Kristin Nelson

My goal as an agent is simple: I want every client of mine to make a living solely from writing and 90% of my authors do without help from any other source of income. I established NLA in 2002 and over the last two decades of my career, I’ve represented over fifty-five New York Times bestselling titles and many USA Today bestsellers. Although I’m a very nice Midwesterner, I’ve heard through the grapevine that editors call me “a hard-working bulldog agent that will fight for you.” What a compliment!

When not busy selling books, I’m quite sporty. I enjoy tennis, pickle ball, and golf. I also love playing Bridge (where surprisingly I’m not the youngest person playing). My book club has been reading great non-NLA books together for 25+ years.

You can also read about my latest sales at Publishers Marketplace.

#MSWL

Literary/commercial novels that tackle timely issues and uncomfortable or complicated relationship dynamics and leave the reader grappling long after the last page is read (Little Fires Everywhere, Such a Fun Age)
High-concept, character-driven novels with one foot squarely in genre (Wool, Bird Box, Station 11)
Absolutely delightful and emotionally engaging novels that can be read over and over again because experiencing that world and those characters is a joy (Remarkably Bright Creatures, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Less, Lessons in Chemistry)
Character-driven novels in the thriller, speculative, or science fiction and fantasy realm that illuminate the world we live in through the lens of an imagined world (The Fifth Season, Ancillary Justice, Gone Girl)
Historical novels that feature a narrative voice and story that is under-represented in history or a story never before told (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Downstairs Girl, The Ventriloquists)
Young-adult novels that pack a serious or a delightful emotional punch delivered in a contemporary setting, #ownvoices, or in a past, future, or imagined world
I am not currently looking at submissions for middle-grade novels or picture books.