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DIRECTORY

The Best Literary Agents Seeking Literary Fiction Submissions

Showing 324 agents that match your search.

Alison Fargis

πŸ’Ό Agency: Stonesong

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Business Book, Narrative Nonfiction, Self-Help, Children's Book, Middle Grade

Previous clients: Susan B. Anderson, Sara Bliss, Michael Buckley, Erin Gleeson, Eric Gorges

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace | MSWL

Gail Ross

πŸ’Ό Agency: William Morris Endeavor

🌍 Location: Washington DC, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Business Book, Commercial Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Young Adult

Previous clients: Joshua Green, Van Jones, James Clapper, Michael Isikoff, David Corn

Open to queries

Query Tracker | Agent Query

Adam Schear

πŸ’Ό Agency: DeFiore and Company

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, #ownvoices

Previous clients: Jake Wolff, Julie Lekstrom Himes, Scott Bedford, Jen Adams

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

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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Michael Harriot

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

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Previous clients: Ben Mezrich, Tony Fletcher, Alisa Bowman

Open to queries

Query Tracker | Agent Query

Danielle Egan-Miller

πŸ’Ό Agency: Browne & Miller Literary Associates

🌍 Location: Chicago, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Self-Help, LGBTQ, Literary Fiction, Romance

Previous clients: Elizabeth Blackwell, Kylie Brant, Jo Furniss, Iain Lawrence, Kimberly Brock

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace | MSWL | Agent Query

Kimberly Witherspoon

πŸ’Ό Agency: InkWell Management

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Cookbook, Fantasy, Romance, Short Story, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Chick Lit

Previous clients: Anthony Bourdain, Cindy Crawford, Lena Dunham, Dean Koontz, JosΓ© AndrΓ©s

Query Tracker | Agent Query

Elyse Cheney

πŸ’Ό Agency: The Cheney Agency

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Business Book, Short Story, Thriller, Women's Fiction

Previous clients: Dave Eggers, Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, Carol Leonnig, Phil Rucker, Masha Gessen, Reza Aslan, Manning Marable, Adelle Waldman, Julia Pierpont, Mark Owen, Mark Leibovich, Gayle Lemmon, Josh Foer, Scott Kelly, Lauren Collins.

Open to queries

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace | Agent Query

Sandy Lu

πŸ’Ό Agency: Book Wyrm Literary Agency

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through QueryMe

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Cookbook, Horror, Science Fiction, Women's Fiction, Business Book

Previous clients: Jennifer Harlow, Robert Baty, Angela Grace, Michael Dempsey, Michael Boccacino

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL | Agent Query

Liz Darhansoff

πŸ’Ό Agency: Darhansoff Verrill Feldman Literary Agents

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Thriller

Previous clients: Annie Proulx, Neal Stephenson, Lee Smith, Nanci Kincaid, Lynda Barry

Query Tracker | Agent Query

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.Β 

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.Β 

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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