6 Agents Seeking Mysteries and Thrillers NOW
Here are six agents currently seeking mysteries and thrillers. All work with reputable literary agencies that have good track records.
Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change.
You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients
Gail Fortune of The Talbot Fortune Agency
Gail Fortune is a former book editor with over 25 years of publishing experience. Prior to becoming an agent she spent 16 years at Putnam Berkley (now part of Penguin Random House), where she rose from Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief to Executive Editor. Her authors have won RITAs and Agathas and have been nominated for Edgar and Anthony Awards. She has edited and agented New York Times bestsellers and Publishers Weekly Books of the Year. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
How to submit: Send your query to: queries@talbotfortuneagency.com. Be sure to include the word "query" in the subject line, and specify whether the query is addressed to John Talbot or Gail Fortune. Below your query letter PLEASE PASTE IN THE FIRST FIVE PAGES of your manuscript (but do not attach those pages as a separate file).
Bibi Lewis of The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
Bibi Lewis joined the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency in 2014 as an associate agent and subsidiary rights manager. In addition to her duties as an agent she sells foreign and audio rights for agency clients.
How to submit: Please send submissions to agent@ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Bibi Lewis. Send a brief query letter, followed by your synopsis, followed by the first 50 pages of your manuscript. Paste all materials into the body of the email in the above order.
Peter Rubie of FinePrint Literary Management
Peter Rubie is a former BBC Radio and Fleet Street journalist and for several years was the director of the publishing section of the New York University Summer Publishing Institute. He was a member of the NYU faculty for 10 years, and taught the only university-level course in the country on how to become a literary agent. Prior to becoming an agent he was a publishing house editor for nearly six years, whose authors won prizes and critical acclaim. He has also been the editor-in-chief of a Manhattan local newspaper, and a freelance editor and book doctor for major publishers. He was a regular reviewer for the international trade magazine Publishers Weekly, and is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. He is a member of AAR, and regularly lectures and writes on publishing and the craft of writing. He is the author of two published novels and close to ten non-fiction books ranging in subject matter from publishing and writing to music and Shakespeare.
How to submit: Send a query letter with a synopsis of your book, your bio, and the first two chapters (no more than 30 pages) embedded in the body of your email to peter@fineprintlit.com.
Joseph Perry of Perry Literary, Inc.
Before founding Perry Literary, Joseph began his book publishing career when he attended the New York University Summer Publishing Institute in 2010. After interning at FinePrint Literary Management, Joseph enrolled at St. John's University School of Law to learn about the legal aspects of publishing and graduated with a juris doctor in 2015. During law school, Joseph interned in the legal departments at Hachette Book Group; Rodale, Inc.; and William Morris Endeavor, as well as the subsidiary rights department at Columbia University Press. Joseph also holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from St. Bonaventure University.
What he is seeking: Legal thrillers.
How to submit: Queries should be sent to jperry@perryliterary.com with the words "QUERY (the title of the manuscript)" in the subject line. Please submit a query letter and the first ten pages of your manuscript within the body of the email (not as an attachment, please).
Marlo Berliner of The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Marlo Berliner is an award-winning young adult author, freelance editor, and bookseller. She joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in March 2018 as an editorial intern after having completed a previous internship with The Bent Agency. Now, she is actively building her list as an associate agent. She is a member of SCBWI, RWA, NJ-RWA, and YA-RWA. Prior to her career in the publishing world, Marlo was an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company. She holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
How to submit: Please submit your query and first 20 pages of your finished and polished manuscript to http://QueryMe.Online/marloberliner
Claire Harris of Foundry Literary + Media
Claire received her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin and attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute before joining Foundry Literary + Media. She enjoys the creative process of working with writers and collaborating closely with them throughout all stages of their careers.
What she is seeking: Psychological and commercial thrillers, serial detective stories, works of fiction inspired by actual crimes, mystery, suspense, cozies, and anything involving serial killers.
How to submit: Please send your query letter; Synopsis; First Three Chapters of Manuscript; and Author Bio to chsubmissions@foundrymedia.com.
Posted by Erica Verrillo at 4:19 AM No comments:
Labels: agents looking for clients
6 New Agents Actively Seeking Nonfiction, Memoir, Speculative Fiction, Mainstream Fiction, Kidlit, and more
Here are six new agents actively building their client lists. Jennifer Weis is looking for new voices and authors preferably with a platform. Areas of specialty include but are not limited to health, psychology, memoir, current events and narrative nonfiction of special interest to women. Max Sinsheimer represents a range of adult nonfiction, with a particular interest in food and culture. Ben Miller-Callihan's interests include humor, YA and middle grade novels, speculative fiction, cookbooks, mainstream-ish fiction a la David Mitchell and William Gibson, and anything food-related. Callie Deitrick is primarily interested in adult literary or upmarket-commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction.
