2026 Agents/Editors

Agent

Ritu Anand, D4EO Literary Agency

Bio: Ritu Anand has been a passionate storyteller since childhood. Caught and admonished for writing—under her desk—during a math class, she recalls being highly inconvenienced. Inspiration had struck from within and there was little else she could have done to curtail it. Today, Ritu has earned the recognition of being an award-winning author of Kara’s Dreams, a picture book about being resilient in the face of adversity. She gives tremendous credit to the various teachers at Mater Dei Convent, who, in the formative years of her life, laid an impression upon her.

No good story should ever be filed away but be shared, she believes. And that is why she has chosen to champion voices yet unheard. Ritu is excited to represent writers of kidlit, literary fiction, general fiction and historical fiction.

She joined D4EO Literary Agency in Spring 2023. As a writer herself, she is on the same page with other writers and applauds their creativity.

For submissions, email a word file to: ritu@d4eo.com.

Kidlit: Picture Books, Middle Grade and YA novels.

Literary Fiction: Drama, Fairy Tales and Fiction in Verse.

General Fiction: Women’s Fiction, Drama, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Satire, Tragedy.

Historical Fiction: Women’s Historical Fiction, Historical Romantic Fiction and Historical Fantasy.

Diverse and Underrepresented Voices are encouraged to submit.

Looking for:  She is most interested in representing kidlit, cozy mystery thrillers, family crime, historical fiction and women’s fiction.

Not looking for: Please do not submit sci-fi or paranormal to her.

Agent

Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates

Bio: Caitlin Blasdell has been a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates since 2002, focusing on commercial fiction.  Before becoming an agent, she was a senior editor at HarperCollins Publishers.  A graduate of Williams College, she lives in Westchester with her husband, four sons, and an ever-expanding flower garden.

Looking for: She is looking for quality commercial fiction, which to her means a strong plot, memorable voice, clean prose, and, ideally, a good hook.  Her specialties include science fiction and fantasy, romance and women’s fiction, thrillers, and historical fiction.  She also handles a few select middle grade and YA authors and a very few nonfiction titles.

Her clients include Adam Plantinga (THE ASCENT and HARD TOWN), Nicola Solvinic (THE HUNTER’S DAUGHTER), Constance Fay (CHAOS), Scott Hawkins (THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR), Jo Nichols (THE MARIGOLD COTTAGES MURDER COLLECTIVE), Charles Stross (the Hugo-Award-winning Laundry series), and Rebecca Zanetti (New York Times-bestselling author of the Laurel Snow thriller series.)

Agent

Alicia Brooks, Alicia Brooks Literary Agency

Bio: Alicia Brooks began her publishing career over twenty-five years ago as an editorial assistant at Penguin USA (Dutton/Plume).  She advanced to an assistant editor position at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday where she worked with groundbreaking authors, including Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Ian McEwan. She then became an editor at Picador/St. Martin’s Press where she edited over 40 hardcover titles and several trade paper original titles, including Good Morning America Book Club Pick Noelle Howey’s Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods–My Mother’s, My Father’s, and Mine, Nega Mezlekia’s award-winning Notes from the Hyena’s Belly, and Jaclyn Moriarty’s FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, an ALA Best Book of the Year and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

She became a literary agent at The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2019. Her client list included categories such as Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse backgrounds, Self-Help, Pop Culture, Literary Fiction, Book Club Fiction, YA Fiction, Horror, and Historical Fiction. She represented Boyah J. Farah, author of the earth-shattering memoir AMERICA MADE ME A BLACK MAN (Harper/Nominated for the NAACP Image Award and NPR Best Book of the Year), Kathleen S. Allen, author of the YA Gothic Horror novel THE RESURRECTIONIST (Roaring Brook) Jennifer Sherman Roberts’ THE VILLAGE HEALER’S BOOK OF CURES: A Novel (Lake Union/Named an Editors’ Choice by the Historical Novel Society and Named a First Reads Editors’ Pick by Amazon), internationally renowned Iranian author Nahid Rachlin’s novels MIRAGE and GIVEN AWAY: A Novel Based on True Events (Red Hen Press), and Sofia Romero, author of the linked story collection WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WHO WE ARE (Blackstone/Shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction).

Alicia is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA).  She graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and Philosophy.  She has a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in the Teaching of English Grades 7-12.  She was raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Manhattan with her writer husband Michael Londra and their cat Tut Baby.

​Looking for: Her wishlist for the ALICIA BROOKS LITERARY AGENCY includes the following:

Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse voices

Memoir with big concepts

Self-Help

Pop Culture

Social Justice

Literary Fiction

Book Club Fiction

Thrillers

Historical Fiction

Horror

Jewish Issues

YA Fiction and Nonfiction

Agent

Penelope Burns, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents

Bio: Penelope Burns began her career in publishing at Gelfman Schneider as an intern in 2012, and after a brief stint as a book-to-film scout, became a full time agent in 2015. She reads eclectically and is particularly drawn to captivating writing with an engaging voice.

Looking For: Mystery, Psychological Thrillers, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction, Adult/YA Crossover, YA, MG. Favorite reads of the last year include: Pachinko, I Have Some Questions for You, The School for Good Mothers, Crying in H-Mart, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, We Deserve Monuments, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sarafi, and Such Sharp Teeth, Cemetery Boys, Ninth House, Rejection, The Knight and the Moth, Vesuvius, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Tilt.  

Not Looking For: Picture Books, Cozy Mysteries, Military Thrillers, Spy Thrillers, Historical Romance.

Select Clients Include: Brooke Archer, Doug Cornett, Kwame Ivery, Em X. Liu, Ashton Noone, Emily Paxman, Alyssa Wees, Leah Vernon.

Editor

Claire Cheek, St. Martin’s Press

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Jon Cobb, Hannigan Getzler Literary (HG Literary)

Bio: Jon Cobb is a Literary Agent at Hannigan Getzler Literary. Prior to joining HG Literary in 2016, he completed a master’s degree in Publishing: Digital and Print Media at NYU. He joined HG Literary to assist partner and agent Josh Getzler on a wide variety of titles in fiction and nonfiction.

Looking for: Jon is looking for Mysteries, Thrillers, Horror, Speculative, Grounded Sci-Fi, and Fantasy. He represents across age groups, Middle Grade, YA and Adult. He’s particularly looking for stories written by authors of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds; high-concept, 15-minutes-in-the-future speculative thrillers; and bold, creative, genre-defying mashups—Ocean’s 11 across timelines, Grey’s Anatomy but make it magic, The Bourne Identity during a family reunion. Something with clear genre appeal but with an unheard-of twist.

Not Looking For: True crime; Non-fiction; traditional cozy mysteries; straightforward CIA or military thrillers; Trump allegories.

