Jessica Berg is a literary agent, author, and the founder of Rosecliff Literary, where she champions bold, emotionally resonant fiction with unforgettable characters, strong stakes, and a sense of urgency. She is currently closed to fiction. 

She is especially drawn to upmarket, historical, and supernatural suspense, with a soft spot for haunting atmosphere, richly layered relationships, and characters who carry deep emotional wounds. Give her a protagonist standing at the edge of reinvention, a world on the brink of change, or a past that refuses to stay buried. She loves stories that explore grief, longing, ambition, and survival and the complicated ways they intersect. If your book feels like it belongs in a candlelit room with a storm raging outside, she wants to see it.

She earned her MFA from Spalding University and contributes regularly to Writer’s Digest. Jessica serves on the boards of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, and teaches nationally on querying, comp titles, and the business of authorship, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term writing careers. Her client list includes Vincent Zandri, Lisa Roe, Arizona Bell, and others.

Before joining Azantian Literary Agency, T.S. Ferguson worked for 16 years as an editor for some of the top children’s and teen book publishers in the business, including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Harlequin Teen/Inkyard Press, and JIMMY Patterson Books. He has worked with New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors such as Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Suzanne Selfors, Pseudonymous Bosch, Robin Talley, Hillary Monahan (writing as Eva Darrows), and Adi Alsaid.

Childrens, middle grade

Bowen Gillings joined Savvy Literary in 2025 and has nearly a decade of experience as an author and champion of authors. Currently building his list, Bowen seeks to partner with writers who possess a sense of professionalism and a sense of humor. He loves books with a strong narrative voice that are engaging and entertaining.

Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong is a literary agent at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency with nearly a decade of industry experience. A life-long lover of books, Cathie enjoys vivid memories of the exact moment she unlocked the secret code behind the letters that, when combined, form words. Since then, it’s the rare occasion when she’s without a book in hand, a Kindle in her purse, or a pair of AirPods in her ears while devouring the works of whatever author is her new favorite of the month.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Cathie is a 1992 graduate of the University of Oklahoma where she earned a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in history. She currently resides in Minnesota where she and her husband of 33 years share two grown children, a son-in-law, and a precocious black lab-mix named Ozzy. 

Cathie accepts queries in the following categories and genres:
Adult Only, Fiction Only, Romance (all categories except Science Fiction), Romantasy, Domestic or Psychological Suspense, Horror (Non-Splatter only), Mystery, Paranormal Fiction, Historical Fiction (Not centered in war theatre), Commercial Fiction, Women’s/Book Club Fiction.

Cathie does not accept queries for: 
Non-Fiction (except by invitation), Science Fiction, Poetry, Short Stories, General Fantasy (titles that might be compared to Brandon Sanderson,, J.R.R. Tolkien, or George R.R. Martin), Children’s Fiction (YA, MG, PB).

For more information about Cathie’s specific tastes, you can view her updated Manuscript Wishlist here. Queries to Cathie can be submitted here: querymanager.com/QueryCathie.

Elisa Saphier is an agent with MacGregor & Luedeke where she is the exception, looking for nonreligious nonfiction and upmarket genre fiction (especially mystery/thriller and romance) to balance out her mostly literary list. She represents upper middle grade through adult (fiction and nonfiction) and she is especially eager to work with marginalized writers to help equalize the publishing industry and to get their stories out into the world for others to read (#representationmatters). She lives in Portland, OR with her wife and son where she is always behind on queries but where she is constantly reading. Find out more about what she’s looking for here: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/elisa-saphier/

Casey Cowan began his career in graphic design, shaping projects across a wide range of industries for nearly two decades before finding his niche and co-founding Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates in 2013. Under his leadership, the company has grown into a successful, award-winning independent publisher with authors spread across the globe. A year later, he partnered with the late Dusty Richards to co-found Saddlebag Dispatches, an award-winning magazine celebrating the American West. When not working, Casey enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with his six children, four young grandchildren, and his wife, Amy.

