50 Top Literary Agents in the USA for Authors in 2024

• Feb 16, 2024
• 11 min read

• Tags: Fiction, Nonfiction, Novel, Traditional Publishing

Behind every famous author is a smart literary agent. Explore the advantages of the top 50 literary agents in detail! Find out which literary agent has proven experience in your genre. This will help you list top literary agents to shortlist the best ones. 

From pitching the book to potential publishers to negotiating the final contract, these literary agents do it all! Many of these agents also help the author maximize their profits (by managing subsidiary rights such as film, TV, foreign language, and audiobook rights). So, without prolonging further, let’s dive into the details! 

Here is the full list of literary agents: 

1. Liza Dawson 

A member of the Mystery Writers of America, Liza Dawson is an experienced literary agent. She is looking for mystery novel submissions, historical literary thrillers, dark contemporary novels, and non-fiction novels giving voice to repressed classes. If your book has quirky humor, tenderness, and fun cartoon illustrations, you can approach Liza. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

2. Christy Fletcher 

The founder of Fletcher & Company, Christy Fletcher is one of the best literary agents. She has worked with various popular non-fiction authors like Kate Bowler, Craig Whitlock, Gretchen Rubin, and David Leon Hardt. She has also helped novelists and short story writers like Daniel Mason, and Alan Hollinghurst monetize their works. While Christy is drawn to non-fiction that explores new ideas, she also represents fiction works. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

3. Kevan Lyon 

A co-founder of the Marshall Lyon Literary Agency, Kevan Lyon has massive expertise in the wholesale, retail, and distribution aspects of publishing. She focuses more on representing women’s fiction works. Her interests lie in commercial fiction, romantic comedies, and historical fiction. She has represented various best-selling authors like Kate Quinn, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. 

Location: California, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

4. Laurie Abkemeier 

Working with Defiore & Company since 2003, Laurie Abkemeir is an experienced professional literary agent. She has represented many New York Times bestsellers and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. She has helped authors publish books belonging to various genres such as history, science, nature, sports, and adventure. Some of the authors she has represented include Jennifer Keishen Armstrong, Saul Austerlich, Rebecca Boyle, and Peter Brannen.

Location: New York, USA  

Contact: [email protected]

5. Emily van Beek 

A literary agent in New York City, Emily has partnered with Folio Jr. to represent books. Some of her clients include Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, and Julie Morstad. She is currently looking for middle-grade, young adult, and picture book submissions. Her interests lie in books that are bold and fresh, something entirely unexpected that is impossible to put aside. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

6. Janis Donnaud 

Janis Donnaud is one of the top literary agents for culinary books. She helps authors negotiate agreements with the top publishing companies in the USA. With this, she also assists authors with managing subsidiary rights like translation, film, and performance rights. Her focus is on publishing non-fiction books, including health/wellness, medical, contemporary, cultural, and books on contemporary social issues. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

7. Donald Maas 

The founder of Donald Maas Literary Agency, Donald is one of the top ten literary agents with more than 20 years of experience. An author of novels such as The Emotional Craft of Fiction, Maas has helped thousands of authors publish their books. You can send him a query letter and your book pitch along with five pages from your manuscript. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

8. Helen Breitwieser 

A literary agent at the Cornerstone Literary Agency, Helen has vast experience in the publishing industry. She accepts queries of both fiction and nonfiction genres. This includes food, culture, travel, culinary, romance, YA, children’s books, film, and entertainment. 

Location: Los Angeles, USA

Contact: [email protected]

9. Nicole Aragi 

One of the top 10 literary agents in the USA, Nicole has represented several acclaimed authors like Jonathan Safran Foer and Colson Whitehead. She has set up a literary agency called Aragi to help several authors publish their works. She is interested in representing feminine, graphic/illustrated, historical, literary fiction and narrative works. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

10. Susan Canavan 

A former senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Susan joined the Waxman Literary Agency in 2019. She has edited New York Times bestsellers in categories such as nonfiction, sports memoirs, adventure, and journalism. Her interests lie in books that explore the infinite possibilities of human potential. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected]

11. Kirby Kim 

Kirby is an expert literary agent who represents both literary and commercial authors. He is drawn to stories that are tightly written, and involve creative narration. His interests are thrillers, mysteries, speculative fiction, science, culture, and current affairs. He also represents pop culture, especially music and comedy genres. 

Location: Phoenix, USA 

Contact: [email protected]

12. Robert Gottlieb 

The Chairman of the Trident Media Group, Robert Gottlieb is one of the top literary agents. He has worked with New York Times best-selling authors and also has experience in managing authors’ subsidiary rights. This includes handling foreign rights, film, TV rights, and audio rights. 