Editor

Shannon Criss, Crown Fiction/Penguin Random House

Agent

Claudia Cross, Folio Literary Management

Bio: Advocate, adviser, ally, coach, counselor, and negotiator: an agent, at times, can play one or all of these roles in the literary life of an author. In responding to the changing needs of the writers she represents, Claudia brings to each a high level of individualized attention. She began her career at William Morris, and then joined Sterling Lord Literistic, where she worked for just over a decade before joining Folio and becoming a partner. She has worked with a range of authors in both fiction and nonfiction, from CEOs, chefs and debut writers to New York Times bestsellers. Among the diverse clients she represents are the literary Estate of Mother Teresa; entrepreneur and designer Emily Ley; art historian and Renoir scholar Barbara Ehrlich White; and novelists Rachel Gibson and Christina Lynch.

Looking for: For thrillers specifically, she is looking for compelling female characters; modern espionage with a classic feel, and stories involving people going about their daily lives who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

Agent

Nicole Cunningham, Trellis Literary Management

Bio: Nicole Cunningham joined Trellis Literary Management in 2025, after nine years with The Book Group. She represents an exciting list of authors across a wide range of adult fiction, as well as select nonfiction, including Caitlin Breeze, Amber Blaeser-Wardzala, Tara Goedjen, Chelsea Iversen, Kate Mooney, Jolene McIlwain, Sharon Short, Kaitlyn Teer, and more.

Across genres, Nicole falls in love at the level of the line first, and wants to be dazzled by the quality, control, and creativity of the language itself. She’s drawn to fiction that’s immersive, smart, and voice-driven, and better yet if it combines a propulsive plot with deep dive character work. She’d love to find more fiction at the sweet spot of literary sensibility with a high concept hook.

Looking for: Nicole is looking for mystery, psychological suspense, thriller (specifically with a strong sense of place and character), horror (especially rooted in folklore, and with keen interest in indigenous horror), literary procedurals, voice-y upmarket fiction, speculative fiction, and book club fiction with a sweeping, tale as old as time romance. She always wants escapist books with bite.

Not looking for: Nicole is not currently looking for nonfiction, kidlit, historical, sci-fi/fantasy, romantasy, cozy m/s/t or fantasy, espionage or military thrillers, or books dealing with cancer or other serious health diagnoses.

Agent

Ginger Curwen, Julia Lord Literary Management

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Lucienne Diver, The Knight Agency

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Sam Farkas, Jill Grinberg Literary Management

Agent

James Farner, JABberwocky Literary Agency

Bio: James Farner (he/him) is an Associate Agent for JABberwocky Literary Agency, directly assisting COO Brady McReynolds. He was born and raised in the Midwest, received his bachelor’s degree in English writing and religious studies from the University of Oklahoma (where he interned with award-winning literary magazine World Literature Today), and moved to New York City to attend The New School for Social Research’s Liberal Studies master’s program. He started at JABberwocky as an intern in 2019 and became full-time in 2021.

James grew up reading epic fantasies and sweeping space operas, but these days the majority of his reading is in the mystery/thriller space. When he’s not reading, his minimal free time goes to keeping up with the best TV series and listening to podcasts in the tech-adjacent, pop-culture sphere.

Looking for: I’m looking for novel-length works of Adult Fiction in the mystery/crime/thriller genres, with a particular interest in murder mysteries and whodunnits. I’ll consider projects with speculative elements, but generally ones you’d still expect to see in the mystery section of a bookstore, not the SFF shelves.

Not looking for: I am not open to Children’s, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Short Stories (including collections), Poetry, Graphic Novels, or Nonfiction.

Agent

Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Associates

Bio: Liza Fleissig is a founder of the Liza Royce Agency, a cross-platform company providing development, representation, and strategic career management for clients in all media. LRA’s goal is to represent clients in all stages of their careers, from the most established to those still developing their craft. A former trial partner in a NYC based litigation firm, Liza brings decades of negotiating experience to the field, and along with strong connections rooted in publishing, film and television, she provides bespoke services on a multi-dimensional level.

Clients: Karia Rouda, Elise Hart Kipness, Jon Lindstrom, Robert Bailey, Isabella Maldonado, Sara DiVello, Retired FBI Agent Jerri Williams, Estate of Marc Olden, among others.

Looking for: Psychological thrillers, domestic suspense, mystery/suspense, crime fiction, medical thrillers (would love the next Quincy/Scarpetta generation) – basically a fresh way in to tried-and-true concepts – female narratives with complicated histories/family/friendships always welcome.

Not looking for: YA, sci/fi/fantasy, crazy presidents, Russia/China, covid/pandemic stories, traditional CIA/terrorist, mob/cartel, military thrillers.

Agent

David Forrer, InkWell Management

Bio: David Forrer began his career in publishing in 1997 after receiving a Masters in Creative Writing (fiction) from Boston University. He has been an agent with InkWell Management since it was created in 2004. He enjoys smart, propulsive fiction with a great hook and unforgettable characters, including crime, suspense and thrillers that range from commercial to literary. He’s had the privilege of working with many talented authors including Tom Baragwanath (PAPER CAGE), Ella Berman (BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT), Tammy Greenwood (THE STILL POINT), Priya Guns (YOUR DRIVER IS WAITING), Hannah Richell (THE SEARCH PARTY) and Hayley Scrivenor (DIRT CREEK).

Agent

Ariele Fredman, United Talent Agency (UTA)

Bio: Ariele Fredman came to UTA from Atria Books/S&S, where she was most recently Deputy Director of Publicity and Marketing, working across genres to launch bestselling campaigns for blockbuster authors such as Colleen Hoover, Lisa Jewell, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Weiner, Fredrik Backman, and more. Over her 15+ years in publishing, she launched over 50 New York Times bestsellers, including eight number-one books. She works with a diverse range of authors across fiction and non-fiction, but central to all of her client’s work is a commercial drive and a clear understanding of each book’s audience. Her super power is drawing on her unique understanding of the publishing landscape and what drives readers to both buy and then talk about their favorite books.

Looking for: Ariele is looking for commercial and upmarket psychological suspense, thriller, and mystery with an incredible, unique, or weird hook and a last-page jaw dropper. She loves a strong sense of place, propulsive plot, and plenty of emotion. Her favorite novels are those you want to savor but end up reading in a day, and tension amongst characters — in any genre — is a win. She would love to find more romantic suspense as well as authors in the vein of one of her favorites, Lisa Jewell. She’d also like to hear from a diverse range of voices and backgrounds.

Not looking for: She is not in the market for PI-led or Soviet-set novels at the moment.

Agent

Lori Galvin, Aevitas Creative Management

Bio: Lori Galvin worked as a book editor before moving to the literary agent side in 2015. She works with a diverse group of writers of both fiction and nonfiction. Some of her clients’ projects have been optioned by A24, Netflix, and CBS Studios. She has signed and sold books by writers she has met through PitchFest, including Wanda M. Morris and Cheryl A. Head.

