With the publishing industry working from home and the beloved agent-editor lunches on hold until further notice, I realized that the best way to tell professional contacts what I’m looking for is to post it here, where it is easily accessible and updated as necessary.
Please note: I only accept submissions from literary agents at this time. Please do not use the contact form to send queries and materials. If you are a writer and would like me to see your work, please have your agent reach out. I cannot review material otherwise.
Acquiring: suspense, rom-coms and upmarket women’s fiction, historical fiction
What I’m looking for this fall:
Original and atmospheric literary crime, suspense, and mysteries with
- Equal weight given to plot and prose
- Atmosphere from the natural world; I love a novel with lakes, woods, or mountains that act like an additional characters
- Missing people
- Past/present storylines, particularly with a character returning home
- Unusual settings and structures
Stylish and elegant historical fiction with
- Glamorous settings
- Social commentary about a specific milieu–think Anton DiSclafani’s THE AFTER PARTY (about Houston society) or the outsider POV of RULES OF CIVILITY
- Stylish in both prose and setting
- Undiscovered events, stories, societies
- Narratives outside of Europe or North America
High concept rom-coms and upmarket love stories (happy ending not necessary in the latter!) with
- Must have comedy: situational or banter
- More to offer than just romance; think mental health in THE CHARM OFFENSIVE, inverted tropes in Martha Waters’s Regency Vows series, or strong female friendships in Hannah Orenstein’s novels
- My taste shies away from sweet or earnest romance, and I read holiday romance only when done with a light touch
Other interests:
- Novels with a slight speculative element in the vein of THE LAST EQUATION OF ISAAC SEVERY or THE MERMAID AND MRS. HANCOCK
- Historical thrillers, often with the storyline that brings in books, maps, or myths
- Upmarket fiction with a sense of humor and community like THE PATRON SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES or ANXIOUS PEOPLE
- Books with cross-genre appeal
Maybe not for me:
- Although I am an enthusiastic editor of rom-coms, I really don’t edit contemporary or historical romance without a strong comedic element
- I am rarely drawn to novels with supernatural beings, but please feel free to ask if a submission fits my taste otherwise.
- I shy away from military, cybersecurity, and hardened police thrillers
Outside of the office, my interests include opera, ballet, and learning new languages. I am always open to novels that include those elements!
Last updated: October 10, 2022