Jennifer Wills is a literary agent with The Seymour Agency.

Jennifer has five years’ experience in some of the publishing industry’s leading literary agencies. She worked with publishers around the world as an assistant in Trident Media Group’s huge foreign rights department, and with domestic publishers as an assistant at Writers House (where, incidentally, she began her career as an intern).

She joined the Seymour Agency in April 2016, where she has quickly moved up the ranks to Associate Agent. Jennifer has always loved helping fledgling authors become NYT bestsellers and she’s ready to be a relentless champion for her own clients’ work. You can find her @WillsWork4Books on Twitter.

Jennifer is particularly interested in a wide range of picture books and cookbooks, with a soft spot for author/illustrators of sweet and wacky picture books, and cookbooks with mouth-watering recipes of the health conscious, budget friendly or celebrity chef variety. For fiction, she’s also interested in middle grade and young adult with a sci fi/fantasy, horror/suspense, or contemporary bent, and upmarket women’s fiction with a sense of humor. On the nonfiction side, narrative nonfiction and memoir are also welcome. If your manuscript has a great hook, a distinct voice, and can make her laugh out loud or ugly cry (or, even better, both), she’d love to see it.

Moe Ferrara is a literary agent at BookEnds Literary.

Moe is interested in fictional works for all ages, including picture books, middle-grade, young adults, and adult readers. Her favorite genres include contemporary, fantasy, historical, horror, magical realism, re-tellings, romance, science fiction and anything LGBTQIA-centric.

She’s particularly keen to find books with pain-in-the-ass heroines, dark and creepy settings with lyrical voices, and books with well-thought out twists and turns. Sci-fi should be easily accessible and horror should not make her need to keep the lights on! Send her your LGBT+ books that are about more than just a coming out story. Her list tends to skew towards children’s fiction, but she is on the hunt for select authors in the above adult genres as well. Overall, though, she loves being surprised by books she never knew she wanted—so if it seems like a fit, pitch her!

Moe is also open to select narrative nonfiction titles dealing with LGBT+ history, theatre (including biographies or theatrical analysis such as Horowitz’s Sondheim on Music), and music theory.

She is not a good fit for upmarket/literary fiction, cozy mysteries, true crime, women’s fiction, high fantasy, hard sci-fi, or inspirational romances.

Becoming a literary agent was fitting for the girl who, as a small child, begged her dad to buy her a book simply because “it has a hard cover.” Growing up, she had a hard time finding YA books outside of Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine, and instead tackled Tom Clancy or her mom’s romance novels. Though her career path zigzagged a bit—she attended college as a music major, earned a JD from Pace Law School, then worked various jobs throughout the publishing industry—Moe was thrilled to join the BookEnds team in May of 2015 as a literary agent.

A Pennsylvania native, she is mum of a rambunctious corgi who is a master at stealing treats and running agility courses. When not reading, Moe can most often be found in a pit orchestra, playing violin for her favorite musicals. She is also an avid gamer and always awaiting the next Assassin’s Creed or Destiny release.

Ella Marie Shupe is a literary agent with Belcastro Agency.

She is seeking in adult: mysteries – all subgenres, thriller, suspense, and general fiction. “In adult fiction, we look for a unique voice and a strong protagonist full of attitude. We like dark and intense but we won’t turn away something that’s a little on the lighter side. We enjoy a touch of humor, and we would never turn away something sexy.”

She is looking for young adult – fantasy, science fiction, action/adventure, contemporary, magical realism, mystery/thriller, and horror. “We want profound young adult with a strong protagonist. A whacky, funny, crazy, or thought-provoking voice will draw our attention. We look for entertaining storylines that deal with tough life issues. We look for big writing that remains fast-paced.”

“Belcastro Agency is a full-service, literary agency representing authors writing in adult and young adult fiction. We are a passionate, hands-on, editorially-focused agency and work closely with our writers in developing manuscripts and proposals for submission. In addition, we actively manage subsidiary rights for the projects we represent including foreign translation, audio, and film/television rights. We work hand in hand with our authors to develop lasting careers through website development, social media strategies, and promotional assistance. Our mission is to shine the light on great writers and wonderful stories.”

Erica Bauman is a literary agent with Aevitas Creative Management.

Erica represents a wide variety of authors for both children and adults, including acclaimed YA author Andrew Auseon and Broadway performer Tiffany Haas.

Erica is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and has worked in the publishing industry for the last seven years. Before coming to Aevitas she worked at Spectrum Literary Agency.

Based in New York, Erica is currently focused on representing a wide range of authors across middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction, as well as some select narrative nonfiction projects. She is most interested in novels that straddle the line between literary and commercial, imaginative tales with a speculative twist, fearless storytellers that tackle big ideas and contemporary issues, and working with and supporting marginalized authors and stories that represent the wide range of humanity.

“For middle grade, my interests span all genres, from contemporary to mystery to fantasy. I love quirky, funny stories and main characters who are misfits (and proud of it). I’m especially on the lookout for eerie horror (like Coraline) and really unique magic.”

“For young adult, I am a lover of all genre fiction, especially fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction. I love stories based off of mythology, folklore, and obscure fairy tales, and novels that cross genres. I’m especially on the lookout for stories inspired by classic literature/ballet/opera, mysteries and thrillers with unreliable narrators, and books that play with structure to tell a story in a really unique way.”

“In adult, I gravitate towards stories that have a commercial premise and beautiful writing. I love voice-driven, witty romcoms, historical novels (especially mysteries), and light SFF and magical realism. I’m on the lookout for books starring nerds, and stories that make me laugh.”

“Across all age ranges and genres, I’m eager to support and work with marginalized authors and stories that represent the wide range of humanity.”

“That said, I’m probably not the best for projects involving the following:

Serious literary fiction
Vampires/werewolves/zombies
Serious family drama
Intergalactic war/alien invasions
Dead pets
Erotica
Manic Pixie Dream Girls
Instalove.”

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. Literary.

Hope is a graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 500 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED.

She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column “Hope’s Hacks,” tips and tricks to avoid writer’s block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young’s blog. Her modern-day Daniel, Blaze, (Illuminate YA) released in June, and they contracted the sequel Den for July 2020. Find out more about her here.

Interested in: Young adult and middle grade with a speculative flair, some adult romance, and some adult historical.

Maybe: children’s picture books (especially nonfiction or with STEAM elements), nonfiction & memoir with a strong platform, some books for the religious market with a strong platform.

Not interested in: nonfiction that doesn’t have a strong platform, erotica, poetry, new adult (YA crossover is fine).