Looking For: Literary thriller, suspense, and crime and if it crosses genre, that’s fine too, but must be grounded. I’m especially interested in compassionate novels of crimes and misdemeanors that provide the reader with insight into the human condition in the vein of Liz Moore, Tim Johnston, Jessica Knoll (esp Bright Young Women), Tracey Sierra, and Will Dean, but also voicey, twisty, suspense with edge like Samantha Downing, Mark Edwards, Adrian McKinty, and Amina Akhtar.

Supernatural thrillers or thrillers with some horror such as novels by Marcus Kliewer, Paul Tremblay, Alex North, and Alma Katsu or think horror for readers who don’t typically read horror. I’m especially looking for folk horror, horror related to historical events and female centered horror. I loved the recent film The Companion because it was so twisty, sharply written, and unexpected for the genre.

Not looking for: Military thrillers; organized crime novels a la ‘mob’ novels, or technothrillers/biotech thrillers that are so centered on the technology aspect, they might date quickly.

Editor

Elana Gibson, Crooked Lane Books

Agent

Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc.

Bio: Doug’s path on the road to publishing may have been set early. His first job in the industry came in 1978, walking up and down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan wearing a sandwich board advertising a new novel during the 1978 New York City newspaper strike. The next year, he took creative writing at Stuyvesant High School with Frank McCourt, nearly two decades before McCourt won the Pulitzer Prize for Angela’s Ashes. Doug opened the Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. in 2008. A third generation New Yorker and 25-year resident of Brooklyn, Doug moved to Salem, Massachusetts in 2021, where he is learning incantations and spells to influence the publishing gods.

After starting at Simon & Schuster as an assistant to the assistant of Michael Korda, 2026 begins Doug’s 40th year as a publishing professional. An editor with imprints at Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins for 22 years, Doug acquired and edited fiction and nonfiction bestsellers. On the nonfiction side, Doug has worked with astronauts, generals, war heroes, gangsters, cops, politicians, sports stars, journalists, musicians, historians, and humorists. It’s never boring, and it keeps him out of the saloons!

As an agent, Doug has represented such clients as New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction Jeff Shaara; New York Times bestseller Kerri Rawson (daughter of serial killer Dennis Rader, known as BTK); New York Times bestselling WWII historian Larry Alexander; Grammy-winning jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, baseball great Darryl Strawberry and true crime/mob writer Michael Benson, among others. In the mystery/thriller genre, Doug represents two-time Agatha Award and four-time Lefty Award winner Ellen Byron (and her alter-ego Maria DiRico); Jerome Preisler, author of the NET FORCE series created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik; New York Times bestseller David L. Robbins; psychological suspense writer Debbie Babitt; thriller writer Matthew Betley; and espionage novelist A.J. Chambers.

Looking For: On the fiction side, Doug’s looking for mysteries (cozy, contemporary or historical), all stripes of thrillers with interesting voices.

Not looking for: Children’s picture books, middle grade, YA, science fiction, fantasy.

Agent

Alexandra Grana, P.S. Literary Agency

Bio: Alexandra Grana is an associate literary agent at PS Literary Agency. She holds a JD from the University of Toledo College of Law and now uses her legal experience to passionately champion creatives.

She represents adult fiction and non-fiction and is seeking diverse voices in commercial genre fiction to add to her growing client list. Alexandra is looking for stories with big hooks and strong voices across genres, bonus points for being a page-turner that keeps her up at night. She is drawn to women-driven psychological thrillers and mysteries, and welcomes any combination of good-for-her and eat-the-rich narratives. She is also on the hunt for gothic horror and horroromance with twisty, yearning-forward relationships and book club stories with a speculative
edge.

Looking for: psychological thrillers, mystery, fantasy, accessible and grounded science fiction, horror, book club fiction.

Not looking for: space operas, military/legal/spy thriller, cozies, strict historical fiction (historical fiction in combination with other genres is good!), crime fiction, middle grade fiction.

Agent

Ryan Harbage, The Fischer-Harbage Agency

Bio: Ryan Harbage founded The Fischer-Harbage Agency in January, 2007 and has represented ten #1 New York Times bestselling authors of fiction and nonfiction. Books represented by the agency have received many accolades, among them: the American Bookseller’s Association Indies Choice Book of the Year Award, American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book, Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award, Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, Nautilus Book Award, The Palmer Prize, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, Women’s Way Book Prize; and finalists for the Desmond Elliot Prize, the Thurber Prize, Books for a Better Life Award, Goodreads Best Books of the Year, Lambda Award, Langum Prize in Historical Fiction, and The National Book Award (fiction).

He was an editor at Simon & Schuster, where he helped create and launch a new imprint, now Gallery Books. He also worked as an editor for Little, Brown & Company as well as Penguin Random House (where he edited books for Plume, Dutton, and Viking). He has a MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Agent

Allison Hellegers, Stimola Literary Studio

Bio: Allison Hellegers is the Foreign Rights Director and a Senior Literary Agent at Stimola Literary Studio. After working in literary scouting and serving as Director of Foreign Rights at Alloy Entertainment and Rights People, she now oversees all foreign rights for Stimola while representing a select client list. She champions emotionally resonant work for all ages and in a variety of genres, with a particular interest in untold histories, outsider perspectives, and books that challenge norms and push cultural boundaries.

Alli represents New York Times and Indie Bestselling author Michelle Jabès Corpora (His Face is the Sun), and co-agents for New York Times bestselling Lucy Adlington (The Dressmakers of Auschwitz; Four Red Sweaters) and Reese Book Club pick Holly Smale (Cassandra in Reverse).

Her list also includes YA authors award-winning authors, such as Colby Cedar Smith and Rebecca Caprara, graphic novel creators Teo Duvall and Mari Costa, middle-grade authors Elaine Dimopoulos and Caroline Carlson, and select picture book creators including Dinah Johnson and Marta Bartolj.

Allison attends the Frankfurt and Bologna book fairs annually and is an industry-wide speaker and on faculty at various conferences.

Outside of work, she enjoys a hot yoga class, hiking with her rescue mutt, watching horror films with her teenage son, listening in real time to her husband narrate audio books, and watching the sky from planes and trains.

Agent

Mitch Hoffman, Aaron Priest Literary Agency

Bio: Mitch Hoffman is a 30-year veteran of the publishing industry. He joined the Aaron Priest Literary Agency as a Senior Agent in December 2015. He was previously Vice President, Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing.

