There’s a lot to consider before querying, including researching which literary agents are right for you, hunting down their querying preferences, and making sure your submission materials are at their most polished. This roundup aims to make things easier by finding agents open to submissions and getting the details you need to see if they’d be a good fit for you. The agents listed here represent a variety of genres in both fiction and nonfiction, have a wide variety of experience, and have different agenting styles, so you can consider who might work best with you.
This year, we asked the agents to demystify something about the publishing industry or what it’s like to work with an agent. Even if you don’t find your dream agent in this roundup, these bits of advice and tips for writers may help you refine what you’re looking for and how to ask the right questions when you do.
EDITOR’S NOTE: While we make every effort to ensure the information presented is accurate at the time of printing and that agents will be open to submissions when this issue is on sale, unexpected changes or closures may occur.
Kelly Bergh (she/her)
Lucinda Literary NEW YORK, N.Y. LUCINDALITERARY.COM @KEL_BERGH
NONFICTION INTERESTS: Smart takes on mind/body/spirit topics—everything from teaching the tarot to cultivating creativity to figuring out how to live your dharma. Think hippydippy but make it science. My ideal authors are professors and journalists who are comfortable both conducting research and translating dense data into language we can all understand. I’d like to help make esoteric topics more approachable. RECENT SALES: I opened to queries in May, so I’m currently knee-deep in refining proposals to submit to editors. DOES NOT WANT: I am not interested in fiction at this time, and I’m not the best fit for true crime or biographies. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Please review the categories I represent on my Manuscript Wish List profile at ManuscriptWishList.com/mswl-post/kelly-bergh. If you believe your work matches what I represent, visit LucindaLiterary.com/submissions for instructions on querying me. DEMYSTIFY THIS: Most agents don’t have a holier-than-thou attitude. We love books as much as you do, and we want to represent authors who are not only writing good books, but who are also pleasant to work with. When querying agents, speak to us like people, not gatekeepers. The more personable you are toward us, the more helpful we want to be to you.
Amy Elizabeth Bishop (she/her)
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret NEW YORK, N.Y. DYSTEL.COM @AMYLIZBISHOP
FICTION INTERESTS: Upmarket fiction, book club fiction, stories with an element of mystery or suspense, and fiction from BIPOC and AAPI authors. I want stories written by, about, and for women, especially women from communities whose stories aren’t told. I need a propulsive plot married with beautiful writing. I’d love more upmarket and book club fiction generally, but specifically from women of color, especially ones that are capers, joyful romps, and family dramas. I want more immigrant stories, more stories set in the aftermath of a big event. If you can marry art and science, I’m interested. NONFICTION INTERESTS: Nonfiction that deals with contemporary issues or discussions, pop science, psychology, sociology, cultural criticism, female-driven historical narrative nonfiction. RECENT SALES: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao; In the Land of Ten Thousand Mountains by Helena Rho; Nine Months in Manzanar by Tracy Slater; Yellow Fever Hustler by Kaila Yu; Catch Her If You Can by Annie Reed. DOES NOT WANT: Cozy mysteries, political/legal thrillers, crime fiction, novels involving PI’s or the military, picture books, middle-grade (MG), high fantasy, or super literary or experimental work. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Please use QueryManager—queries sent via email will be deleted. You can find instructions at: QueryManager.com/query/amylizbishop. Please note that our agency shares material internally, so if we think your work could be a good fit for another agent here, we’ll pass it on to them. Therefore, we ask that you do not submit to multiple agents at the agency or re-query other DG&B agents if one turns you down. DEMYSTIFY THIS: Your query is not the be-all and end-all. It is an important step in the process—a thoughtful query letter indicates to us that you’re taking this process seriously, have done your research, and could be a good, dedicated partner to work with. But what matters to us is the work—you can write a brilliant query letter, but if your pages aren’t polished or where they need to be, it won’t matter.
Lauren Bittrich (she/her; Hon: Miss)
Lucinda Literary NEW YORK, N.Y. @LAURENBITTRICH
