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Our Submission Process
Thank you for your interest in Martin Literary Management. We are a full service literary and media management agency representing adult fiction and nonfiction, children's books, including picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction. We do not accept poetry, short stories or screenplays.
Please keep in mind the following guidelines when you send a query:
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We are a green agency and only accept email submissions
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In the "Subject" line of your email, please write "QUERY" followed by the title of your work.
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In your email, provide the text of your query letter (pitch/synopsis + short bio).
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Kindly query only ONE of our representatives at MLM that you feel best suits your work.
Once you receive a response, you are welcome to query a different MLM agent.
Your query letter should include publisher submission history and previous publishing credits, if applicable. If you receive an offer of representation from another agent, please let us know immediately.
We make every effort to review every query in a timely manner. If we are interested in seeing more of your work, we will reach out to you.
Sharlene Martin, President, Literary Manager/Producer
accepts Adult Nonfiction queries only.
Please send your queries to Sharlene@MartinLit.com
Sharlene is interested in acquiring highly commercial nonfiction including true crime and pop culture. She also likes breaking news, issue-oriented, and celebrity-driven books. She is particularly interested in works that are adaptable to the screen. Please do not include your manuscript or proposal in your nonfiction query. Sharlene will request those items from you if she is interested.
Jen Newens, Vice President, Senior Literary Manager
Children’s, MG/YA, Kid's Graphic Novels, and Adult Nonfiction
At different phases of her publishing career, Jen has been an author, editor, and publisher, giving her experience in all sides of the business. She is the former publishing director at West Margin Press, an Ingram Content Group company. There, she acquired a wide range of different genres.
A subject matter expert in food and drink titles, Jen spent two decades as a cookbook editor and writer (she even went to culinary school!). She’s experienced in working with celebrity chefs, business owners, cooking brands, and food bloggers, as well as accomplished home cooks.
In her role as Vice President, Jen applies her 360-view of the publishing business to MLM, seeking out fresh, original voices and developing exciting new talent. On the children's side, Jen is interested in picture books with sharp writing and compelling messages; MG/YA stories that resonate with the challenges faced by today’s youth; and graphic novels with quirky narration and original art. In the adult nonfiction, Jen is keen to find original takes on popular topics, books that reveal a riveting personal story, and books with a health and wellness slant.
The following are on Jen’s current wishlist, but she’s always open to hearing new ideas.
Childrens/MG/YA/Graphic Novels
• Books that portray historically excluded voices, disability, neurodivergent characters, LGBTQ topics
• Author/illustrators with strong storytelling skills and a clear vision
• Quirky and humorous stories
• Cat content (she’s crazy for cats)
Adult Nonfiction
• Cooking
-New takes on current trends
-Chef books (especially underrepresented groups)
-Food Bloggers with Unique Stories
• Drinks (mocktails and the NA lifestyle; fresh takes on wine and cocktails)
• Health, Wellness, Diet, and Chronic Illness
• Lifestyle topics
• Self-help
Please submit queries here: http://QueryManager.com/JenNewens
Follow her on Twitter @JenNewens
Lindsay Guzzardo, Senior Literary Manager
handles Adult Fiction.
She will consider any adult fiction with a clear, marketable, compelling hook, and strong voice. Her personal tastes align with the following wish list, but she would never shut herself off to The Next Big Thing!
Lindsay is also interested in working with proven genre writers (i.e. previously published, award-winning/nominated, placement in contests, strong platform, etc.) from the elevator pitch onward. Bring her your pitches and she will help direct you which one to pursue, or she can provide you with one to flesh out into a proposal.