Mitch is looking for storytellers writing across the spectrum of fiction and nonfiction. He has nurtured the careers of debut novelists as well as global #1 bestselling authors, and has worked with journalists, scientists, historians, public servants and entrepreneurs. Over his career, he has published or represented over 300 books, more than 80 of which were New York Times bestsellers. They have won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award, ITW’s Thriller Award, The Barnes & Noble Discover Award, and have been longlisted for the Booker Prize, among many other honors.

A featured panelist at a wide array of industry events and writers’ conferences, Mitch has also addressed the bipartisan Creative Rights Caucus on Capitol Hill (sponsored by the AAP and Authors Guild) regarding collaboration between writers and publishers, and the importance of copyright protection for authors. He is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents and PEN America.

Looking For: Suspense, Thrillers. (Please surprise me.)

Agent

Andrea Hurst, Andrea Hurst & Associates, Literary Management

Bio: Andrea Hurst is the Founder and President of Andrea Hurst & Associates.

As a literary agent and developmental editor, Andrea brings over 25 years of experience in the publishing industry. She has worked with major publishers, both domestic and international. Overall, her focus is to help authors polish their book, obtain publication, and build their author brand.

Some of her clients include bestsellers such as Dr. Bernie Siegel, Boo Walker, Marc Edelheit, Hannah Jayne, Penny Warner, Ashley Farley, Chef John Ash, and Suzanne Kelman. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic Network, Amazon Charts, and in The New York Times.

Andrea began her career in the entertainment business working in product development and marketing with Columbia Records, but eventually found her passion in book publishing. She teaches classes at writing conferences and MFA programs, offering valuable insight as an agent, editor, and author of ten books, both in fiction and nonfiction. Her most recent novel, House of Dreams, released in April 2024.

Looking for: I am currently seeking well-crafted, commercially viable fiction titles. My preferred genres are women’s fiction, upmarket and book club fiction, domestic suspense/thrillers, family drama, psychological suspense, crime fiction, historical fiction, rom com, and romance. I am always open to working with underrepresented voices and stories.

Crime novels that play games with the psyche.

Police Procedurals.

Rom-coms with a diverse set of characters and an idealistic setting (like novels by Abby Jimenez).

In terms of literary fiction, I am drawn to works like Beartown by Fredrik Backman, which contains strong character development, powerful themes, and overcoming both internal and external conflicts.

Historical fiction set in the Georgian era (Austen’s time), Gilded Age, or early 1900s like Downton Abbey and WWII.

Contemporary romance with strong tropes and series potential.

Fast-paced, twisty domestic suspense (like novels by Freda McFadden or Harlan Coben).

Atmospheric, high-conflict, high-stakes thrillers similar to The Guestlist by Lucy Foley.

Dramatic thrillers with family dynamics similar to The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

Psychological suspense with a surprise ending like The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Anything along the same vein as the series The Morning Show or Defending Jacob on Apple TV+.

As always, I’m enthralled by stories that challenge me, where the mystery is seemingly impossible to figure out, and the reader never knows the truth until the very end. However, believability is of upmost importance.

Not looking for: Please keep in mind, I am not a right fit for titles that deal with espionage, the military, explicit gore or carnage, high-fantasy or sci-fi, erotica, poetry, young adult, or middle grade.

Agent

Ginger Hutchinson, Movable Type Management

Bio: Ginger Hutchinson is a literary agent at Movable Type Management, where she represents adult commercial and upmarket fiction across genres. She’s drawn to voice-driven stories with strong hooks, immersive settings, and memorable characters, and enjoys working closely with authors to shape compelling, high-concept narratives. Ginger recently sold Reba McQueen’s Werewolves of Waffle Hutch, a darkly comic Appalachian horror novel about the graveyard-shift staff at a 24-hour diner in West Virginia confronting deadly creatures in the surrounding woods, to Hyperion Avenue in a two-book deal, with publication scheduled for spring 2027.

Looking for: At ThrillerFest, Ginger is looking for atmospheric, voice-driven suspense and horror with a strong sense of place and a clever hook. She gravitates toward stories in the vein of Long Bright River, The Guest List, The Plot, I Have Some Questions for You, and The Other Black Girl. She’s especially excited by dark academia and literary suspense with complex characters, and enjoys stories that begin in the familiar but quickly spiral into something far stranger or more dangerous.

Ginger is eagerly seeking smart, socially-aware horror with dark humor and a touch of camp.

She also loves escapist mysteries with an underdog protagonist or ensemble cast, in the spirit of Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and How to Solve Your Own Murder.

Across genres, she enjoys stories centered on unusual professions or subcultures and books set in vivid locations—especially the South, coastal towns, or remote communities. She’s particularly drawn to novels where the natural world feels like a character, shaping the tension and atmosphere of the story, as in A Tale for the Time Being, Swamplandia!, The Overstory, Annihilation, and Mexican Gothic.

She’s particularly drawn to themes of found family, buried secrets, and the slow erosion of communities—small towns marked by economic decline, generational tensions, shifting identities, and the unsettling forces that emerge when a place begins to fracture.

Not looking for: She enjoys morally ambiguous protagonists, but is not the right fit for police procedurals, extremely cozy mysteries, military or medical thrillers, or MG/YA. She tends to avoid gratuitous violence or excessive gore, preferring suspense and horror that build dread through atmosphere, psychology, and social tension.

Above all, Ginger is looking for transportive stories with a strong voice, relatable emotional stakes, and twists that feel surprising yet inevitable.

Agent

Michelle Jackson, Jackson Literary Agency

Bio: As the founder of Jackson Literary Agency, Michelle enjoys cultivating and helping other authors achieve their literary goals. She seeks to represent books that evoke heartfelt emotions and fervent conversations among our readers. Our mission is to mentor and develop authors, particularly those from underrepresented communities, and help them build a brand of quality and authentic reads.

Authors who work with Michelle can expect professionalism, a collaborative relationship, as well as open and honest communication during their journey to publication. She is on the hunt for writers with a strong voice and masterful descriptive writing, stories with memorable characters, a great premise, a twist on an old tale and original concepts.

Looking for:

Adult Fiction: Commercial, Historical, Humor, New Adult, Romance, Thriller, Women’s Fiction, Literary, Contemporary Romance, Inspirational, Multicultural, Psychological Thrillers, Romantic Comedy, Speculative, Light fantasy, Magical Realism, Paranormal.

Young Adult Fiction: Contemporary, Historical, Christian, Romance, Speculative, Light Fantasy, Magical Realism, Paranormal.

Select Middle Grade: Commercial, Contemporary.

Picture books: Whimsical, Non-fiction, select Biographies, Fiction, Illustrators, particularly author-illustrators.

Select Non-fiction: Relationships, Lifestyle, Cookbooks, Travel, True Crime, Wellness, Self-help.