Location: New York, USA 

Email: [email protected] 

13. Celeste Fine 

Known for negotiating profitable 7-8 figure deals for authors, Celeste Fine is one of the best literary agents. She helps clients develop book proposals and edit their manuscripts. With this, she also assists clients in determining marketing strategies and managing audio rights, endorsements, book tours, and book club events for authors. She is looking for upmarket commercial fiction, suspense, thriller, and nonfiction submissions. Some of the famous authors she has represented are Miki Agarwal, Laila Ali, Dave Asprey, Iris Bohnet, and John Lee Dumas. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

14. Russell Galen 

A co-founder of the literary agency Scovil. Galn. Ghosh, Russell has helped authors from diverse backgrounds publish their books. He accepts both fiction and nonfiction submissions. While in fiction, Galen is looking for books that stretch reality creatively, in non-fiction, Galen desires books that give a message. Some of the nonfiction genres Galen is interested in are science, history, journalism, biography, business, memoir, nature, politics, sports, contemporary culture, literary nonfiction, etc. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

15. Betsy Amster 

The President of Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises, Betsy is one of the popular literary agents in the USA. She has 10 years of experience as an editor at Pantheon and Vintage. Her interests include literary fiction, narrative fiction, current affairs, travelogs, thrillers, and memoirs. 

Location: Los Angeles, USA 

Email: [email protected] 

16. John Cusick 

John Cusick is an experienced literary agent who has represented authors of various New York Times bestsellers. His interests are in middle-grade, young adult novels along with genre fiction (fantasy, thriller, science fiction, and horror). He is looking for submissions that showcase under-represented voices, unusual plots, and books that kids might sneak in to read. 

Location: New York, USA 

Email: [email protected] 

17. Elaine Spencer 

A literary agent at the Knight Agency in Georgia, Elaine has vast experience in the publishing industry. She is interested in historical fiction, family dramas, suburban dramedies, and contemporary romantic comedies. Elaine also accepts non-fiction submissions. This includes true crime, self-help books, pop culture, diet, modern parenting, and lifestyle stories. 

Location: Georgia, USA 

18. Sorche Fairbank 

The founder of Fairbank Literary Representation, Sorche is one of the best literary agents. A member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), she has helped authors secure deals with top publishing houses. She accepts both fiction and nonfiction submissions. Her interests are books that depict women’s voices, race issues, humor, pop culture, children’s books, and gift books. 

Location: New York, USA 

Email: [email protected]

19. James Levine 

One of the top literary agents in the USA, James helps authors maximize their profits by helping them monetize their works (by ensuring profitable publishing deals). He accepts both fiction and non-fiction submissions. This includes books belonging to genres such as mystery, romance, biography, health, travel, lifestyle, cookbooks, sports, and children’s books. Some of his successful clients are Dan Ariely, Chuck Closterman, Richard Florida, Rosalind Wiseman, and Geoffrey Moore. 

Location: New York, USA 

20. Stephen Barbara 

Born in Connecticut, Stephen Collins has worked with popular publishing houses such as HarperCollins. Some of his clients include Lauren Oliver, Paul Tremblay, Laura Amy Schlitz, Lisa Graff, and Susann Kokal. Stephen is attracted to stories that have bold, imaginative concepts. He represents authors writing both fiction and nonfiction genres. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact:  [email protected] 

21. Rebecca Matte 

Rebecca is a professional literary agent who is looking for young adult fiction, science fiction, romance, and fantasy submissions. She loves stories about self-discovery and re-invention. She’s also interested in queer romance stories, and books that have a spellbinding, original fantasy world. 

Location: California, USA

22. Abigail Frank 

A literary agent at Sanford Greenburg Associates, Abigail represents picture books. She is also actively seeking voice-driven chapter books, YA rom-coms, and middle-grade stories that are profound and poetic. She is also deeply interested in stories that talk about fashion, especially illustrated works. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected]

23. Rob McQuilkin 

One of the founders of Massie and McQuilkin, Rob McQuilkin specializes in representing fiction, memoir, history, cultural criticism, and poetry books. Want to secure paperback rights for a book? Rob McQuilkin can also assist you in securing book rights and ensuring that you have a fair publishing deal. Phillip Lopate, Anita Hill, and Lois Gould are some authors he has represented. 

Location: New York, USA

24. Suzie Townsend 

A literary agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, Suzie has 10+ years of experience in the publishing industry. She represents authors writing about adult fiction, children’s fiction, and nonfiction. She loves strong characters and unconventional stories that challenge genre norms. Her interests are in young adult and middle-grade literature. 

