Romance brings to mind misty moors, scowling Scots, and windswept women. Perhaps it's not surprising that Scotland is where most romance readers prefer their stories to be set. (I blame Wuthering Heights.)
But where historical romance is concerned, any period or place will do - Regency, American Revolution, Civil War (yup, I'm thinking of Gone With the Wind), Wild West, French Revolution, Vikings, Ancient Egyptians, Cavemen - just pick a place and time, and make your characters fall in love.
Here are ten agents who would like you to do just that.
Note: There is a comprehensive list of agents looking for clients here: Agents Seeking Clients
____________________
Scott Eagan (Greyhaus Literary)
About Scott: Scott draws on his extensive background in education, writing and literature to assist the writers at Greyhaus. He has a BA in English/Literature, a MA in Creative Writing and a MA in Literacy.
What he is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: submissions [@] greyhausagency.com. Send only a query letter within the body of the email. Do not send attachments. Do not send partials or full manuscripts or a synopsis embedded in the email.
Note: This is a small agency.
———————–
Jessica Watterson (Sandra Dijkstra Literary)
About Jessica: She graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in sociocultural anthropology and English. Jessica has made books a serious part of her life for many years. During college, she started an indie review blog that has featured author interviews and has reviewed several self-published books that eventually ended up on the New York Times Best Seller list.
What she is looking for: “I VERY much want American historical romance (particularly Civil War, westward expansion, and California Gold Rush) that would be super. I am accepting all types of historical, but American historical is definitely my wheelhouse, and I’m anticipating we’ll see a swing towards it in the next two years.”
How to Submit: jessica [@] dijkstraagency.com. Please send a query letter, a one-page synopsis, a brief bio (including any description of your publishing history), and the first 10-15 pages of your manuscript. Please send all items in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Include the word “QUERY” in the subject line.
———————–
Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency)
About Nicole: Nicole has been listed by Publisher's Marketplace as a top dealmaker in the country, and named ACFW's 2012 Agent of the Year. She loves discovering new talent and helping established authors to take their career to the next level.
What she is looking for: “Anything Highlander. Regency with a really distinct hook. Diverse settings and time periods. Would love something in the vein of Johanna Lindsey’s ‘Mallory’ Family Saga or Teresa Medeiros (LADY OF CONQUEST, for example).”
How to Submit: Send all queries to nicole [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.
———————–
Laura Bradford (Bradford Literary)
About Laura: Laura Bradford established the Bradford Literary Agency in 2001. She considers herself an editorial-focused agent and takes a hands-on approach to developing proposals and manuscripts with her authors for the most appropriate markets.
What she is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: queries [@] bradfordlit.com. Subject line should begin as follows—QUERY: (The title of the manuscript and any SHORT message you would like us to see). Please email a query letter along with the first chapter of your manuscript and a synopsis. Please be sure to include the genre and word count in your cover letter.
———————–
Emmanuelle Morgen (Stonesong)
About Emmanuelle: She joined Stonesong as an agent in January 2012. Previously she was an agent at Judith Ehrlich Literary and Wendy Sherman Associates, and an editor at Fodor’s, the travel division of Random House. She enjoys developing long-term relationships with her clients, working closely with them to build their literary careers.
What she is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: submissions [at] stonesong.com addressed to Emmanuelle. Include the word ‘query’ in the subject line of your email to ensure we receive it and it isn’t filtered as spam. Include the first chapter or first 10 pages of your work, pasted into the body of your email, so that we may get a sense of your writing. Please note that Emmanuelle is closed to submissions during the months of August and December. We also welcome queries from independent and self-published authors. If you have self-published your book and are interested in working with a publisher for future works, please include descriptions of published and forthcoming works, as well as information about sales and reviews.
———————–
Sarah Younger (Nancy Yost Literary Agency)
About Sarah: Sarah's been with NYLA since 2011.
What she is looking for: Romance
How to Submit: querysarah [@] nyliterary.com. Please send a query letter, along with the initial 25 pages of your material. As sample material is vital for all queries, feel free to send via attachment rather than pasting pages directly into the body of your email.
———————–
Elise Erickson (Harold Ober)
About Elise: Elise graduated from St. Olaf College and the NYU Summer Publishing Institute in 2014, and spent several months interning at Penguin’s New American Library imprint, Folio Literary Management, and Susanna Lea Associates before taking on her current position at Harold Ober Associates. She grew up in both Florida and Minnesota, but is quickly learning to love city life in NYC. Elise is passionate about the role and responsibility of the literary agent, especially being an advocate for authors. In addition to working with books, she currently assists in selling Harold Ober’s TV, film, and subsidiary rights, and is actively building a client list of her own.