Agent

Hillary Jacobson, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Bio: Hillary Jacobson represents a wide array of bestselling adult and young adult fiction, as well as select non-fiction. She began her career at ICM in 2015 and joined CAA in 2022 following the agency’s acquisition of ICM.

Looking for: She is particularly drawn to suspense and thrillers, horror, coming-of-age narratives, sweeping family sagas, moving love stories and rom-coms, speculative fiction and contemporary stories featuring complicated female characters.

Editor

Toni Kirkpatrick, Diversion Books

Bio: Toni Kirkpatrick is a Senior Editor at Diversion Books. Previously at Crooked Lane Books and St. Martin’s Press, she has published award-winning and critically acclaimed fiction. She loves novels that bring history to life, feminist retellings, humor, political engagement, and powerful storylines that explore the human experience. She serves as Chair of Latinx in Publishing and is committed to publishing underrepresented writers.

Looking for: Thrillers, suspense, sci-fi/fantasy, romantasy, and horror. Cross-genre welcome!

Not looking for: Young adult, children’s, cozy mysteries, traditional mysteries, nonfiction.

Note on editors: This editor does not accept unagented manuscripts. They are happy to have a conversation about your project, make a connection, and provide brief feedback.

Editor

Stephanie Koven, Blackstone Publishing

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Elizabeth Kracht, Kimberley Cameron & Associates Literary Agency

Bio: Elizabeth Kracht is a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates and the author of The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She also works as a freelance developmental editor coaching authors.

Elizabeth represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and she brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist, and writer. Elizabeth’s websites can be viewed at: www.elizabethkracht.com and www.kimberleycameron.com.

Looking for: In fiction, she represents thrillers, mysteries, literary, commercial, women’s, and historical. In nonfiction, she is interested in finding true crime, investigative journalism, narrative/creative nonfiction, prescriptive, voice- or adventure-driven memoir, high concept, science, spirituality, sexuality, self-help, and pet stories.

Not looking for: Elizabeth is not looking for screenplays, previously published works, high finance, or business books.

Agent

Julia Lord, Julia Lord Literary Management

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Sandy Lu, Book Wyrm Literary Agency

Bio: Sandy Lu founded Book Wyrm Literary Agency after working as a literary agent for more than a decade at other boutique agencies, including Peter Rubie Literary Agency, Anderson Literary Management, and the L. Perkins Agency. Her client list includes Amazon, Barnes  & Noble, Publishers Weekly, and USA TODAY bestsellers, Stoker Award, Hammett Prize, and Anthony Award nominees, Goodreads Choice Awards finalists, and New York Times Best of the Year recipient.

Sandy is seeking stories that will draw her in with a unique voice, make her miss her bedtime with a thrilling plot, and characters that will stay with her long after she turns the last page. Bonus points if you can make her laugh out loud or unable to hold back tears. She especially loves historical fiction, atmospheric world building, and anything dark, twisted, or with a supernatural bent. She favors unreliable narrators and serpentine plots that will keep her guessing till the end. And her white whale is a great spy novel set in early 20th century Shanghai.

Looking for: mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy, historical  fiction, upmarket women’s fiction, YA, family saga, rom-coms, historical true crime, biography, and narrative nonfiction on history, science, psychology, and food.

Not looking for: picture books, graphic novels, screenplays, memoir, contemporary true crime, parenting, sports, political/religious/military thrillers, westerns, erotica, or poetry.

Agent

Najla Mamou, Savvy Literary

Bio: Najla is an avid reader and loves great first chapters, immersive world building, deep character profiles, and well-rounded dialogue. She has taught courses at several writing conferences, including Common Mistakes In First Chapters, Writing Rules That Can Be Broken, Self-Editing Before the Query, Getting The History And Voice Right, and many other topics. She volunteers as co-chair of the American Association of Literary Agents’ Professional Development committee and is a member of the People of Publishing planning committee for the AALA’s annual meeting of literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals.

Looking for: In fiction, she prioritizes family sagas, intergenerational stories, migration/immigration, expats or expat life, underrepresented protagonists (especially from marginalized communities), stories set in distant futures, journeys to other places and planets or returning home after a journey, alternating timelines, backwards timelines, or dual timeline that interweaves a present-day investigation with a historical crime. She also has room on her list for realistic sci fi thrillers, military sci fi, and unique sleuth mystery. Additional themes and tropes that would stand out to her include: Swamp/mythical creatures, haunted houses, female horror, a murder mystery party, the Cold War.  She would love a story told all in one day (24 hours), or with a countdown of days.

Not looking for: She does not take projects over 90,000 words. She also does not take on projects that continue to encourage stereotypes.

Editor

Marcia Markland, Crooked Lane Books

Bio: Marcia Markland began her career in publishing right after college, and she has enjoyed working as an acquisitions editor for major New York publishers for many years. She has worked with famous authors of both fiction and nonfiction, and she is currently acquiring crime fiction for Crooked Lane Books.

Agent

Anthony Mattero, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Bio: Based in the New York office, Anthony Mattero represents many of the world’s leading comedians, journalists, musicians, actors, athletes, and public figures in their book pursuits, including Oprah Winfrey, Arthur C. Brooks, Mark Hoppus, Jamie Foxx, Dwyane Wade, Jeremy Renner, Henry Rollins, Harry Connick, Jr., Roy Wood Jr., Chris Paul, Amber Ruffin, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, Ridley Scott, Mayim Bialik, and Josh Gad, among others.

CAA is a leading agency in the thriller space representing everyone from Jack Carr and Vince Flynn to Chris Whitaker and John Sandford, along with many more. Mattero works with authors such as Pat Kelly, K.B. Brodsky, M.P. Woodward, to name a few.

Mattero joined CAA in 2018 after ten years as an independent book agent. Mattero graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a B.A. in Television, Radio, and Film and a B.S. in Political Science.

Agent

Jen Nadol, The Unter Agency

Bio: Jen Nadol has worked in publishing for fifteen years, first as a Young Adult author with novels published by Bloomsbury USA and Simon & Schuster. She joined The Unter Agency in 2018 and represents adult, YA and middle-grade fiction as well as narrative non-fiction, memoir and selected prescriptive works. She does not represent picture books, novellas, screenplays or high fantasy. Jen is originally from Reading, PA, graduated from American University with a BA in literature and has lived in Washington D.C., Boston, NYC, and now, an old farmhouse north of the city. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and the Westside Agents Group (WAG).

Looking for: Commercial/upmarket thrillers and mysteries with fully developed characters and emotional depth.

Not looking for: Police procedurals, traditional FBI/CIA/military stories, serial killer plots, mob/cartel plots, fantasy, cozy mysteries (unless the hook is super unique), novellas, graphic novels, screenplays.

