Recent Deals

SOLD! Stacy Stokes's debut novel The Memory House about a girl from a small Texas town whose family has been erasing people's heartaches and tragic memories for decades, and the boy who makes her question her family's legacy—as well as her role within it, to Liza Kaplan at Philomel, in a pre-empt along with a second novel by Joanna MacKenzie.
SOLD!! Scott Reintgen's untitled book three in the TALESPINNERS series, featuring the adventures of Indira Story as she goes undercover at Antagonist Academy at the request of a secret faction known as the Anti-Heroes, to Emily Easton at Crown Children’s, by Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! Sherry Thomas's untitled books 6 & 7 in the LADY SHERLOCK MYSTERY series, featuring a ruined young woman in Victorian England solving cases as Sherlock Holmes, to Kerry Donovan at Berkley in a good two-book deal, by Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! NYT bestselling author of BIRD BOX Josh Malerman's SPIN A BLACK YARN, an original short story collection, as well as reprint rights to the novella collection GOBLIN, originally published as a special edition novel ON THIS THE DAY OF THE PIG, and the novella A HOUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE (already optioned for major motion picture), to Tricia Narwani at Del Rey Books, in a 4-book good deal by Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! Writer and poet Kate Baer's WHAT KIND OF WOMAN?, a debut poetry collection dealing with themes of womanhood, motherhood, and marriage, highlighting the monotony, humor, and depth that comes along with both becoming and becoming undone by these experiences, to Mary Gaule at Harper Perennial, in a very nice deal, in a pre-empt, by Joanna MacKenzie.
SOLD!! Award-winning author Stacey Lee's THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL, about a Chinese teen in 1890s Atlanta who moonlights as Dear Miss Sweetie, a wildly popular newspaper advice columnist that has all of high society in an uproar, to Ellie Russell at Piatkus, for publication in Fall 2019, by Jenny Meyer on behalf of Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! New York Times bestselling author Richard Chizmar’s novel GWENDY’S MAGIC FEATHER, the authorized sequel to Stephen King and Richard Chizmar’s NYT bestselling novella Gwendy’s Button Box, including a new foreword by Stephen King, to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery, in an exclusive submission, by Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! NYT bestselling author of Bird Box Josh Malerman's MALORIE, the sequel to the Netflix hit, and MUSICAL CHAIRS, about a woman who was kidnapped for 3 days as a young girl - and on her wedding day discovers that one of her guests, someone she trusts, is the disturbed kidnapper, to Tricia Narwani at Del Rey, in a major deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2019, by Kristin Nelson. UK Rights also sold to Emad Akhtar at Orion.
SOLD!! via Deadline Hollywood: Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Production, Atlas Industries are teaming on a film adaptation of Bird Box author Josh Malerman’s novel BLACK MAD WHEEL. Barnett Brettler to write the screenplay. Sean O’Grady & Bill Stertz are producing the project for Atlas along with Ryan Lewis and Malerman for their newly formed production Spin a Black Yarn shingle. Malerman is repped by Kristin Nelson.
SOLD!! Celesta Rimington's debut THE TWISTER, THE ELEPHANT & ME, about a girl who can talk to the wind, the elephant who saved her life during a category-five tornado, and the epic treasure hunt that leads her to find something even more valuable and lasting, to Emily Easton at Crown Children's, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2020, by Danielle Burby at Nelson Literary Agency.

Submission Guidelines

Because we are an agency that responds to each and every query email received, we are now accepting queries solely through QueryManager as a way to manage the volume. To submit…

Please see below to review what each agent is looking to acquire. You may submit to only ONE agent of your choice—because we share queries with each other here at NLA, a pass from one is a pass from all. When you’re ready to query, click the purple query button for the agent you have chosen. This will take you to that agent’s query form, where you will be asked to submit the following information:

a brief bio, including any writing credentials you may have
the title, genre, and word count of your book
your query letter
the first ten pages of your book

Thank you!

Currently Seeking…

Kristin is currently closed to queries except for referrals.

