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