Agent

Lizz Nagle, Victress Literary

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Eric Neuhaus, Birch Literary

Bio: Eric Neuhaus is a film and television agent representing literary properties for adaptation across both scripted and unscripted formats. With a background as a senior executive and producer in premium documentary and true crime programming, Eric brings a producer’s eye to identifying cinematic potential and thoughtfully positioning literary IP for the screen.

Prior to joining the agency, Eric served as SVP at Glass Entertainment Group, where he developed and executive produced multi-million-dollar projects for major streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, and Paramount+, including the Emmy-nominated documentary Bitconned. His work has focused on character-driven, investigative, and culturally resonant storytelling across both television and film.

Having worked closely with streamers, networks, and production partners, Eric understands what makes material stand out in a competitive marketplace and how stories evolve from page to screen. He works in close partnership with authors, journalists, and rights holders to shape adaptation strategy, connect projects with the right creative collaborators, and bring distinctive literary properties to studios, networks, and streaming platforms.

Looking for: He is looking for drama, mystery and thrillers with strong characters and interesting and unique worlds.

Agent

Kiana Nguyen, Donald Maass Literary Agency

Bio: Kiana (Kiki) Nguyen started in publishing in 2015 with an internship with Wunderkind PR, an independent book publishing PR company, working on campaigns with authors such as Ernest Cline. There, she discovered a practical industry for her codependent love of fiction. In 2016, Kiki went on to intern with DMLA where she soon joined the team full-time as an assistant literary agent.

Kiki is now building her client list within young adult and adult fiction with a focus on queer and BIPOC authors.

Looking for: Dark, gritty, fun romps in Romance, Horror, and Domestic Suspense especially; both Young Adult and Adult. I want to have a good time with bitchy, irredeemable characters who do what they want when they want and have to suffer the consequences. If they have never cared about doing the right, responsible, legal thing they’re already halfway to my heart. I want extroverts with personality and chaotic social lives, please I’m bored and dying. Bonus points if it’s characters in their 20s-30s that feel like they’re living in the 2020s.

With Domestic Suspense, Psychological Thrillers, and Thrillers of that nature: Suburban houses occupied by unhappily married straight couples aren’t the only options for settings and character scenarios! Cities exist! So do apartment buildings and single people with myriad friends/friend groups outside of nosy housewives and the PTA! And really, I would love to read about women whose lives don’t revolve around men in any way.

I want to have fun! I am always a sucker for dark, meaty twists and turns (hello, Lisa Jewell!) but I’d love to see different narrative tones a la the 1999 classic Jawbreaker and Scream (which is a Horror, I know but still applicable and also what I rep!). Doom, gloom, and dread are fantastic ways to doll out a mystery or suspense but not the only way and I am dying to see more narrative variety in the genre.

Horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously and feels like the narrators are just as unreliable as the potential kill count. I’m bored by single family homes and ancient estates, so let’s change the location and demographic of the characters, please.

Romance with heat and bite—the rom-coms are getting corny and lacking the “com” to begin with.

SFF that pivots away from the rigamarole of royal politics, machinations, knighthood/guards, etc. etc. I want to have some hectic times with the serfdom, please, I beg.

Agent

Hayley Nusbaum, Gersh

Bio: Hayley Nusbaum coordinates the Publishing and Media Rights Departments for the Gersh Agency. Hayley finds material across genres for all Gersh’s book and media rights agents, for both publishing and film representation. She has a full-service approach with her clients, negotiating both film and publishing deals. She also supports top clients across the agency with IP pursuits.

Looking for: Literary fiction, suspense, thriller, upmarket fiction, commercial fiction, speculative, horror, sweeping romance, narrative non-fiction.

Not looking for: Young adult, middle grade, spy books.

Agent

Lee O’Brian, Looking Glass Literary & Media

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Janet Oshiro, The Robbins Office

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Mel Parker, Mel Parker Books

Bio: Mel Parker has worked in virtually every area of trade book publishing, from mass market and trade paperback to hardcover and book clubs. Before launching Mel Parker Books, LLC, a book packaging firm and literary agency, Mel was Senior Vice President and Editorial Director of Bookspan, the book club partnership formed by Time Warner and Bertelsmann. Mel came to the book clubs from Time Warner Trade Publishing, where he served as Senior Vice President of Warner Books and Publisher of its paperback division, working with bestselling authors such as Dean Koontz, James Patterson, David Morrell, and Nelson DeMille. Prior to joining Warner, Mel was Editor-in-Chief of the Berkley Publishing Group, where he acquired many bestselling books, most notably The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy.

Looking For: High-concept psychological suspense, character-driven crime fiction, high-profile true crime, and narrative nonfiction.

Not Looking For: Military thrillers, SF/fantasy, horror, graphic novels, illustrated books, poetry, children’s/YA, screenplays, cozies, romantic suspense.

Clients: Robert McCaw, Jill Fordyce, Jennifer Grayson, Tara Well.

Editor

Hannah Pierdolla, St. Martin’s Press

Bio: Hannah Pierdolla is an assistant editor at St. Martin’s Press. Born and raised in Texas, she moved to New York and joined the team in 2022 after attending the Columbia Publishing Course. She loves high concept fiction with an engaging voice, and anything campy and/or slightly absurd—in other words, a book that makes her Percy Jackson ankle tattoo glow.

Editor

Melissa Rechter, Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks

Bio: Melissa Rechter is an editor at Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks. With over six years of industry experience at an independent publisher of genre fiction, Melissa Rechter has had the pleasure of working with ITW nominees, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, as well as a myriad of talented writers. A fan of all things spooky and witchy, she’s keen on finding projects that make her pulse race or tug on her heartstrings.

Looking for: Commercial and upmarket thrillers, lighthearted mysteries, psychological or social horror,  cozy fantasy, and dark grounded fantasy. Projects that cross genres of the above, or even dive into the gothic or speculative.

Not looking for: Nonfiction, FBI/political/military thrillers, young adult or children’s.

Agent

Katie Reed, Katie Reed Literary

Bio: Katie has been in publishing for over a decade, starting in college as a literary intern with Andrea Hurst & Associates, Literary Management and continuing on as a freelance developmental editor. In 2022, she donned the literary agent hat and began actively building her client list, working with bestselling and debut authors as a senior agent with AHA. Katie is committed to cultivating longevity in her agent-author relationships and represents remarkable books, and the authors who write them, with passion and persistence.

Across genres, her tastes tend to lean upmarket—that sweet spot between commercial and literary, where poignant prose, thought-provoking themes, complex yet relatable characters, and propulsive, page turning plot intersect. Katie is drawn to emotionally powerful, introspective narratives, especially from a fresh perspective.

