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 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.
Lindsay Guzzardo 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
Delia Berrigan
Delia is closed temporarily to submissions effective March 15, 2023.
Delia is most interested in representing Adult Nonfiction in the areas of:
Business
Thought Leadership
Memoir
True Crime
Narrative Nonfiction
History and Current Affairs
Religion and Spirituality
Delia wants to hear from subject matter experts, leaders, and underrepresented voices. If you have a distinct voice, a handle of the craft, and something unique to share with the world, send her a query. Please do not include your manuscript or proposal in your nonfiction query. Delia will request those items from you if she is interested.
Other areas of interest include literary and commercial fiction, mysteries, young adult, and children’s picture books. Delia is particularly drawn to up-market women’s fiction, cozy mysteries, writers of color, stories that explore both universal and uncomfortable truths, and joy. Please do not include your manuscript, bio, or synopsis in your fiction queries. Delia will request those items from you if she is interested.
Thomas Hill
Currently Closed for Submission
Thomas is on a mission to find authentic voices who strive to raise the consciousness of the reading public through satire, humor, brilliant prose, and/or a sobering examination of issues and situations currently impacting the human experience.
He is interested in representing authors in the following fiction genres:
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Thriller/Suspense (political, military, religious/cult, psychological, espionage)
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Historical
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Science Fiction (AI, utopian/dystopian societies, alternate history)
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Western (mountain men, cowboys, Native voices)
Thomas also welcomes nonfiction submissions in narrative nonfiction, memoir, and business.
He is not interested in:
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Fantasy
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Horror
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Poetry
Query Thomas at Thomas.Hill@MartinLit.com
Kristen Terrette
February Agent of the Month – Kristen Terrette – Martin Literary | Writing and Illustrating (wordpress.com)
Kristen represents Women's Crime Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Picture Books with an Author/Illustrator, and all sub-genres of faith-based books.
She accepts submissions via Query Manager. Submit to her by clicking https://querymanager.com/query/2703.
Middle Grade (All subgenres except Sci-fi): Kristen hearts Middle Grade. She would love to see books tackling themes like abandonment, bullying, loneliness, comparison, divorce, and body image but done so by instilling hope, growth, and healing. Send her the creepy, horrifying, supernatural, fantastical, historical, and contemporary. She is ready to see it all.
Young Adult (All subgenres except Sci-fi): Kristen’s background in writing YA and her extensive reading in this genre has given her a great love and understanding of it. Grab her attention within the first couple of pages. Send her 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 her with a satisfying (not necessarily happy!) ending.
Women’s Crime Thriller: Kristen loves a good thriller with a woman main character, so send her the smart, tough, and brave lady crime solvers. If she can’t figure out what’s going to happen next or what the ending will be, you’ve gotten her attention.
Faith-Based Fiction and Memoirs: Kristen loves a good redemption or forgiveness story, a historically accurate saga, a clean and beautiful, yet realistic love story, or a memoir that has her crying and laughing within the span of a few pages. Surprise her with the beauty of God’s grace.
Picture Books with Authors/Illustrators: Picture books are an important part of establishing a love for literature at an early age, though, at this time, Kristen is only looking for authors who are also illustrators. If your work fits these criteria, she’d love to see it.
Other things Kristen loves: Magical Realism in Kidlit, friendships representing multiple cultures and ethnicities, classical and whimsical flares, Stranger Things vibes and nostalgia, first loves, characters that make me laugh out loud, and plot twists.
Kristen is NOT a good fit for Science Fiction (even in MG or YA), books with any political agenda, extremely foul-mouthed characters, or gratuitous sex scenes.
Rick Lewis
Rick Lewis represents speculative fiction (SFFH) authors.
Rick is looking for character-driven stories with genuine emotion and meaning struggles. And maybe a dragon or a spaceship, too. But mostly the genuine and meaningful stuff. He wants you to take him on a journey to a highly imaginative new world that illuminates our own in some significant way.
He is open to queries for Adult and Young Adult novels, as well as graphic novels.
He’s most interested in:
- Epic Fantasy & Space Opera (Classic empire-spanning stuff!)
- Dark Fantasy & Gothic Horror
- Contemporary Fantasy (Especially portal/hidden worlds)
- Post-Apocalyptic
- Paranormal Horror
- Magical Realism
He also loves:
- #OwnVoices
- Stories that celebrate diversity and inclusion
- Miraculous technology gone too far
- Fairytale retellings
He’s very skeptical of vampire and superhero novels, but maybe you can win him over? But he’s not at all interested in cocky, wise-cracking YA protagonists who are cynical and world-weary by the age of 18.
All queries must be submitted through Query Manager.