Here are fourteen new literary agents actively seeking clients. New agents are a boon to writers. They are actively building their lists, and will go the extra mile for their clients.
All of these agents work for established agencies with good track records. They are looking for all genres.
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.
__________________________
Hillary Fazzari (she/her) joined the Bradford Literary Agency as the agency’s assistant in 2022 before moving into agenting in 2023. Prior to that, she had interned at Writers House and served as a long-term reader and editor for another literary agency. She is a highly editorial agent and is looking for high concept, high stakes stories with deep character development and gorgeous, commercial prose.
What she is seeking: Overall, she acquires primarily Middle Grade and YA, and is open to any genre in those areas, including graphic novels. In New Adult and Adult, she acquires more selectively and is open to:
- Rom-coms;
- Romantasy;
- SFF with strong romantic elements; important female, queer, and/or nonbinary characters; and emotive plotlines; and
- Very select narrative nonfiction that focuses on history.
How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
__________________________
Sobi-Dee Burbano earned her Associate’s Degree in Arts, but her true passion has always been reading. She discovered a love for books as a child and that has carried on through adulthood. When she is not caring for her young children, as a mother of two, the kindle is her best friend. She loves reading romance of all genres including fantasy and paranormal. Sobi is excited to work with aspiring authors and is now actively building her list. She is looking for unputdownable stories with bold, courageous characters who take you down an emotional journey of perseverance. She enjoys getting lost in a great drama-filled fantasy and also hopes to escape into a romance that makes her fall in love with love again.
What she is seeking:
- Adult Fiction: Contemporary, Commercial, Fantasy, General, Historical, Horror, Humor, Literary, Mystery, New Adult, Paranormal, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Women’s Fiction
- Young Adult Fiction: Adventure, Contemporary, Dystopian, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
- Middle Grade: Adventure, Contemporary, Dystopian, Fantasy, Humor, Mystery, Paranormal, Sci-Fi
Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, Michelle is now a literary agent with LCS Literary. She began her agenting career as an intern and then a Literary Associate with Olswanger Literary. She is also a published author and has earned educational degrees from New York University, SUNY at StonyBrook, Teachers College Columbia University and Argosy University. Michelle looks forward to bringing adult fiction and select young adult and non-fiction works of new authors to the masses, especially BIPOC and underrepresented authors. She is also a content editor and loves developing and working with new authors to help them hone their craft
What she is seeking: Michelle Jackson represents books that evoke heartfelt emotions and fervent conversations among readers. Her mission is to mentor and develop authors, particularly those from underrepresented communities, and help them build a brand of quality and authentic reads. Michelle has a soft spot for fellow educators who are writers and for stories featuring educators. She is also looking for those who want to write category romances–she also loves Amish romances!
- Adult Fiction: Commercial, Historical, Humor, New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Women’s Fiction
- Sub-genres: Contemporary Romance, Multicultural, Psychological Thrillers, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense
- Young Adult Fiction: Contemporary, Historical, Christian, Romance
- Nonfiction: Biography, True Crime, Self-Help, Relationships, Cookbooks, Narrative, Spirituality, select Memoirs
During a childhood that was spent devouring the pages of both fantasy and contemporary novels alike, Jynastie Wilson discovered that there was magic within these pages, one that was much more complex than the fact that they happened to offer a place of escape and distraction. Instead, she found that these novels had the magic to make people feel a little less alone — specifically those that came from various marginalized communities, such as she did.
What she is seeking: Jynastie is looking for a variety of projects in both Adult and Children’s genres.
- Adult: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.
- Young Adult: Contemporary, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.
- Middle Grade: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.
- Childrens: Picture Books, Chapter Books, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.
Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland (she/her) is an Associate Agent at Odom Media Management. Throughout her career, she has worked in independent media aimed at providing tools, resources, and frameworks that support movement-building. As an editor, she has worked with New York Times bestselling authors, speakers, and activists on books and digital training products on topics of intersectionality, racial and gender justice, decolonization, identity, and community organizing. She received her B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and M.A. from Columbia University in American Studies focusing her research on gender, race, and media.
What she is seeking: Right now, she is most focused on non-fiction books about racial capitalism and closing the racial wealth gap, decolonization, and an intersectional, gender-inclusive approach to equity and equality.
