Here are nine agents actively seeking horror. All are from reputable agencies. Be sure to check their stats on AgentQuery.
1. Maria Vicente (P.S. Literary)
Maria holds a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton University and a B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario. She has affinities for literary prose, strong character development, original storytelling formats, and anything geeky.
What she is seeking: Young adult and middle grade horror. (No adult.)
How to submit: How to contact: E-query query [at] psliterary.com with “Query for Maria” in the subject line. “Do not send attachments. Always let us know if your manuscript/proposal is currently under consideration by other agents/publishers. If you don’t receive a response to your query within 4-6 weeks it means a no from the agency.”
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2. Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary)
Veronica Park is an agent, author, journalist and marketing consultant with more than seven years of experience writing and editing for publication.
What she is seeking: “I would love a YA, contemporary retelling of any of the horror “classics” like Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey, or anything by H.P. Lovecraft.”
How to submit: E-query query [at] corvisieroagency.com and putting “Attn: Veronica Park – Query – [BOOK TITLE]” in the subject line. She prefers to see your query letter, synopsis and 15-20 page sample pasted into the body of the e-mail. For bonus points, include links to your social media profiles in your email signature.
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3. Rebecca Podos (Rees Literary)
Rebecca Podos is a graduate of the MFA Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College
What she is seeking: Young adult and middle grade horror only. (No adult.)
How to submit: Submit a query letter and the first few chapters (pasted in the e-mail) to Rebecca [at] reesagency.com. No attachments.
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4. Sarah LaPolla (Bradford Literary)
Sarah LaPolla joined Bradford Literary Agency as an agent in 2013. She had previously worked in the foreign rights department at Curtis Brown, Ltd., and became an associate agent there in 2010. Sarah received her MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from The New School in 2008, and has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Ithaca College.
What she is seeking: Young adult horror only. (No adult or MG mss.)
How to submit: E-query sarah [at] bradfordlit.com. Put “Query: [title]” in your subject line. 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. No attachments.
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5. Jill Marr (Sandra Dijkstra Literary)
Jill graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in history. She has a strong Internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience
What she is seeking: Adult stories only. No YA or MG. “I’d like to find a horror story like Joe Hill’sHeart Shaped Box, the kind of tale that pulls you in so completely, and yet you feel like you can only safely read it during the day. I’d also love to see more gritty and atmospheric stories with plenty of plot turns–think The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad. I like weird and creepy like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Shock me.”
How to submit: E-query jmsubmissions [at] dijkstraagency.com. “If you have not heard back from us six weeks after sending your letter, you may assume that we have passed. Please send a query letter, a 1-page synopsis, a brief bio (including a 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.”
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6. Alec Shane (Writers House)
Alec is Assistant to Jodi Reamer. And while I continue to work under Jodi's careful tutelage, I am now also in the process of actively building my own list and currently represent a fairly eclectic mix of Children's and Adult fiction and nonfiction. I'm eagerly looking for both.
What he is seeking: "Great horror - I haven't been scared to turn off the light in far too long and something needs to be done about it."
How to submit: Send the first 10 pages of your manuscript, along with your query letter, to ashane [at] writershouse.com with “Query for Alec Shane: [TITLE]” as your subject heading. No attachments.
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7. Lane Heymont (The Seymour Agency)
What he is seeking: "Well, my all time favorite novel is Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. It’s everything, Gothic horror, science fiction, and a dash of the weird unknown and possesses what makes these genres great."
How to submit: How to connect: Send all queries to lane [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.
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8. Evan Gregory (Ethan Ellenberg Literary)
Evan Gregory is a Senior Agent.
What he is seeking: “Alien. Abduction. Whitley Strieber and Fire in the Sky scarred me for life. Also if you can write a contemporary Lovecraftian yarn I want to hear from you (especially if you’re TheBoyInTheClock).”
How to submit: Please send submissions to agent [at] ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Evan. “For email submissions, we ask that you paste all materials into the body of the email in the order mentioned below. For example, if you were submitting fiction you would begin with a brief query letter, followed by your synopsis, followed by the first 50 pages of your manuscript. We will not open attachments.”
____________________
9. Heather Flaherty (The Bent Agency)
Heather began her publishing career as an editor at Random House.
What she is seeking: Young Adult. “I like really good horror and ghost stories… not gory-for-gory’s sake or overly disgusting, but cringing, dark, bloody twisted, and even lovely. I’m seeking Alice Madness Returns meets Anna Dressed In Blood.”
How to submit: flahertyqueries [at] the bentagency.com. Please do not query Heather if you are also querying Beth Phelan of The Bent Agency, who is also on this list. Paste the first ten pages of your book in the body of your email.