Sam Farkas wants upmarket fiction of all stripes, but especially historical; fast-paced, high-concept speculative thrillers that make her heart race; lyrical and immersive fantasy; and single-title romance that simmers. Sam is also open to Young Adult and Middle Grade of all genres, but she has a special fondness for thoughtful contemporary, often with a speculative twist; historical with modern sensibilities; fantasy with morally gray protagonists and complicated character dynamics; the very strange, and the very funny. In all categories and genres, she is looking for diverse and underrepresented voices. Jamie Carr represents novelists, short story writers, journalists, activists, and food and culture writers.
Jennifer Weis of Ross Yoon Agency
Jennifer recently left St. Martin's Press, where she was Executive Editor for 30 years, to move to the other side of the desk. She joined Ross Yoon this summer. Many things have changed for her but one thing has remained constant: her excitement when engaged in the hunt for page-turning fiction of all kinds as well as compelling nonfiction. Jennifer brings to the table an ability to offer editorial guidance and development as well as an advanced understanding and knowledge of the inner workings of publishing houses and the publishing landscape today.
What she is seeking: In nonfiction, she is looking for new voices and authors preferably with a platform. Areas of specialty include but are not limited to health, psychology, memoir, current events and narrative nonfiction of special interest to women.
How to submit: Please send the following: query letter briefly explaining your idea, media platform, and qualifications for writing on this topic or a complete book proposal featuring an overview of your idea, author bio, media and marketing strategy, chapter outline, and 1-3 sample chapters. Please send these as attachments in .doc or .docx format to submissions@rossyoon.com.
Max Sinsheimer of Sinsheimer Literary
Max Sinsheimer founded Sinsheimer Literary in the Fall of 2016 after spending seven years as an editor at Oxford University Press. "I treasured the close editor-author relationships I formed, but wanted to represent my authors' interests more completely. As an agent, I can!"
​What he is seeking: Max represents a range of adult nonfiction, with a particular interest in food and culture.
How to submit: Email Max at max@sinsheimerliterary.com. Write QUERY and the title of your book in the subject line.
In the body of your email include who you are, a short book pitch, and a plot synopsis/overview. Attach your proposal as a PDF file.
Ben Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency
Ben Miller-Callihan joined Handspun Literary Agency as an associate agent in 2019, after working behind the scenes since the agency's founding in tech support and bookkeeping roles. He spent more than a decade teaching high school English, and has begun taking on his own clients at the agency.
What he is seeking: His interests include humor, YA and middle grade novels, speculative fiction (especially decolonial sff), cookbooks, mainstream-ish fiction a la David Mitchell and William Gibson, and anything food-related.
How to submit: Queries should be sent to query@handspunlit.com.
For fiction: please send a query letter, short synopsis (ideally 5 pages or less), and the first three chapters or 50 pages of the novel, whichever is more.
For nonfiction: please send a query letter and proposal.
Attachments are okay; they prefer Word docs to PDFs.
Callie Deitrick of Wendy Sherman Associates
Callie Deitrick graduated from Hamilton College in 2016 with a major in creative writing and a minor in art and completed the Columbia Publishing Course in 2017. Professionally, she has worked as a publicity and editorial intern at Europa Editions, as an editorial intern at Henry Holt, where she illustrated the cover of Number One Chinese Restaurant, and as a bookseller at Little Joe's. She has been working as an assistant at Wendy Sherman Associates since the fall of 2018 and is currently looking to take on clients.
What she is seeking: Callie is interested in books that change the way we look at the world, whether that is through magical realism, investigative research, or unique perspectives. In whatever she reads, Callie is drawn to strong and unusual voices and thought-provoking and moving stories. She is primarily interested in adult literary or upmarket-commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction.
How to submit: Please send all e-mail submissions to submissions@wsherman.com. Include your last name, title, and the name of the agent you are submitting to in the subject line. For fiction, please include a query letter and your first 10 pages copied and pasted in the body of the email. For non-fiction, please include your query letter and author bio.