Location: New York, USA

25. Zoe Pagnamenta 

Zoe Pagnamenta is one of the top literary agents in the USA. She represents various genres like historical fiction, journalism, memoirs, biographies, and popular sciences. Some of her other interests are self-help books, spirituality novels, technology books, business-centric books, and cultural criticism works. Her clients include Hisham Matar (Pulitzer Prize winner) and Tom Vanderbilt (author of NYT bestseller Beginners). 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

26. Molly O’Neill 

A literary agent working at Root Literary, Molly has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She prefers stories with interesting settings. Her focus is mainly on publishing fiction books, including genres such as young adult and middle grade. However, she does not represent genres like self-help, adult thrillers, adult crime fiction, poetry chapbooks, screenplay, and erotica. 

Location: Los Angeles, California 

27. Jessica Fausst 

The owner of the literary agency Bookends, Jessica Fausst has represented various bestselling and award-winning authors. She desires to bring marginalized and underrepresented voices to the forefront through publishing. In fiction, she specializes in publishing mystery, women’s fiction, upmarket, and suspense genres. With this, she’s also interested in nonfiction books that help to make someone a better person. 

Location: New Jersey, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

28. Lori Kilkelly 

Lori Kilkelly is a literary agent who specializes in publishing children’s books. The founder of the LK Literary Agency, she has helped to publish more than 100 books. She is looking for children’s books that are meaningful, funny, and moving. With this, she also accepts submissions of young adult literature. 

Location: Chicago, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

29. Uwe Stender 

The President of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), Uwe has vast knowledge about publishing. He accepts both fiction and nonfiction submissions. In fiction, Uwe’s interests are in YA, MG, psychological suspense, and mysteries. In nonfiction, UWE accepts submissions of various types such as celebrity memoirs, health, gardening, history, and pop culture books. 

Location: Pennsylvania, USA 

Contact: [email protected]

30. Al Zuckerman 

The founder of Writers House, Al has expertise in publishing both fiction and nonfiction books (adult categories). Al is one of the best literary agents for first-time authors. He has worked with young adult (YA) and middle-grade (MG) authors. Currently, Al is actively searching for new authors who have written thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, and historical novels. 

Location: New York, USA 

31. Steve Laube 

Steve Laube is one of the best literary agents for spiritual fiction and nonfiction books. The President of the Steve Laube Agency, he has edited more than 150 books in his career. He has more than 30 years of experience in the publishing industry. In 2009, he was named “The Agent of the Year” by the American Christian Fiction Writers organization. 

Location: Phoenix, Arizona 

Contact: [email protected]

32. Nancy Yost 

Nancy Yost is one of the top literary agents who has represented many New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Some of her popular clients include Deborah Crombie, Stephanie Laurens, Ilona Andrews, and Monica Ferris. She is mainly interested in fiction books, and complex characters. She prefers genres such as women’s fiction, thrillers, suspense stories, historical fiction, and southern fiction. Her non-fiction preferences include social history along with natural science. 

Location: New York, USA 

33. Stephanie Tade 

Working with Bantam Books, Jane Rotrosen Agency, and Rodale Books, Stephanie has massive experience in publishing. Some of her clients include Master Yogi BKS Iyengar, Jorge Cruise, Judith Beck, and Frank Lipman. She focuses on publishing nonfiction books, particularly on spiritual, physical, and psychological well-being. 

Location: Pennsylvania, USA 

34. Sealy Yates 

The founder of Yates & Yates LLP, Sealy has worked in the publishing industry since 1973. Some of his author clients include Chuck Swindoll, John Maxwell, Beth Moore, and David Jeremiah. Sealy represents genres like nonfiction, business, self-help, memoir, political, and Christian living. 

Location: California, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

35. Doug Abrams 

Doug, founder of Idea Architects, has worked at the University of California Press and Harper Collins. Some of the authors he has managed include Jody Williams, Desmond Tutu, and Dalai Lama. He prefers culture-changing books that challenge conventions. 

Location: California, USA 

36. Laura Rennert 

Working with the Andrea Brown literary agency since 1998, Laura specializes in publishing children’s books. She is one of the best literary agents for new writers. From picture books to adult books, Laura can help authors publish their works successfully. She is also interested in adult fiction. Some of the genres she prefers include literary-commercial fiction, science fiction, horror, thrillers, and historical fiction. 

Location: California, USA 

37. Jill Marsal

It’s impossible to ignore Jill in this list of literary agents. One of the founders of the Marsal Lyon literary agency, Jill has 20+ years of experience in the publishing industry. She has worked with some of the best fiction authors such as Marina Adair, Jamie Beck, Amanda Bouchet, and Christie Carlyle. She is searching for submissions of genres such as commercial fiction, contemporary fiction, romance, upmarket fiction, and family stories. 

Location: California, USA 

38. Howard Yoon 

A literary agent at the Ross Yoon agency, Howard is one of the best literary agents for first-time authors. specializes in helping authors publish nonfiction genres. Howard is interested in genres such as memoirs, current affairs, science, politics, and popular culture. He assists both, new authors and established authors in publishing their work. 