1. Maria Vicente (P.S. Literary)
Maria holds a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton University and a B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario. She has affinities for literary prose, strong character development, original storytelling formats, and anything geeky.
What she is seeking: Young adult and middle grade horror. (No adult.)
How to submit: How to contact: E-query query [at] psliterary.com with “Query for Maria” in the subject line. “Do not send attachments. Always let us know if your manuscript/proposal is currently under consideration by other agents/publishers. If you don’t receive a response to your query within 4-6 weeks it means a no from the agency.”
____________________
2. Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary)
Veronica Park is an agent, author, journalist and marketing consultant with more than seven years of experience writing and editing for publication.
What she is seeking: “I would love a YA, contemporary retelling of any of the horror “classics” like Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey, or anything by H.P. Lovecraft.”
How to submit: E-query query [at] corvisieroagency.com and putting “Attn: Veronica Park – Query – [BOOK TITLE]” in the subject line. She prefers to see your query letter, synopsis and 15-20 page sample pasted into the body of the e-mail. For bonus points, include links to your social media profiles in your email signature.
____________________
3. Rebecca Podos (Rees Literary)
Rebecca Podos is a graduate of the MFA Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College
What she is seeking: Young adult and middle grade horror only. (No adult.)
How to submit: Submit a query letter and the first few chapters (pasted in the e-mail) to Rebecca [at] reesagency.com. No attachments.
____________________
4. Sarah LaPolla (Bradford Literary)
Sarah LaPolla joined Bradford Literary Agency as an agent in 2013. She had previously worked in the foreign rights department at Curtis Brown, Ltd., and became an associate agent there in 2010. Sarah received her MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from The New School in 2008, and has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Ithaca College.
What she is seeking: Young adult horror only. (No adult or MG mss.)
How to submit: E-query sarah [at] bradfordlit.com. Put “Query: [title]” in your subject line. 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. No attachments.
____________________
5. Jill Marr (Sandra Dijkstra Literary)
Jill graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in history. She has a strong Internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience
What she is seeking: Adult stories only. No YA or MG. “I’d like to find a horror story like Joe Hill’sHeart Shaped Box, the kind of tale that pulls you in so completely, and yet you feel like you can only safely read it during the day. I’d also love to see more gritty and atmospheric stories with plenty of plot turns–think The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad. I like weird and creepy like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Shock me.”
How to submit: E-query jmsubmissions [at] dijkstraagency.com. “If you have not heard back from us six weeks after sending your letter, you may assume that we have passed. Please send a query letter, a 1-page synopsis, a brief bio (including a 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.”
____________________
6. Alec Shane (Writers House)
Alec is Assistant to Jodi Reamer. And while I continue to work under Jodi's careful tutelage, I am now also in the process of actively building my own list and currently represent a fairly eclectic mix of Children's and Adult fiction and nonfiction. I'm eagerly looking for both.
What he is seeking: "Great horror - I haven't been scared to turn off the light in far too long and something needs to be done about it."
How to submit: Send the first 10 pages of your manuscript, along with your query letter, to ashane [at] writershouse.com with “Query for Alec Shane: [TITLE]” as your subject heading. No attachments.
____________________
7. Lane Heymont (The Seymour Agency)
What he is seeking: "Well, my all time favorite novel is Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. It’s everything, Gothic horror, science fiction, and a dash of the weird unknown and possesses what makes these genres great."
How to submit: How to connect: Send all queries to lane [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.
____________________
8. Evan Gregory (Ethan Ellenberg Literary)
Evan Gregory is a Senior Agent.
What he is seeking: “Alien. Abduction. Whitley Strieber and Fire in the Sky scarred me for life. Also if you can write a contemporary Lovecraftian yarn I want to hear from you (especially if you’re TheBoyInTheClock).”
How to submit: Please send submissions to agent [at] ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Evan. “For email submissions, we ask that you paste all materials into the body of the email in the order mentioned below. For example, if you were submitting fiction you would begin with a brief query letter, followed by your synopsis, followed by the first 50 pages of your manuscript. We will not open attachments.”
____________________
9. Heather Flaherty (The Bent Agency)
Heather began her publishing career as an editor at Random House.
What she is seeking: Young Adult. “I like really good horror and ghost stories… not gory-for-gory’s sake or overly disgusting, but cringing, dark, bloody twisted, and even lovely. I’m seeking Alice Madness Returns meets Anna Dressed In Blood.”
How to submit: flahertyqueries [at] the bentagency.com. Please do not query Heather if you are also querying Beth Phelan of The Bent Agency, who is also on this list. Paste the first ten pages of your book in the body of your email.
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