersion, in either this world or an imagined one. She loves a hard-won, epic love story (historical and contemporary), a transporting fantasy or sci-fi novel that helps parse earthly questions, a delightful beach read, or a pulse-pounding thriller; and is always looking to get swept up in something that you can’t put down.
How to submit: Submissions should be emailed to cma@wmeagency.com
Caitlin would love to see your query letter (including a bio) and the first chapter of your manuscript. For previously self-published work, a link to your website, Goodreads, Wattpad, and/or Amazon page would be great too.
Jenny joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates in 2002. She represents authors writing for both children and adults.
What she is seeking: On the adult side, she’s looking for literary fiction, literary and commercial women’s fiction, psychological suspense, gothic thrillers and stories with a touch of creeping horror, ghost stories, historical fiction (the whole gamut – including alternate histories), and memoir. High fantasy is not her thing, though she is partial to a story with a speculative thread running through it. Her roster of adult authors includes internationally bestselling novelist Natasha Pulley, Shirley-Jackson winner Catriona Ward, writer of the darkly comic Sweetpea series C J Skuse, and graphic novelist Fred Fordham.
On the children’s side, she’s always on the look-out for new voices in 7+, Middle Grade and Young Adult writing. Her authors include Matt Brown, Keren David and Hana Tooke.
How to submit: Follow the agency's guidelines HERE.
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After earning her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Kansas State University, Ingrid Beck spent more than 17 years working in book publishing, serving in diverse roles such as acquisitions editor, managing editor, and editorial director. Ingrid joined The Bindery in 2019 as managing director and oversees day-to-day operations, proposal development, client relations, scheduling, and a variety of other special projects.
What she is seeking: Ingrid is seeking compelling nonfiction proposals in the following categories: practical self-help, mindfulness, mental health and wellbeing, religion and spirituality, social and cultural issues, and lifestyle.
How to submit: Email your query to info@thebinderyagency.com. Please include the following in the body of your email: a clear summary of your book concept, an author biography, the table of contents (for nonfiction), at least two sample chapters, relevant contact information, and any publishing history. Include the word “QUERY” in the email subject line and if you’ve completed a book proposal, please attach that document to your email. You may address your query to one agent or to The Bindery as a whole.
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For adult fiction, I’m looking for character-driven upmarket and literary fiction. In particular, I’m always driven by the need to understand people and discover the various kinks that aren’t visible from the surface—what drives them? What do they desire most but can’t get? I’m particularly enamored by genre-bending works, fiction with a speculative or magical bent, literary suspense, narratives about complex family relationships, and those that subvert forms of power, specifically neocolonialist ones. My tastes in YA are similar, although with more focus on speculative concepts and maybe surprisingly, contemporary rom-coms like LOVE & GELATO, ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS, and TELL ME THREE THINGS.
In nonfiction, I gravitate toward memoirs that balance personal narratives with engaging and insightful research and/or cultural analysis. I’m also looking for narrative nonfiction that is resistant and radical in nature, that questions why we have the institutions, ideas, and systems we have in place. I often think about the legacies of colonialism, how it haunts and perpetuates in various forms in the modern age (such as the environment and in capitalism), but also about collective action and its sense of possibilities and what the future could look like. I’d love to hear from you if your work is in this space.
Regardless of category, I’m looking for a singular voice that will guide me through any literary terrain and is not afraid of pushing against the status quo. And above all, it’s important to me that my list is filled with writers from historically underrepresented communities, as well as diasporic voices.
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