Voice and character driven stories well told.
Literary or literary/commercial adult novels (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, A Man Called Ove)
Historical/literary adult novels
Big crossover adult novels (literary or upmarket level writing) w/one foot squarely in genre (Wool, Station 11, Lexicon, Ready Player One)
Literary Speculative Fiction
Voice & character-driven thrillers, science fiction & fantasy
Voice & character-driven upmarket women’s fiction, upmarket and smart Chick Lit and Rom Com (Think Crazy Rich Asians, The Kiss Quotient)
Young adult & middle grade novels (all genres including contemporary, #ownvoices, boy adventure, magical, girl power, STEM girls are my jam, characters who use brains over brawn)

Danielle is seeking:

Middle grade and young adult (all genres)
Select passion projects in women’s fiction
A strong voice, nuanced writing, plots with unexpected twists, high concept
Complex female characters, quirky adventures, complicated family dynamics, romantic plotlines that are an element of the narrative but don’t dominate it, seaside novels, girls with swords, stories that take place in the aftermath of disaster (whether personal such as the death of a loved one or bigger picture such as a revolution), magical realism, YA psychological thrillers, sister stories
Social justice themes, own voices authors, a special interest in LGBTQ+ stories
Recent reads I have loved include (in no particular order) The Thing About Jellyfish, It’s Not Like It’s a Secret, We Are Okay, Landline, The Sun Is Also a Star, Uprooted, Salt to the Sea, We Were Liars, A Spool of Blue Thread, When Dimple Met Rishi, Six of Crows, anything Liane Moriarty, anything Kristin Cashore, anything Sarah Dessen

Joanna is seeking:

Character-driven and atmospheric mysteries and thrillers—think Tana French, Blake Crouch, and Heather Gudenkauf.
Literary fiction—fish-out-of-water experiences, immigrant stories, complex families. I cried my way through The Namesake and couldn’t put down The Round House.
Upmarket women’s fiction featuring characters I can’t stop thinking about.
Literary and commercial young-adult fiction—I’ll Give You The Sun and Bone Gap and anything that reminds me of Veronica Mars.

Quressa is seeking:

Modern-day blue stockings, POC fangirls/fanboys, #blackgirlmagic, #carefreeblackgirls, #blackboyjoy, LGBTQ+, neuroatypical/neurodivergent, and disabled POCs as leads
Middle Grade (contemporary and SF/F). Cute, quirky, charming, and fun. Along the lines of Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
Young adult (contemporary, SF/F, historical)
Adult SF/F with strong genre-bending/crossover appeal. (Think the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I’m also a fan of Anne Bishop and Naomi Novik.)
Literary fiction that is thoughtful, evocative, page-turning (The Mothers, Behold the Dreamers, Tell The Wolves I’m Home, Station 11)
Upmarket and commercial fiction
Passion projects in narrative nonfiction with a strong literary voice and commercial appeal (Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi). Would love to see non-whitewashed cowboy stories; pop science by women, specifically women of color; and literary, voice-driven memoir with commercial appeal.
#ownvoices and marginalized authors in all genres mentioned above. Inclusive narratives in all genres.

We do not represent:

Nonfiction (except Quressa, who considers select passion projects in narrative nonfiction—see above—but does not represent abuse narratives or political works)
Children’s picture books (except Danielle)
Early-reader chapter books
Memoir
Screenplays
Short-story collections
Poetry
Material for the Christian/Inspirational market

How to Email Us…

Query Manager takes care of it all so no need to email us!

Response Time

Queries: We read and respond to each and every query we receive. Expect a response to queries within three weeks, occasionally it may take longer.

Full manuscripts: If we have requested your full manuscript, a response can take up to two months. Please keep us informed of any other interest.

Examples of Good Query Letters

Check out Kristin’s blog workshop on query letters. You’ll find it in the right side bar of Pub Rants. You’ll also find several query letters from NLA clients posted there, as well as some of Kristin’s submission pitch letters to editors for various NLA titles. Also check out #NLAquerytip on Twitter for additional useful information.