What she is looking for: Romance and all of its subgenres
How to Submit: Please email the first 15-20 pages of your manuscript, a concise query letter, and a brief synopsis to elise [@] haroldober.com.
———————–
Jen Hunt (Booker Albert)
About Jen: Jen Hunt graduated from the University of Reno, Nevada with an English Literature degree and an unholy fascination with Victorian literature, although contrary to popular belief, she doesn't wear a corset. She does drink way too much coffee and enjoys watching the BBC. Another remake of a Jane Austen classic? Game on!
What she is looking for: Historical anything
How to Submit: Send queries to query [@] thebookeralbertagency.com. Include a query and the first 10 pages of your manuscript copy/pasted into the body of an email (no attachments unless requested), genre and word count, and your name and contact information. If you have publishing credits, please give us relevant information: name of the book/anthology/story, publisher, publication date, sales info. In the subject line: please be sure to include “Query” and Jen’s name, and the title of your manuscript.
———————–
Saritza Hernández (Corvisiero Literary Agency)
About Saritza: Saritza is the leading literary agent in digital publishing deals. An avid coffee-drinker with a Kindle book obsession, she enjoys a steaming cup of strong Cuban coffee every morning while reading an erotic contemporary romance or action-packed science fiction adventure. A strong advocate of the GLBT community, she enjoys fresh voices in Young Adult and New Adult genre fiction.
What she is looking for: “I want Historical Romance, just not Regency era. Would love multicultural historical romance and young adult historical romance with LGBT main characters.”
How to Submit: query [@] corvisieroagency.com. Saritza prefers that you paste the 1-2 page synopsis and the first 5 pages to the body of your query e-mail. No paper or faxed submissions will be reviewed. Address your query to Saritza specifically, using the phrase “Query for Saritza: [Name of Submission]” in the email Subject Line.
———————–
Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon Literary Agency)
About Patricia: Patricia received her bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in 2008, and also holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in Gender Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the world of publishing, she spent four years as a university-level instructor of literature and writing.
What she is looking for: She is seeking historical fiction set in the 20th century, and a historical single title romance. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents.
How to Submit: Send query by email to patricia [@] MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com. Put “QUERY” in the email subject line. Please include a contact phone number as well as your email address.
But where historical romance is concerned, any period or place will do - Regency, American Revolution, Civil War (yup, I'm thinking of Gone With the Wind), Wild West, French Revolution, Vikings, Ancient Egyptians, Cavemen - just pick a place and time, and make your characters fall in love.
Here are ten agents who would like you to do just that.
Note: There is a comprehensive list of agents looking for clients here: Agents Seeking Clients
____________________
Scott Eagan (Greyhaus Literary)
About Scott: Scott draws on his extensive background in education, writing and literature to assist the writers at Greyhaus. He has a BA in English/Literature, a MA in Creative Writing and a MA in Literacy.
What he is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: submissions [@] greyhausagency.com. Send only a query letter within the body of the email. Do not send attachments. Do not send partials or full manuscripts or a synopsis embedded in the email.
Note: This is a small agency.
———————–
Jessica Watterson (Sandra Dijkstra Literary)
About Jessica: She graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in sociocultural anthropology and English. Jessica has made books a serious part of her life for many years. During college, she started an indie review blog that has featured author interviews and has reviewed several self-published books that eventually ended up on the New York Times Best Seller list.
What she is looking for: “I VERY much want American historical romance (particularly Civil War, westward expansion, and California Gold Rush) that would be super. I am accepting all types of historical, but American historical is definitely my wheelhouse, and I’m anticipating we’ll see a swing towards it in the next two years.”
How to Submit: jessica [@] dijkstraagency.com. Please send a query letter, a one-page synopsis, a brief bio (including any description of your publishing history), and the first 10-15 pages of your manuscript. Please send all items in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Include the word “QUERY” in the subject line.
———————–
Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency)
About Nicole: Nicole has been listed by Publisher's Marketplace as a top dealmaker in the country, and named ACFW's 2012 Agent of the Year. She loves discovering new talent and helping established authors to take their career to the next level.
What she is looking for: “Anything Highlander. Regency with a really distinct hook. Diverse settings and time periods. Would love something in the vein of Johanna Lindsey’s ‘Mallory’ Family Saga or Teresa Medeiros (LADY OF CONQUEST, for example).”
How to Submit: Send all queries to nicole [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.