Ms. Sam Farkas of Jill Grinberg Literary Management
Sam Farkas grew up in South Jersey and attended the College of William & Mary, where she received her B.A. in History and English. Upon graduation, she moved to New York to intern with Maria B. Campbell Associates, where she discovered her love for collaborating with agents and publishers around the world. She worked in the subsidiary rights department at Penguin before she joined the JGLM team in 2018. She handles foreign rights for all JGLM authors. An avid traveler, Sam has been to 14 countries spanning 4 continents, and dreams of visiting them all. She speaks Spanish, and can often be found on language-learning apps.
What she is seeking: In Adult, Sam is looking for upmarket fiction of all stripes, but especially historical; fast-paced, high-concept speculative thrillers that make her heart race; lyrical and immersive fantasy; and single-title romance that simmers. Sam is also open to Young Adult and Middle Grade of all genres, but she has a special fondness for thoughtful contemporary, often with a speculative twist; historical with modern sensibilities; fantasy with morally gray protagonists and complicated character dynamics; the very strange, and the very funny. In all categories and genres, she is looking for diverse and underrepresented voices.
How to submit: Please send your query to: info [at] jillgrinbergliterary [dot] com. Your subject line should follow this general format: QUERY: [Title of Project] by [Your Name] / [Age Category/Genre]. Please paste your query letter in the body of the text and attach your materials as a docx. file. For all fiction submissions, please send a query letter and the first fifty (50) pages of your manuscript.
Jamie Carr of The Book Group
Jamie Carr joined The Book Group in January 2020 as an agent. Prior, she worked in the literary department of William Morris Endeavor for almost six years where she championed New York Times bestsellers, award winning titles, and groundbreaking debuts. Born and raised in Lower Manhattan, she has an MFA in fiction writing and began her career in the books department of Tin House.
What she is seeking: Jamie represents novelists, short story writers, journalists, activists, and food and culture writers. Most interested in adult literary and upmarket commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction, she is drawn to writing that is voice-driven, highly transporting, from unique perspectives and marginalized voices, and that seeks to disrupt or reframe what appears to be known.
How to submit: Send a query letter and ten sample pages to submissions@thebookgroup.com. Please include the first and last name of the agent you are querying in the subject line. All material must be in the body of the email.
Most Popular Publishing Posts of 2019
It's traditional for blogs to do a "most popular" retrospective at the beginning of the new year. Since I am a sucker for traditions, here goes.
In 2019, I published 79 posts. (My total number of posts is 746. They just keep multiplying ... like triffids.) All of my posts have to do with publishing, of course, though I occasionally sneak something in about the craft of writing.
In 2019, my two most popular posts were:
30 Traditional Publishers Accepting Submissions - No agent required 17,863 views
24 Publishers Accepting Picture Books - No Agent Required 14,575 views
After those two posts came all of my posts listing monthly Calls for Submissions and Writing Contests. (There are too many to list here.) Following those were Agents Seeking Submissions.
In addition to my 2019 posts, I should mention my most popular posts of all time, since these were visited regularly over the past year. All of these posts have been recently updated.
20 Most Popular Posts - All Time
23 US Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly From Writers 260,118 views
Agents Looking for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers 134,526 views
3 Major Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts 88,723 views
6 Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts from Writers - No Agent Needed 71,032 views
Mega-List of Speculative Fiction Magazines Accepting Submissions 57,097 views
17 UK Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly from Writers 55,923 views
325 Paying Markets for Short Stories, Poetry, Nonfiction 52,730 views
19 Poetry Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts 33,968 views
Mega-List of Paying Markets for Horror, Dark Fiction and Poetry 33,116 views
82 UK Literary Agencies Seeking Clients 32,335 views
Mega-List of Online Reviewers Who Accept Self-Published Books 32,105 views
41 Paying Markets for Personal Essays 29,837 views
13 Paying Markets for Humor 26,044 views
5 Established Agents Looking for Writers - Literary fiction, Memoir, MG, YA, Fantasy, Romance and more 25,814 views
28 Paying Markets for Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction 23,350 views
14 Publishers Accepting Unagented Short Story Collections 20,832 views
251 Hashtags for Writers 20,050 views
27 LGBT Publishers Accepting Manuscripts - No agent required (Plus 8 paying journals) 19,963 views
10 Agents Representing Short Story Collections 19,229 views
DAW Books Opens Its Doors to Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers - No agent needed 16,793 views
Labels: Resources for Writers
6 New Agents Actively Seeking Nonfiction, Memoir, ...