Location: Washington, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

39. Bonnie Nadell 

The President of Hill Nadel Literary Agency, Bonnie represents both fiction and nonfiction authors. She is looking for books that explore new perspectives. Some of the nonfiction genres she prefers are current affairs, culinary, memoir, culture, natural events, and stories about the American West. 

Location: Los Angeles, USA 

40. Faye Bender 

Faye Bender is a literary agent in the US who represents authors writing children’s books and adult fiction. Some of the authors she has worked with are Melissa Albert, Laura Blackett, Angeline Boulley, and Natalie C. Anderson. She prefers stories with a strong narrative voice. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

41. Tina Bennett 

Tina Bennett is a popular literary agent who specializes in helping authors publish nonfiction narratives. She prefers genres such as history, politics, current affairs, memoirs, and academic crossover titles. She has worked with various authors such as Gary Bass, Leo Damrosch, and Atul Gawande. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected]

42. Christopher Schelling 

The founder of Selectric Artists, Christopher Schelling accepts both fiction and nonfiction submissions. Some of the genres he’s interested in are commercial fiction, young adult, memoirs, pop culture, narrative fiction, and humor. Some of the famous authors represented by Schelling and his agency are Augusten Burroughs, Cinder Williams Chima, and Louis Bayard. 

Location: Connecticut, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

43. Amy Berkower 

Working as a literary agent since 1979, Amy Berkower is the President of the Writers House LLC. She is one of the best literary agents for fiction books. Some of the clients she has represented are Nora Roberts, Ken Follett, Ann Martin, and Andrew Clements. Her interests lie in helping authors publish commercial fiction and literary fiction books. 

Location: New York, USA 

Contact: [email protected] 

44. Kari Sutherland 

A literary agent at the Bradford Literary Agency, Kari is drawn to compelling plots, believable characters, and engaging settings. She desires to represent those communities that are underrepresented. This includes books highlighting issues of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled people. She accepts submissions for picture books, middle-grade, young adult, and nonfiction genres. However, for nonfiction, she is currently only accepting works related to children and teenagers (not adult fiction). 

Location: California, USA 

45. Mandy Hubbard 

The writer of Prada and Prejudice, Mandy Hubbard is a popular literary agent. After selling more than 60 novels to publishers, she launched Emerald City Literary Agency. She is interested in representing Young Adult (YA), Middle Grade (MG), and select nonfiction books. 

Location: Seattle, USA 

46. Hillary Jacobson 

Working at the Creative Artists Agency, Hillary Jacobson is one of the best literary agents. Hillary accepts both fiction and nonfiction submissions. In fiction, she is interested in commercial fiction, historical fiction, romance, thriller, Young Adult (YA), romance, and comedy. In nonfiction, her focus is on memoirs and narrative works. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected]

47. Bonnie Solow 

The founder of Solow Literary Enterprises, Bonnie is one of the top literary agents in the United States. Her clients include several New York Times best sellers. She helps her clients market their book through speaking engagements, and PBS shows. Her specialty is in representing the nonfiction genre. This includes various types such as health, psychology, memoir, and narrative nonfiction. 

Location: California, USA

48. Kim Lionetti 

A literary agent at Bookends, Kim has more than twenty years of experience in the publishing industry. She has worked with books belonging to various genres such as women’s fiction, young adult, and romance. Currently, she is looking for stories that blur the lines of genres. She is also interested in historical romance and contemporary romance. 

Location: New Jersey, USA 

49. Danielle Egan-Miller 

The owner of the Browne & Miller Literary Associates, Danielle has represented many New York Times bestselling authors. She is interested in books that highlight Midwestern voices and settings. With this, she also prefers book club fiction, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and romcoms in the world of sports. 

Location: Chicago, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

50. Claire Anderson-Wheeler 

Claire Anderson Wheeler is an expert literary agent at Regal Hoffman & Associates. She is interested in representing young adult (YA), autobiography, memoir, narrative nonfiction, and literary fiction. Some of her clients include Patrick Dacey, Faith Gardner, Jamie Raintree, and Melissa Scholes Young. 

Location: New York, USA

Contact: [email protected] 

We hope this list of top literary agents will help you shortlist the best one. However, we’ll be honest: approaching literary agents and securing the best deal through traditional publishing is a time-consuming process. To speed up the process and save time, you can consider self-publishing your book. 

At PaperTrue, we provide expert self-publishing services like securing an ISBN, online distribution, book cover design, editing, and creating a book cover page. If you still want to opt for a literary agent, we can also create a query letter for you. 

Here are some other topics you might find interesting: 

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Priya

Priya has a talent for academic research and enjoys simplifying complex topics. When she's not helping students improve their writing, she can be seen reading poetry, playing the harmonium, or learning classical dance.