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DIRECTORY

The Best Literary Agents Seeking Literary Fiction Submissions

Showing 320 agents that match your search.

Jeff Kleinman

πŸ’Ό Agency: Folio Literary Management

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email or online form

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics

Previous clients: Garth Stein, Eowyn Ivey, Elizabeth Letts, Robert Hicks, Charles J. Shields, Karen Dionne

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Beth Phelan

πŸ’Ό Agency: Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Newark, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through QueryManager

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Diverse Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Horror, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance

Previous clients: Rick Riordan, Randy Ribay, Shveta Thakrar, Kacen Callender, Kat Cho, Lin Thompson, Camryn Garrett

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Sarah Burnes

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Gernert Company

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

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

Previous clients: Kieran Scott, Adam Gidwitz, Susan Burton, Rachel Kadish

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Laura Rennert

πŸ’Ό Agency: Andrea Brown Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Chicago, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through QueryManager

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult, Diverse Fiction, Feminism, Mystery, Romance, Children's Book, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction

Previous clients: Maggie Stiefvater, Jay Asher, Ellen Hopkins, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Barry Eisler

Open to queries

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Matthew Bialer

πŸ’Ό Agency: Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Sports, Literary Fiction, Politics

Previous clients: Patrick Rothfuss, Tad Williams, Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis, Dale Bailey, Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Open to queries

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Faye Bender

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Book Group

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

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

Previous clients: Rainey Hopson, Courtney Summers, Melissa Albert, Angeline Boulley

Open to queries

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Rob McQuilkin

πŸ’Ό Agency: Massie McQuilkin & Altman Literary Agents

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Poetry

Previous clients: Kim Addonizio, Douglas A. Martin

Open to queries

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Elizabeth Winick Rubenstein

πŸ’Ό Agency: McIntosh & Otis, Inc.

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Feminism

Previous clients: Eleanor Brown, Phyllis T. Smith, Kimberly Frost

Open to queries

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Laurie Liss

πŸ’Ό Agency: Sterling Lord Literistic Inc.

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Fiction, LGBTQ, Spirituality

Previous clients: Richard Paul Evans, Rachel Maddow, Matt Richtel, Hannah Gadsby, Shankar Vedantam

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Sara Crowe

πŸ’Ό Agency: Sara Crowe Literary

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Children's Book, Graphic Novel, Literary Fiction, Middle Grade, Picture Book, Romance, Diverse Fiction

Previous clients: Nina Lacour, Erin Entrada Kelly, Amy Rose Capetta, Kate Pentecost

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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 2025

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

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πŸ’‘ Shortlist agents to save them.