How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
__________________________
Kate Rogers is a University of Washington graduate with a double major in English and Cinema Media Studies. She has worked in customer service at Vroman's Bookstore in her hometown of Pasadena, California, and as the Assistant Director for Communications and Marketing for Stevens Court Community Council in Seattle.
What she is seeking: Kate loves stories with graphic/illustrated elements or multimodal components. All ages (Children’s, MG, YA, and Adult) welcome, as long as there is a visual component! Genres include humor, horror/thriller (bonus if it’s entry level for a younger audience!), romance, light sci-fi, light fantasy (not currently open to high-fantasy of any kind), contemporary realistic fiction, and narrative non-fiction. She is interested in diverse, character-driven narratives that subvert familiar tropes or conventions. Bonus points if your story includes non-conventional, interactive formats.
How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
__________________________
Having realized her passion for literature far outweighed her childhood dream of fashion design, Tamanna earned her BA in English Literature and History from the University of Toronto. After honing her skills by working with various literary journals and editorial internships, Tamanna joined The Rights Factory as an Associate Editor in 2020. With a keen eye for detail cultivated through her prior editorial work, Tamanna seamlessly transitioned into publishing. Her dedication to diverse narratives shines through as a literary agent—where she now combines her love for reading with her expertise in spotting compelling manuscripts across genres.
What she is seeking: Adult: Fantasy, historical fiction, and romance. YA/MG: Fantasy and historical fiction.
How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
__________________________
Mara joined FinePrint in 2023 and became an associate agent in 2024. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University (Hoya Saxa!) and a PhD at Pitt Public Health. She’s lived in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and now Charlotte, but calls DC and NYC home. In her free time, she writes fantasy novels, watches a shocking amount of figure skating, roots for the Washington Nationals, and daydreams about petting dogs.
What she is seeking: Mara is actively seeking to represent authors from communities traditionally underrepresented in publishing, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA, people who are disabled, and people who are chronically ill.
In fiction, Mara is seeking accessibly-written genre novels for Adult and YA audiences that rip your heart out and make you forget the world around you. In particular, she’s looking to represent fantasy (including political and romantic/romantasy), light sci-fi, romance, thrillers/mysteries (including political), and women’s fiction. She is not the best fit for literary fiction, historical fiction (historical romance is okay), or work written for middle graders or younger audiences.
Mara is also interested in narrative nonfiction for adult audiences about mental illness and/or substance use disorders and the American health care system.
How to submit: To query Mara, send an email to submissions@fineprintlit.com and write "Dear Mara" in the body of the email.
__________________________
Julie Gourinchas (she/they) works across the agents’ various lists and provides editorial and administrative support where needed. Prior to her time at BLM, she was managing editor for a transcontinental literary consultancy, and later transferred into freelance editorial work where she worked closely with a number of agents and their clients.
What they are seeking: Julie is drawn to uncommon voices and striking, intelligent writing—whether it be vibrant and floral or tense, quick, and sparse—as well as texture in both tone and setting, and she loves anything spiky, toothy, and dark. While the literary-speculative is her sweet spot, she considers herself genre agnostic within literary fiction, and remains open to compelling and well-executed genre overlap. These include:
- historical fiction, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries (also including and indeed encouraging alternate history);
- gothic fiction (specifically regional gothic with a strong sense of place);
- dynamic-led (e.g. friendships, family, etc) dramas with high emotional stakes;
- searing contemporary fiction centred on themes of identity and belonging;
- speculative science fiction addressing the relationship between humanity and technology;
- dark westerns;
- magical realism;
- female-led horror, especially featuring mangled nature or cosmic, Lovecraftian vibes;
- dark academia;
- speculative “fantasy” with only drips of magic, preferably set in the real/human world.
She is keenly interested in hearing from authors traditionally underrepresented in the industry, including but not restricted to writers of colour; queer, trans, and nonbinary writers; working class writers; disabled writers; etc.
Folkloric, literary, and mythological retellings are a special favourite, particularly when approached from a fresh, imaginative perspective; she’d also love to see a sharp, literary story exploring humanity’s relationship to technology in the vein of Black Mirror. Likewise, a New Weird story exploring the effects of climate change on humanity and society, in the vein of Jeff VanderMeer or China Miéville, would not go remiss. On rare occasion, a moody psychological suspense story, where a heady sense of atmosphere reigns, is welcome. Also, more terrible women please.