———————–
Laura Bradford (Bradford Literary)
About Laura: Laura Bradford established the Bradford Literary Agency in 2001. She considers herself an editorial-focused agent and takes a hands-on approach to developing proposals and manuscripts with her authors for the most appropriate markets.
What she is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: queries [@] bradfordlit.com. Subject line should begin as follows—QUERY: (The title of the manuscript and any SHORT message you would like us to see). Please email a query letter along with the first chapter of your manuscript and a synopsis. Please be sure to include the genre and word count in your cover letter.
———————–
Emmanuelle Morgen (Stonesong)
About Emmanuelle: She joined Stonesong as an agent in January 2012. Previously she was an agent at Judith Ehrlich Literary and Wendy Sherman Associates, and an editor at Fodor’s, the travel division of Random House. She enjoys developing long-term relationships with her clients, working closely with them to build their literary careers.
What she is looking for: Historical romance
How to Submit: submissions [at] stonesong.com addressed to Emmanuelle. Include the word ‘query’ in the subject line of your email to ensure we receive it and it isn’t filtered as spam. Include the first chapter or first 10 pages of your work, pasted into the body of your email, so that we may get a sense of your writing. Please note that Emmanuelle is closed to submissions during the months of August and December. We also welcome queries from independent and self-published authors. If you have self-published your book and are interested in working with a publisher for future works, please include descriptions of published and forthcoming works, as well as information about sales and reviews.
———————–
Sarah Younger (Nancy Yost Literary Agency)
About Sarah: Sarah's been with NYLA since 2011.
What she is looking for: Romance
How to Submit: querysarah [@] nyliterary.com. Please send a query letter, along with the initial 25 pages of your material. As sample material is vital for all queries, feel free to send via attachment rather than pasting pages directly into the body of your email.
———————–
Elise Erickson (Harold Ober)
About Elise: Elise graduated from St. Olaf College and the NYU Summer Publishing Institute in 2014, and spent several months interning at Penguin’s New American Library imprint, Folio Literary Management, and Susanna Lea Associates before taking on her current position at Harold Ober Associates. She grew up in both Florida and Minnesota, but is quickly learning to love city life in NYC. Elise is passionate about the role and responsibility of the literary agent, especially being an advocate for authors. In addition to working with books, she currently assists in selling Harold Ober’s TV, film, and subsidiary rights, and is actively building a client list of her own.
What she is looking for: Romance and all of its subgenres
How to Submit: Please email the first 15-20 pages of your manuscript, a concise query letter, and a brief synopsis to elise [@] haroldober.com.
———————–
Jen Hunt (Booker Albert)
About Jen: Jen Hunt graduated from the University of Reno, Nevada with an English Literature degree and an unholy fascination with Victorian literature, although contrary to popular belief, she doesn't wear a corset. She does drink way too much coffee and enjoys watching the BBC. Another remake of a Jane Austen classic? Game on!
What she is looking for: Historical anything
How to Submit: Send queries to query [@] thebookeralbertagency.com. Include a query and the first 10 pages of your manuscript copy/pasted into the body of an email (no attachments unless requested), genre and word count, and your name and contact information. If you have publishing credits, please give us relevant information: name of the book/anthology/story, publisher, publication date, sales info. In the subject line: please be sure to include “Query” and Jen’s name, and the title of your manuscript.
———————–
Saritza Hernández (Corvisiero Literary Agency)
About Saritza: Saritza is the leading literary agent in digital publishing deals. An avid coffee-drinker with a Kindle book obsession, she enjoys a steaming cup of strong Cuban coffee every morning while reading an erotic contemporary romance or action-packed science fiction adventure. A strong advocate of the GLBT community, she enjoys fresh voices in Young Adult and New Adult genre fiction.
What she is looking for: “I want Historical Romance, just not Regency era. Would love multicultural historical romance and young adult historical romance with LGBT main characters.”
How to Submit: query [@] corvisieroagency.com. Saritza prefers that you paste the 1-2 page synopsis and the first 5 pages to the body of your query e-mail. No paper or faxed submissions will be reviewed. Address your query to Saritza specifically, using the phrase “Query for Saritza: [Name of Submission]” in the email Subject Line.
———————–
Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon Literary Agency)
About Patricia: Patricia received her bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in 2008, and also holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in Gender Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the world of publishing, she spent four years as a university-level instructor of literature and writing.
What she is looking for: She is seeking historical fiction set in the 20th century, and a historical single title romance. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents.
How to Submit: Send query by email to patricia [@] MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com. Put “QUERY” in the email subject line. Please include a contact phone number as well as your email address.
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