Looking for: Under the adult suspense/thriller umbrella, Katie is looking for female-driven psychological thriller and domestic suspense with a unique hook that can sit on the shelf next to authors like Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, and Stacy Willingham. She welcomes speculative, edge-of-your-seat thrillers like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (as long as the sci-fi elements don’t bury the story) and eerie, unsettling supernatural/paranormal thrillers (or anything set in our world but with a mystery to solve in the form of hunting down and defeating an otherworldly creature or threat). High on her wish list is a literary thriller akin to God of the Woods by Liz Moore or All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (one of her all-time favorite books).

For YA, she would absolutely love to find something adventurous with an Outer Banks vibes, or anything with a completely new and different story concept. In terms of content, she likes the darker, edgier, grittier stuff, but nothing unnecessarily graphic or overly disturbing (give her a story that builds suspense and intrigue to shocking plot twists, not gruesome scenes just for shock value).

Other genres she represents include romance, women’s fiction, and fantasy. She is always looking for stories that amplify underrepresented voices and perspectives.

Not looking for: hard sci-fi (light is ok), military/legal/spy thriller, cozies, historical fiction (other genres with historical elements ok), crime fiction, non-fiction, or middle grade.

Follow Katie on Instagram @katiereed_literary.

Agent

Michelle Richter, Fuse Literary

Bio: Michelle Richter is Vice President at Fuse Literary, which she joined from St. Martin’s Press. Crime fiction is her true love, especially suspense and psychological thrillers. And let’s not forget heists and con artists. She’s rarely found a British or Scandinavian crime show she couldn’t get wrapped up in. Recent favorite authors include Elise Bryant, Eli Cranor, Simone St. James, Halley Sutton, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and P.J. Vernon.

Looking for: She is currently looking for suspense, thriller, amateur sleuth, traditional mystery, commercial women’s fiction, and book club reads. She loves a strong voice, character driven fiction, dual timelines, family secrets, sister/friend stories, lots of twists, and unreliable narrators. LGBTQ, BIPOC, and disabled voices are welcome.

Not looking for: She is not looking for WWII or pre-20th century historical fiction; private investigators; political, military or espionage thrillers; science fiction/fantasy; poetry; YA or middle-grade fiction; memoir. Stories with human or drug trafficking, sexual assault or abuse, religious themes or characters aren’t a good fit for Michelle’s list.

Clients: E.A. Aymar, L.A. Chandlar, Kyra Davis Lurie, Kellye Garrett, Yosha Gunasekera, Tara Laskowski, Alan Orloff, Carl Vonderau, Erica Wright.

Agent

Will Roberts, The Gernert Company

Bio: Will Roberts is the Associate Director of Foreign Rights and a literary agent at The Gernert Company. He joined the team in 2008 after working at Vintage Books, and, before that, at a newspaper in Jackson, WY, covering the courts and police department. A graduate of Middlebury College, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and children.

Looking for: He is looking for suspense novels, both literary and commercial, that are original and unpredictable, as well as nonfiction projects focused on current affairs, politics and history.

Agent

John Sacchi, The Seymour Agency

Bio: John Sacchi is an accomplished film and digital media executive with a successful 25 plus year track record producing a broad slate of consistently profitable feature films for a global audience.

He was an original player in the transformation of Lionsgate Films from a small indie genre producer to a profitable, globally respected mini-major, to the first non-traditional studio to break the billion-dollar mark at the box office, ranking among the top five major studios in 2012.  John spent 15 years at Lionsgate Entertainment, elevated to Executive Vice President of Production and Development of Film and overseeing the Micro Budget film division from its inception.

Prior to Lionsgate, John worked for producer Denise Di Novi at Warner Bros working on such titles as Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk To Remember and Message in a Bottle.

After his tenure at Lionsgate Entertainment, John pursued his entrepreneurial spirit and started 5 More Minutes Productions in 2018 to produce film and television for all media platforms.  Some of the literary projects that 5 More Minutes Productions has set up are the picture book Tallulah the ToothFairy CEO at Netflix with Gabriele Union starring, Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen at Starlight with Jon Chu attached to produce and direct, YA Bestseller One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus at Peacock producing 2 seasons of television, and most recently The Six by debut author M.J. Eller at A24 Studios with Sydney Sweeney attached to star and produce and David Bernad attached to produce as well for series television.

John joined The Seymour Agency in the Fall of 2025 to help strengthen its footprint in Hollywood as well as look for narrative voices with strong high concepts in the thriller, mystery, action, and romantic comedy genres.

John graduated with honors from Pepperdine University with a B.S. in Business Administration and was a 4 year letterman on their Division 1 baseball team and was a member of the Division 1 NCAA National Championship winning squad in 1992.  John was selected All West Coast Conference honors in 1993.

Agent

Hannah Schofield, LBA Books

Agent

Ellen Scordato, Stonestong

Bio: Ellen Scordato is a partner in Stonesong with more than 35 years’ experience in trade book publishing. She started at St Martin’s Press, then Charles Scribner’s Sons and Random House, where she learned from some of the best in the business. She joined Stonesong as a partner in 2002, where she initially specialized in four-color and packaged titles. After 20 years she returned to her first, best love, genre fiction, and currently represents Jennifer Williamson, S. K. Golden, Victor Suthammanont, Elena Hartwell [Taylor], Randy Overbeck, and Alex Myers, among others. A Wellesley College graduate with a B.A. in Classics and Art History, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and a couple of literary cats.

Looking for: Ellen is looking for fast-paced contemporary mysteries and thrillers, romantic suspense and caper thrillers, with charismatic protagonists and fresh settings with the potential for series. She’s a fan of supernatural thrillers, dark academia, hard-boiled heroines, and clever police procedurals for today’s readers, but she’s not looking for cozy mysteries, historical romance, or comedy. She’s got a growing interest in mashups like horror romance or supernatural detective stories. She’ll read submissions set in the literary world, but if it’s in a tried-and-true setting (writing conference, bookstore, etc.), she’d like to see something innovative or an unexpected twist.

Agent

Alec Shane, Writers House

Bio: Alec majored in English at Brown University, a degree he put to immediate use by moving to Los Angeles after graduation to become a professional stunt man. Realizing that he prefers books to breakaway glass, he moved to New York City in 2008 to pursue a career in publishing. Alec quickly found a home at Writers House Literary Agency, where he quickly began building his own list. He is still aggressively looking for new talent across a wide variety of genres.

Looking For: Horror, thriller, mystery, noir, grounded sci-fi, YA and middle grade “boy” fiction, and beautifully written historical fiction. In nonfiction: biography, narrative nonfiction history, military, pop science, and all things sports.

Not Looking For: Romance (paranormal or otherwise), politics (fiction or nonfiction), women’s fiction, picture books, high fantasy, and science fiction featuring aliens/intergalactic warfare. He’s also read enough about Russia, in any capacity, for a while.

Clients: Nat Cassidy, Casey Barrett, Adam Cesare, Hank Early, Jumata Emill, Laurie R. King, Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Jack Murphy, Christopher Price, among others.