In non-fiction, Julie is keen to read in the narrative and “big ideas” spaces, particularly in the realms of politics, history, and the social sciences.
How to submit: Follow submission guidelines HERE.
__________________________
Born and raised in Italy, Miriam (they/she) moved to Chicago as a teenager and has since earned a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Writing & Publishing from DePaul University. After an excellent internship at Aevitas Creative Management, for which she also freelance read, she landed at ArtHouse Literary as an intern. They became Associate Agent through intense months of professional growth and supported learning. When not reading or writing SFF fiction of their own, Miriam enjoys playing videogames with their partner and scheming on Dungeons & Dragons with her friends. Their MSWL is inspired by all these speculative passions on top of their non-binary, bisexual, and chronically ill identity.
What she is seeking: Miriam is eagerly looking for everything and anything speculative across most age ranges (Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade). Miriam takes an interest in Young Adult Contemporary novels that draw on their fascination with American high school from immigrant perspectives and with summer camps/adventures, in the veins of YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. They’re also looking for queer YA Horror & Thriller the likes of HOW TO FIND A MISSING GIRL and HOLLOW.
Miriam is also on the lookout for selective works of literary fiction and creative nonfiction. For everything listed above, they’re also highly interested in novellas.
How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.
__________________________
Carleen comes from a background in technical writing and content marketing. When she found the world of publishing, she fell in love and dove in head first: starting her own author career as well as an internship at ArtHouse. She works on both sides with equal passion, and loves to help authors discover their "why" and curate their careers.
What she is seeking: For fiction, Carleen is looking for adult contemporary stories across genres. She loves suspense, especially if it comes with a dose of weird (think GOOD RICH PEOPLE by Eliza Jane Brazier or BUNNY by Mona Awad), and dark stories are her typical go-to. She is okay with mild speculative elements if they are close to real-world or very grounded. She loves the strange and whimsical, as well as the dark and dreadful. She likes romance, but prefers it to be part of a "bigger picture" story (think THE ARC by Tory Henwood Hoen), or at least that it has a great b-plot. She is especially interested in stories told from the voices of women, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized communities. She loves morally grey characters, or stories where no one is really good in the end, and craves finding something that breaks the norm of a trope in a satisfying way. She prefers shorter stories over long ones (still within novel standards though, please!) and is happy to consider manuscripts that bend or combine genres.
How to submit: Read submission guidelines HERE.
__________________________
After graduating with a B.A. in Professional Writing, Rebecca completed internships with Christian Indie Publishing Association and ArtHouse Literary Agency before moving to Booker Albert Literary Agency.
From a young age, she has been fascinated with epic worlds like LOTR and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Books with romantic elements like Ella Enchanted, The Goose Girl, and The Cruel Prince all have places in her top ten. She also adores historical fiction like The Wednesday Wars and iconic masterpieces like Monica Hesse's They Went Left, but her all-time favorite novel has to be the grounded fantasy The Scorpio Races. Her favorite troupes are houses-with-personality (think House of Leaves or The Haunting of Hill House), zombie apocalypses like in the book World War Z, and underwater worlds.
What she is seeking: Regardless of genre, Rebecca is looking for stories that have good pacing, grounded worlds, and believable characters. She is interested in fantasy of all kinds and anything that has a good hook. She would love to see more scary YA and MG historical fiction.
How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
__________________________
Gabriela Laracuente Sanchez had the opportunity to join the Howland team as an intern while completing a BA in English: Editing, Writing, and Media with a minor in Women’s Studies from Florida State University. During this time, she was also the Editor in Chief of The Experience and Editorial Assistant of the Kudzu Review. These experiences led her to help authors navigate the publishing process as a Publications Project Manager. She lives in Dickinson, Texas. Gabriela has since rejoined the Howland team and represents adult fiction and nonfiction.
What she is seeking: In adult fiction, she is looking for literary and upmarket works that have strong cultural influences—especially from Hispanic and Latine backgrounds. She wants to see works that explore topics of cultural identity, complex family dynamics, womanhood, and characters adapting to new spaces. She is also interested in projects that are multilingual and utilize code-switching, incorporate elements of magical realism and speculative fiction, and incorporate elements of food writing. In adult nonfiction, she is looking for cookbooks of Latin-American and Caribbean cuisine.
How to submit: Use her querymanager HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.