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The Best Literary Agents Seeking Young Adult Submissions

Showing 280 agents that match your search.

Uwe Stender

πŸ’Ό Agency: Triada US Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Pittsburgh, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novel, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Fiction

Previous clients: Chloe Gong, Adiba Jaigirdar, Dana L. Davis, Elizabeth LaBan, Christi Paul

Open to queries

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Dan Conaway

πŸ’Ό Agency: Writers House

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Horror, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, LGBTQ, Children's Book, Fantasy, Memoir, Young Adult

Previous clients: John McWhorter, Louis Bayard, Matt Siegel, Lisa Napoli

Open to queries

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Caryn Wiseman

πŸ’Ό Agency: Andrea Brown Literary Agency

🌍 Location: Chicago, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through QueryManager

Genres: Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, LGBTQ

Previous clients: Kelly Starling Lyons, Tom Angleberger, Cece Bell, Debbie Levy

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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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Julia Churchill

πŸ’Ό Agency: A.M. Heath & Co. Ltd

🌍 Location: London, GB

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

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

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

Previous clients: Joan Aiken, Lloyd Alexander, Zillah Bethell, Helen Douglas

Open to queries

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Ginger Knowlton

πŸ’Ό Agency: Curtis Brown, Ltd.

🌍 Location: New York City, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Nonfiction

Previous clients: Gail Carson Levine, Wendelin Van Draanen, Jonah Winter, Helen Frost

Open to queries

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Gemma Cooper

πŸ’Ό Agency: Gemma Cooper Literary

🌍 Location: London, GB

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Crime Fiction

Previous clients: B.B. Alston, Derek Bacon, Ruth Fitzgerald, Shirley Marr

Open to queries

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Holly McGhee

πŸ’Ό Agency: Pippin Properties

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Picture Book

Previous clients: Kate DiCamillo, David Small, Jandy Nelson, Doreen Cronin, Harry Bliss, An Na

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Laura Langlie

πŸ’Ό Agency: Laura Langlie Agency

🌍 Location: New York City, US

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://querytracker.net/agent/434

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Diverse Fiction, LGBTQ, Feminism, Middle Grade

Previous clients: Emily Arsenault, Mignon Ballard, Melanie Benjamin, Jessica Benson, Marissa Burt, Meg Cabot, Sarah Dooley, Joan Druett, Jerramy Fine, Robin Hathaway, Mary Hogan, Lauren Lipton, Malinda Lo, Thomas Maltman, Leslie Margolis, Emil Ostrovski, Delia Ray

Open to queries

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Jennie Dunham

πŸ’Ό Agency: Dunham Literary

🌍 Location: New York, US

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

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Picture Book

Previous clients: Robert Sabuda, Matthew Reinhart, Mark Bowden, Tod Goldberg, Margaret McMullan

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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.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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