Editor

Shawn Reilly Simmons, Level Best Books

Agent

Paige Sisley, CookeMcDermid

Bio: Paige is a literary agent at CookeMcDermid. She represents upmarket and book club fiction that keeps readers turning the pages and makes them think about the world and themselves in a new way. She also champions non-fiction authors that have a unique perspective, an important message or story to tell, and/or a strong platform, and who are writing into the hybrid memoir, narrative non-fiction, lifestyle, or health & wellness space.

In addition to managing her own list, Paige is CookeMcDermid’s in-house film and TV agent. In this role, she coordinates screen rights across the agency, works with co-agents, and represents clients’ IP and creative services directly. Previously, she was a rights assistant at Cooke International, an agency specializing in foreign rights management for a diverse group of publishing clients.

Paige has her Master of Arts from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Literatures of Modernity program and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two young children, but is always up for an adventure. She has previously resided in LA, New Zealand and Halifax.

Looking for:

• Smart, sexy romance subplots

• Ties to the culinary world (e.g. a vineyard setting, a chef character—I just love food writing!)

• Narratives informed by the author’s own lived experience and background

• Novels with a powerful story engine and a very human conundrum at the heart

• Books that will appeal to 20- and 30-something men without being a man-with-a-gun story

• Stories with a strong sense of place (I have a personal connection to and affection for the east coast and southern US)

• Playful/thoughtful structure that serves the story

• Multi-POV and/or dual timeline narratives where the structure gradually reveals a surprising bigger picture

• A speculative edge that moves the story forward and allows for deeper exploration of the human experience

• Realistic portraits of marriage and parenting

• Complicated/messy relationship dynamics (especially when followed over a long period of time)

• Feminist leanings

• Insight into new-to-most worlds like specific industries/professional settings, cults, etc.

Not looking for:

• Historical fiction centered around WWI or WWII

• Spy or military novels

• Hard science fiction/fantasy

• Unreliable narrators (this isn’t a hard no, but the unreliability needs to be earned)

• Aliens

• Dystopian/apocalyptic narratives

• Teenaged/child POVs or protagonists

• Planned series (I am looking for self-contained books, but of course if success warrants more books in the series then I’m all for it!)

Agent

Anne-Lise Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency

Bio and photo coming soon!

Agent

Charlotte Cohen Sunderland, Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management

Bio: Charlotte Cohen Sunderland works with Celeste Fine on bestselling fiction. After a decade in Los Angeles, she comes to books from a film background, and is seeking surprising thrillers, book club novels with staying power, and atmospheric, cinematic stories that can expand into film and television. Charlotte graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a B.A. in Cinema and Media Studies. She lives in New York City. Her clients include Candice Fox, Julia Whelan, and Liv Constantine.

Editor

Krishan Trotman, Legacy Lit (Hachette Book Group)

Bio: Krishan Trotman is the Vice-President, Publisher of Legacy Lit. She joined Hachette Books in 2016. In 2020 she launched Legacy Lit, an imprint dedicated to books that give voice to issues, authors, and communities that have been marginalized, underserved, and overlooked. This includes BIPOC authors, all women, and any group that they believe deserves a spotlight. The imprint is committed to promoting equality, equity, and inclusion for all people. The books are bold, mission-driven commercial works. In celebration of the imprint’s fifth year anniversary, they are launching a fiction line.

Krishan has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Essence Magazine, New York Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, and more. She is known as “The Beyoncé of Books.”

Looking for: Thrillers, Domestic Suspense, Crime Fiction, Women’s Fiction, True Crime, Horror, Mystery. Keen interest in BIPOC authors and underrepresented voices.

Note on editors/publishers: This editor/publisher accepts unagented manuscripts and may directly request your manuscript.

Agent

Ann Leslie Tuttle, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC

Bio: Ann Leslie Tuttle joined DG&B in 2017 after working for 20 years at Harlequin Books, where she most recently was a Senior Editor. At Harlequin, she was fortunate to work on an extensive and varied list of bestselling and award-winning titles in romance and women’s fiction. She is actively acquiring women’s fiction, contemporary romance, romantasy, thrillers, mysteries, and narrative nonfiction geared for a female audience. She received her B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. Finding and nurturing talented new and established writers has always been Ann Leslie’s passion.

Looking for: I am drawn to stories set in the South, thrillers, mysteries, MG and YA, narrative nonfiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction and romance.

Not looking for: I am not looking for dystopian or science fiction.

Agent

Paula Weiman, ASH Literary

Bio: Paula Weiman (they/them) joined the ASH Literary team in 2023 as an agent after a career in literary scouting and educational publishing. Based in New York and with a background in translation rights, they bring an international approach to selling their clients’ work. They represent authors and illustrators across a wide range of children’s categories, from picture book through young adult, as well as speculative fiction and illustration for adult audiences. Their goal is to help as many children as possible to see their experiences represented on the page for the first time.

Paula is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents and a 2025 Literary Agents of Change mentee.

Looking for: Middle Grade mystery novels; Young Adult mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and fantasy novels; Adult speculative fiction and fantasy novels; fiction written by authors from demographics that are historically underrepresented within the publishing industry.

Not looking for: Non-fiction; true crime; military thrillers; police procedurals; contemporary or historical romance for adult audiences; graphic novels.

Agent

Jennifer Weis, The Weis Agency

Current Bio:

Jennifer has always had a passion for all things literary. After receiving her BA and MA in English from Yale University, she worked at St. Martin’s Press, serving as an Executive Editor and publishing bestselling titles like Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, Climate of Hope by Michael Bloomberg, Baby Teeth by Zoe Stage, and Renia’s Diary by Renia Spiegel.

Jennifer founded the Weis Agency in 2023 and has represented a wide range of authors in both the nonfiction and fiction spaces. Jennifer’s areas of specialty include high-concept, cleverly plotted bookclub fiction of all categories and nonfiction with new voices and new angles on perennial subjects. Above all, Jennifer is looking for books with a hook, a strong voice, and a powerful plot.

Outside of the literary world, Jennifer is on the board of Project Lyme, a non-profit based in NYC that focuses on awareness, education, and advocacy. She also chairs the UJA Executive Committee for Publishing and is a UJA board member. She is based in NYC.

Looking for in fiction: Intricately plotted adult fiction and mainstream young adult fiction of any category, high-concept suspense thrillers in usual settings, women’s fiction that hooks readers on characters and their stories, and romance (sexy or not). Bonus for happy endings!

Historical and contemporary works are welcome.

Looking for in nonfiction: Big book ideas, new voices and angles on provocative subjects, memoirs, health & wellness (including psychology), current events with a special angle, and compelling narratives that read like fiction.

Bonus to narrative nonfiction of special interest to women!