If you asked six-year-old Nicole Luongo and present-day Nicole Luongo what a “perfect day” looked like, their answers would be identical: hot cocoa, a loaded bookstore gift card—with unlimited browsing time—mint chocolate chip ice cream, and an evening of uninterrupted reading. (I’m nothing if not consistent.)

After working my dream high school summer job as a bookseller, I earned a joint B.A. in English and International Development from McGill University, then landed an editorial assistant role at Mango Publishing. From there, I moved to Park Row Books (HarperCollins), where I helped edit New York Times bestselling authors Mary Kubica, Heather Gudenkauf, Sarah Penner, and Pam Jenoff, among others, before building my own list.

I joined the GCP team in October 2024 and am looking for a wide range of edgy, voice-driven, commercial book club fiction, with an emphasis on amplifying marginalized voices. My editorial interests include anything upmarket speculative (magical realism, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, cozy fantasy—you name it—especially if there’s a feminist bent!); genre-subverting psychological thrillers (cunning female perpetrators, unreliable female narrators, etc.); select coming-of-age stories; and feminist satire/dark comedy (I’m a sucker for biting, whip-smart humor). While I primarily acquire fiction, I also consider select narrative nonfiction/memoir, with specific interests in mental health, feminism, pop culture, psychology, social justice, and environmental activism.

Anna Michels has been at Sourcebooks for more than thirteen years and is Senior Editorial Director of Sourcebooks nonfiction and Poisoned Pen Press. Anna is looking for a wide variety of books under the nonfiction umbrella, including history, narrative and prescriptive nonfiction on the most important issues facing our society today, parenting, personal development, and other topics of interest to the general reader. In crime fiction, she’s drawn to unputdownable writing and a story that’s dark enough to be interesting but not dark enough to throw you into a pit of despair. She has a personal weakness for outdoor adventure and travel stories across categories.

Kelly Stone is an associate editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. She joined St. Martin’s in 2021 after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Communication. Her list consists of action-packed thrillers, rom-com/mystery mash-ups, elevated cozy mysteries, and humor-filled romance novels for adults, young adults, and anyone in between. She is looking for commercial and upmarket fiction that features distinct characters whose voices are impossible to forget with fast-paced, high-concept plots. She is especially drawn to genre fiction, particularly mystery, thriller, suspense, romance, and speculative stories. Some of her recent acquisitions include Codebreaker by Jay Martel, Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel, and Flirting with Murder by Amanda Sellet.

Looking for: Mystery, thriller, suspense, romance, speculative fiction, grounded fantasy/sci-fi, book club fiction, women’s fiction, YA

Not looking for: Police procedurals; military fiction; horror; historical fiction; epic fantasy; children’s books for ages below YA

Drue VanDuker is an assistant editor at St. Martin’s Press, where she has worked since 2022 after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English and a minor in Rhetoric and Writing. At SMP, she has worked across a wide range of genres, including book club fiction, domestic drama, psychological and gothic suspense, thrillers, historical fiction, rom-coms, accessible poetry, and narrative nonfiction—and with many incredible, bestselling authors including Rachel Hawkins, Emilia Hart, and Carola Lovering. 

Drue is passionate about storytelling that invites readers to step into perspectives beyond their own and takes them along for a journey. Her editorial approach is rooted in aligning story development with authentic character motivation, and she is dedicated to helping authors realize and execute their vision for the book. She is actively building her list of upmarket and commercial fiction—book club fiction, domestic drama, psychological and domestic suspense, historical fiction—as well as select narrative nonfiction. Drue is always on the hunt for stories with cinematic pacing that grant readers access to protagonists’ rich interior worlds and skillfully balance thought-provoking themes with commercial appeal. She is instantly hooked by immersive stories with a strong sense of place.

Originally from a small town in Texas, she currently lives in New York City with her beagle-German shepherd mix and loves attending Broadway shows, sitting in window seats at coffee shops, and dancing.