She has an immediate need for:
Fiction that elevates diverse/marginalized voices
WWII-era fiction
Retellings of classic stories
(either modern retellings or classic stories told from a different character’s perspective)
Beach reads
Fiction exploring family dynamics and relationships (particularly mothers/daughters and sisters)
Amish romance/fiction
Cozy, charming, small-town romance/fiction
She also loves:
Rich, evocative historical fiction
Fiction featuring historical figures
European-set fiction, any era and tone
Dark psychological and domestic suspense
Family dramas that interweave past and present
Gorgeous, lyrical literary fiction
Wholesome, clean fiction and romance
Please submit to Lindsay via Query Manager: Query Submission (querymanager.com)
Follow her on Twitter: @LindsayGuzzardo
Alicia Brooks, Senior Literary Manager
Adult Nonfiction and Fiction, YA Nonfiction and Fiction
Alicia Brooks began her publishing career over twenty five years ago as an editorial assistant at Penguin USA (Dutton/Plume). She advanced to an assistant editor position at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday where she worked with groundbreaking authors, including Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Ian McEwan. She then became an editor at Picador/St. Martin's Press where she edited over 40 hardcover titles and several trade paper original titles, including Good Morning America Book Club Pick Noelle Howey's Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine, Nega Mezlekia's award-winning Notes from the Hyena's Belly, and Jaclyn Moriarty’s FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, an ALA Best Book of the Year and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
She became a literary agent at The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2019. Her client list included categories such as Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse backgrounds, Self-Help, Pop Culture, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club Fiction, YA Fiction, Horror, and Historical Fiction.She represented Boyah J. Farah, author of the earth-shattering memoir AMERICA MADE ME A BLACK MAN (Harper/Nominated for the NAACP Image Award and NPR Best Book of the Year), renowned author Nahid Rachlin, author of the novel MIRAGE (Red Hen Press), Kathleen S. Allen, author of the YA Gothic Horror novel THE RESURRECTIONIST (Roaring Brook) Jennifer Sherman Roberts' THE VILLAGE HEALER'S BOOK OF CURES: A Novel (Lake Union/Named an Editors' Choice by the Historical Novel Society and Named a First Reads Editors' Pick by Amazon) and Sofia Romero, author of the linked story collection WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WHO WE ARE (Blackstone/Shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction)
Her wishlist for Martin Literary Management includes the following:
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Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse voices
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Memoir with big concepts
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Self-Help
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Pop Culture
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Social Justice
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Literary Fiction
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Book Club Fiction
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Jewish Fiction and Nonfiction
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Historical Fiction
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Horror
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Romance
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YA Fiction and Nonfiction
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Thrillers
Alicia graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and Philosophy. She has a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in the Teaching of English Grades 7-12. She was raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Manhattan with her writer husband Michael Londra and their cat Tut Baby.
Your query should include a brief synopsis, comparison titles, an author bio, and contact information. Please do not include sample pages of your work. If there is interest, your manuscript or proposal will be requested.
Queries can be emailed to: Alicia@MartinLit.com
NO Query Tracker, please.
Follow her on Threads or Instagram @aliciabrooks323
Kristen Terrette, Literary Manager
Kristen is a literary manager excited to build her list featuring titles in young adult, new adult, fantasy, thrillers/mysteries/suspense, romance, women's fiction, horror, literary fiction, historical fiction, contemporary, non-fiction, all faith-based books, and she is also looking for more illustrators.
She has a BA in Early Childhood Education and MA in Theology and Religious Studies which led her into children’s ministry for many years. Eventually, her lifelong love of books and authors drew her back to her original dream of entering the publishing world. Kristen is a multi-published, award-winning author and freelance writer. She’s held such positions as the Blog Manager for a national women’s ministry and the Social Media Manager for a publishing house. All these components landed her a spot in the coveted Writers House Intern Program. There, she received valuable hands-on agenting and publishing experience which she brings into her position. She was also named an ECPA Emerging Leader in 2023 and went through a precious mentorship during 2024 to further her understanding of the Christian Publishing landscape.
Kristen has long been a voice for diversity. She’s written extensively on topics of racial reconciliation and unity and has been a facilitator of groups around these topics in her church. In all her focused genres, she welcomes books with BIPOC or disabled main characters and diverse friendships. She believes books change people in all the best ways and that every child should see themselves in the pages.
