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The Best Literary Agents Seeking Submissions in Canada

Showing 28 agents that match your search.

Cecilia Lyra

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - P.S. Literary Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.psliterary.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email
โ˜‘๏ธ Interested in debut authors

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, Feminism, LGBTQ

Previous clients

Lene Andersen, Jenna Ferrey, Amy Rosen, Jessica Hinkson

Query Tracker | MSWL

Curtis Russell

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - P.S. Literary Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.psliterary.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email
โ˜‘๏ธ Interested in debut authors

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Politics, Self-Help, Sports, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Picture Book

Previous clients

Pamela Beason, Nick Powdthavee, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Gerry Dee, Tommy Europe

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

Carly Watters

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - P.S. Literary Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.psliterary.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email
โ˜‘๏ธ Interested in debut authors

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Cookbook, Narrative Nonfiction, Children's Book, Diverse Fiction, LGBTQ

Previous clients

Colin Mochrie, Mary Akers, Danny Appleby, Jay Onrait, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Lorene Sauro

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

Helen Heller

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - The Helen Heller Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://thehelenhelleragency.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email
โ˜‘๏ธ Interested in debut authors

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller

Previous clients

Khaled Hosseini, Bruce Holsinger, Nora Murphy

Query Tracker | MSWL

Cassandra Rodgers

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - 5 Otter Literary
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://fiveotterliterary.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Politics, Sports

Previous clients

Dayle Furlong, Gabriele Wills, James R. Wallen, Kath Jonathan

Query Tracker

Denise Bukowski

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - The Bukowski Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - http://www.bukowskiagency.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email

Genres

Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction

Previous clients

Alan Bradley, Lori Lansens, George Bowering, Frank Koller

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace

Martha Webb

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - CookeMcDermid
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://cookemcdermid.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Online submission form

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Self-Help

Previous clients

Zoey Leigh Peterson, Tima Kurdi, Michael Crummey, Robyn Doolittle, Cathal Kelly

Query Tracker

Marilyn Biderman

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - Transatlantic Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.transatlanticagency.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email

Genres

Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction

Previous clients

Kim Bolan, Cecil Foster, Judith McCormack, Theodora Armstrong

Query Tracker

Amanda Orozco

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - Transatlantic Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.transatlanticagency.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email

Genres

Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, Poetry

Previous clients

Charlene Hsu, Stephanie Morrill, Matt Sedillo, Dennis Danziger

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace

Elizabeth Bennett

๐Ÿ’ผ Agency - Transatlantic Agency
๐ŸŒ Location - Toronto, CA
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Website - https://www.transatlanticagency.com/
๐Ÿ“ฃ Preferred contact method - Email

Genres

Fiction, Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Picture Book

Previous clients

Kayla Miller, Christine Evans, Meagan Mahoney, Lowey Sichol

Query Tracker | MSWL

What do literary agents do?

A literary agent represents your book to acquiring editors who want to publish it. In other words, an agent gets the foot of new authors in the door of a publishing house โ€” and onto the path of getting traditionally published.ย 

In addition to championing you and your writing and serving as your point of contact with others in publishing, literary agents understand editorsโ€™ tastes and the types of books they are looking to add to their lists โ€” a crucial component in getting any publishing house to invest in the works of new authors. Since most big publishers donโ€™t accept unsolicited submissions, getting a literary agent whoโ€™s accepting submissions is the most realistic route to traditional publication, particularly for debut authors.

Aside from getting your foot in the door, what else do literary agents do?

  • They are expert negotiators, combining publishing acumen with a nose for the value of good, sellable writing;
  • They act as mediators between you and your publisher (when you donโ€™t want to hurt your working relationship with an editor by talking brass tacks);
  • They manage the financial and marketing side of things while you concentrate on the writing; and
  • They often have strong editorial skills, helping refine your manuscript before you submit it to a publisher.

As you might've guessed, literary agents are especially important for debut authors, who often don't have a starting point in the vast maze that is the publishing industry. That's what a literary agent will become for you: a guide to help you throughout the publishing process, and kickstart your publishing career.ย 

New authors might be intimidated by the wealth of information and cautionary signs in the industry. It's especially tricky to research literary agents when some are open to submissions from new authors, and some are not.

If you're one of those debut authors, don't fret! We've got you covered with the resources that you need to gain your bearings.ย 

Resources for new authors landing a literary agent in 2023

You might think that a great book is all you need to catch a literary agentโ€™s attention. But youโ€™ll need to put in a good amount of work to land them โ€” and that includes everything from the careful study of each agent's wishlist to personalizing your query letter for each candidate..

Whether youโ€™re a new author learning how to research literary agents or an experienced writer refining your query letter, here are the resources that can give you a headstart.

Free online materials for debut authors

Recommended books

Save agents to shortlist them

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