Agent Alert: Hannah Brattesani of Emma Sweeney Agency

Literary agent alerts (like this one with Hannah Brattesani of Emma Sweeney Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building their client list.

Hannah Brattesani is a literary agent and the foreign rights coordinator at Emma Sweeney Agency. She received her MA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of St. Andrews and graduated with the Douglas Dunn Award for Creative Writing.

Hannah started as the agency assistant at Emma Sweeney Agency, then took over the foreign rights coordinator role and is currently building her own list as an agent. During her first year at the agency, she also worked as the contracts coordinator at Blue Flower Arts, a literary speakers bureau based in Millbrook, New York.

Hannah Brattesani

As a Scottish immigrant to the United States, Hannah enjoys books that allow her to explore and make some sense of this American melting pot she now calls home. Follow her on Twitter @hbrattesani.

Seeking: 

I am actively acquiring adult literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction culture and lifestyle books. I have a particular interest in wellness, spirituality, sex and relationships, art, design, film, and the environment.

An unusual story and unique voice is always sure to catch my eye; I'd love to see something dark and literary like Samantha Schweblin's Fever Dream or an author with the deadpan wit of Jen Beagin in my inbox. With poetry, I'm drawn to performative poets who are active in their respective scenes, and work from marginalized voices. I also enjoy ecopoetry.

Across genres, I would love to hear from a writer who has an occupational connection to nature and/or is on the frontline of climate change - surfers, wildland firefighters, farmers, environmentalists.

I am not acquiring YA or MG.

How to Submit: 

Please send queries to queries@emmasweeneyagency.com. Please begin your query with a succinct (and hopefully catchy) description of your plot or proposal, include a brief cover letter telling us how you heard about ESA, your previous writing credits, and a few lines about yourself. We also ask that you paste the first ten (10) pages of your proposal or novel into the text of your e-mail as opposed to attaching.

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Research, interview, and explore the subjects that interest you. Then write about what you've learned in Writing Nonfiction 101: Fundamentals. Writing nonfiction is a great way for beginner and experienced writers to break into the publishing industry.

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.