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The Best Literary Agents Seeking Fiction Submissions in Canada

Showing 25 agents that match your search.

Cecilia Lyra

πŸ’Ό Agency: P.S. Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.psliterary.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

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

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Cassandra Rodgers

πŸ’Ό Agency: 5 Otter Literary

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://fiveotterliterary.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Politics, Sports

Previous clients: Dayle Furlong, Gabriele Wills, James R. Wallen, Kath Jonathan

Query Tracker

Carly Watters

πŸ’Ό Agency: P.S. Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.psliterary.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Nonfiction, Cookbook, Narrative Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Mystery, Romance

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

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

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Curtis Russell

πŸ’Ό Agency: P.S. Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.psliterary.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Nonfiction, Business Book, Memoir, Politics, Self-Help, Sports

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

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

Helen Heller

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Helen Heller Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://thehelenhelleragency.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller

Previous clients: Khaled Hosseini, Bruce Holsinger, Nora Murphy

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Dean Cooke

πŸ’Ό Agency: CookeMcDermid

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://cookemcdermid.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Fantasy, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Children's Book, LGBTQ, Literary Fiction, Politics

Previous clients: Cherie Dimaline, John Irving, Marsha Skrypuch, Lilian Nattel

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace | Agent Query

Barbara Berson

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Helen Heller Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://thehelenhelleragency.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Children's Book, Middle Grade

Previous clients: Corinne Clark, Amanda Ghazale Aziz, David Demchuk

Query Tracker

Kathryn Willms

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Rights Factory

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.therightsfactory.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Cookbook, Self-Help, Sports, Business Book, Diverse Fiction, Fiction, LGBTQ, Narrative Nonfiction, Nonfiction

Previous clients: Lisa Brahin, Krista Towns, Laura Pratt, Michelle McIvor, Karen Pierce

Open to queries

Query Tracker

Claire Harris

πŸ’Ό Agency: P.S. Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.psliterary.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Thriller, Nonfiction, Cookbook, Horror, Romance, Commercial Fiction, Feminism, Politics

Previous clients: Building a client list

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Denise Bukowski

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Bukowski Agency

🌍 Location: Toronto, CA

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: http://www.bukowskiagency.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Fiction, Memoir

Previous clients: Alan Bradley, Lori Lansens, George Bowering, Frank Koller, Kevin Armstrong, Judy Fong Bates, Anita Rau Badami

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace

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 your foot in the door of a publishing house β€” and onto the path of getting traditionally published. 

In addition to championing you and your writing and serving as your point of contact with others in publishing, literary agents understand editors’ tastes and the types of books that publishers are looking to add to their lists β€” a crucial component in getting any publishing house to invest in the works of new authors. Since most big publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions, getting a literary agent who’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 don’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 send 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. 

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.

Resources for new authors landing a literary agent in 2024

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

Whether you’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

Reedsy | Looking for an agent? | 2024-09

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