Kristen's Accepts these genres:
Young Adult (All subgenres except Sci-fi): My background in writing YA and extensive reading in this genre has given me a great love and understanding of it. Grab my attention within the first couple of pages. Send me books with first loves, unique friendships, interesting and/or challenging family dynamics, and hard-hitting subject matter (race relations, suicide, abuse, divorce, etc.) but leave me with a satisfying (not necessarily happy!) ending.
I, generally, like friends-lovers tropes, am a little tired of most contemporary YA stories (so it better be fresh!), and I like witches or dark, rogue magic and characters over Fae and court intrigue. I will always love dragons, but would need a new take here, and do you have a unicorn story? I'm game to see it!
Thrillers/Suspense/Mystery: Send me the smart, tough, and brave lady crime solvers. I love serial killers. I love small towns and big cities. I love relatable and quirky characters. If I can’t figure out what’s going to happen next or what the ending will be, you’ve gotten my attention. (Note: I am less into straight police/procedural fiction unless there's a strong hook.)
Horror: Creep me out. Make me scared to read the story at night. Give me a book that explores death- the process of, grim reaper, death personified... If folk-horror is a thing that sounds like it could fit your book, send it. Have a ghost story? I'd rather it be like 'The Ghost Whisperer' versus a romance with one. Vampires? Werewolves? Great! But it better be fresh! No slasher-film style stories please- these don't read well for me. Is your story a thriller with a touch of horror/speculative elements? Send it.
Contemporary: Voice will be what gets me here. Also, everyday life stories that aren't set in the US or England.
Romance: I am currently open to all subgenres of this category. Surprise me.
New Adult: I love college stories! And humorous young twenties. Send me these!
Women's Fiction: I am picky in my tastes here. I tend to lean to lyrical stories here, but I'm open to all. I LOVE diverse stories here too! I love new structures, interesting and surprising POVs. Send me all and I'll take a look.
Historical Fiction: I'm interested in the Civil War to present day time periods, little known parts of WWII that haven't been explored, the Viking era, and Native stories from around the world.
Literary Fiction: I'm picky here... But I'll give anything a shot. Surprise me.
Faith-Based/Inspirational Fiction and Nonfiction: I love a good redemption or forgiveness story, a historically accurate saga, a clean and beautiful, yet realistic love story, or a memoir that has me crying and laughing within the span of a few pages. Surprise me with the beauty of God’s grace. I also want to see more bible studies and devotionals. :)
True Crime (Nonfiction): I'm obsessed with true crime. If you've got a story, tell me about it...
Illustrators: I am open to seeing your artwork! Query me with your portfolio!
Fantasy: My tastes definitely lean toward romance here (Romantsy). And while I do love some Lord of the Rings (the soundtrack was played at my wedding!), I'm currently not looking for high fantasy. Like my tastes in YA fantasy, I'm tired of the court intrigue storyline, or princess needing to save the realm.
Non-fiction: Send me memoirs, culture, celebrity, parenting, and psychology books. If you have an interesting idea, send it. My tastes vary greatly here. (Please have a strong platform and/or authority to speak on the subject if you are sending me a NF submission.)
What I'm taking a break on:
Middle Grade (All subgenres except Sci-fi): I heart Middle Grade! But, I need to take a break on MG submissions for now. I will look at Middle Grade projects at conferences or as referrals.
Picture Books: Picture books are an important part of establishing a love for literature at an early age. However, I need to take a break on PBs for the moment. I will look at Picture Book projects at conferences or as referrals.
Overall Preferences: Settings I'd love to see: Reservations, underpopulated areas in the US, anywhere other than the US or England... I love books with unique structures or retellings, time lapses, dual POVS when warranted, industry-standard word counts (!), and hooks/stakes shown within the first 5-8 pages.
I am not a good fit for Science Fiction (even in YA), books with any political agenda, extremely foul-mouthed characters, sick-lit or cancer books, books over 100k words, and books with gratuitous sex scenes.
To see Kristen's listing on #MSWL, click here.
To see Kristen's website, click here.
If your manuscript is ready, please submit to Kristen via Query Manager here.