Thriller Literary Agents Open to Submissions
Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find thriller literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly.
Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find thriller literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly.
Literary agents are important decision makers in the publishing process for authors who wish to be published by many of the big publishers. However, all literary agents do not represent all genres. In fact, an agent who claims to do this should be approached with caution. Just as authors tend to specialize in one or two genres, agents find niches and specialize in a handful of genres.
In this post, I've collected recently shared agent spotlights with literary agents who are accepting thriller submissions. This list will be updated regularly with new agents added to the top.
Gail Fortune of The Talbot Fortune Agency
Gail Fortune is a literary agent with The Talbot Fortune Agency and former book editor with over 25 years of publishing experience. Prior to becoming an agent she spent 16 years at Putnam Berkley (now part of Penguin Random House), where she rose from Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief to Executive Editor.
Her authors won RITAs and Agatha’s and were nominated for Edgar and Anthony Awards. She has edited and agented New York Times bestsellers and Publishers Weekly Books of the Year. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Bibi Lewis of The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
Bibi Lewis joined the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency in 2014 as an associate agent and subsidiary rights manager. In addition to her duties as an agent she sells foreign and audio rights for agency clients. As a native New Yorker, she is a fierce patron of the NYPL.
On the adult end, Bibi is most interested in commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, contemporary romance, mysteries, and thrillers. In all ages, she is excited to read more projects from marginalized voices.
Peter Rubie of FinePrint Literary Management
Peter Rubie is currently the CEO of FinePrint Literary management, a NYC-based literary agency. He grew up in England and was a Fleet Street journalist, before becoming one of the youngest news editors for BBC Radio News. He came to the U.S. in 1981, and worked as a freelance editor and writer for agents and major publishers before becoming the adult fiction editor at Walker & Co., for 6 years. He left that job to become a literary agent.
He has also been an adjunct professor in the New York University publishing faculty, where for 10 years he taught the only university-level course in the country on how to become a literary agent. For several years, he was also the director of the book publishing section of NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute. Peter thinks of himself as “an editor in recovery” who picks and chooses various ed boards for his clients’ projects. He often works extensively on the editorial content and presentation of a project before submitting it.
Joseph Perry of Perry Literary, Inc.
Joseph Perry is a new agent at Perry Literary, Inc. Before founding Perry Literary, Joseph began his book publishing career when he attended the New York University Summer Publishing Institute in 2010. After interning at FinePrint Literary Management, Joseph enrolled at St. John’s University School of Law to learn about the legal aspects of publishing and graduated with a juris doctor in 2015.
During law school, Joseph interned in the legal departments at Hachette Book Group; Rodale, Inc.; and William Morris Endeavor, as well as the subsidiary rights department at Columbia University Press. Joseph also holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from St. Bonaventure University.
Marlo Berliner of The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Marlo Berliner is an award-winning young adult author, freelance editor, and bookseller. She joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in March 2018 as an editorial intern after having completed a previous internship with The Bent Agency. Now, she is actively building her list as an associate agent. She is a member of SCBWI, RWA, NJ-RWA, and YA-RWA.
Prior to her career in the publishing world, Marlo was an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company. She holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Maureen Moretti of P.S. Literary
Maureen Moretti began her publishing career as an intern with several prestigious literary agencies before joining P.S. Literary as an associate agent. She holds a B.A. from Saint Mary’s College of California and attended the Columbia Publishing Course.
Maureen is actively acquiring both nonfiction and fiction. Within nonfiction she is searching for narrative nonfiction, culture, history, biography, LGBTQ+, cookbooks, and lifestyle. Within fiction she is looking for women’s fiction, thrillers, LGBTQ+, romance, select science fiction, literary fiction and genre-bending unique voices.
Nicole Bezanson of Metamorphosis Literary Agency
Nicole Bezanson is a junior agent with Metamorphosis Literary Agency, having honed her skills for writing and editing through a wide variety of educational programs. She received her BA in Sociology with a double minor in Anthropology and Environmental Science from Saint Mary’s University in 2010, her paralegal diploma with honors in 2011, and between 2013 and present has completed courses and certificate programs in transcription, cultural competence, technical writing, management, and communications. She most recently finished her agency internship with Metamorphosis in November of 2018 and in addition to working as a literary agent and writing contemporary young adult fiction, Nicole is also a technical writer for a global manufacturer of CPAP masks, machines, and other products that manage sleep-disordered breathing.
When she isn’t busy updating her manuscript portfolio or responding to queries, she can usually be found reading, horseback riding, or pursuing her new hobby of learning to cook. She and her husband share their home in Eastern Canada with a collection of disabled cats and a lifetime’s worth of books.
Claire Harris of Foundry Literary + Media
Claire received her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin and attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute before joining Foundry Literary + Media. She enjoys the creative process of working with writers and collaborating closely with them throughout all stages of their careers.
Claire is a thriller fanatic, candy addict, and a lover of all things creepy. Her favorite place to curl up with a good book is on a screened porch during a thunderstorm. She’s been on more ghost tours than she can count.
Anne Tibbets of D4EO Media
Anne Tibbets began her career as a screenwriter, author, and literary agency intern at D4EO, becoming a full-time agent in 2018 at Red Sofa Literary. Anne joined D4EO Literary in 2019.
Anne represents adult and young adult science fiction and fantasy, thrillers, horror, historical, and mystery. No middle grade, chapter, or picture books. No nonfiction, scripts, or self-published works.
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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.
