Meet the Nightmare on Query Street Agents!

The big reveal is HERE.

Want to know which agents we have for Nightmare on Query Street? WE HAVE TWENTY-FOUR AND COUNTING!! There are so many agents participating, we can’t fit them all on one blog! View one-third of them below, then click on over to Michelle’s and Michael’s blogs to see the rest. We’ve got both well-established agents and some newer professionals who are actively seeking to build their lists.

Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown

Jennifer represents authors and illustrators of picture book, middle grade, and YA stories, and is actively building her list. Although she specializes in children’s literature, she also represents adult fiction, both literary and commercial, particularly crime, suspense and horror projects.

For picture books, she is drawn to a wide range of stories from silly to sweet, but she always appreciates a strong dose of humor and some kind of surprise at the end. When it comes to middle grade, she likes all kinds of genres, including adventures, mysteries, spooky-but-not-too-scary ghost stories, humor, realistic contemporary and fantasy.

YA is Jennifer’s sweet spot. She is a suspense junkie. She adores action-packed thrillers full of unexpected twists. Throw in a dash of romance, and she’s hooked! She’s a sucker for conspiracy plots where anyone might be a double agent, even the kid next door. She is a huge fan of psychological horror that blurs the lines between the real and the imagined. But as much as she loves a good thriller, she finds her favorite novels are literary stories about ordinary teens, especially those focused on family, relationships, sexuality, mental illness, or addiction. In such stories, she is particularly drawn to a close, confiding first-person narrative. Regardless of genre, she is actively seeking fresh new voices and perspectives underrepresented in literature.

That’s her wish list, but the truth is an author might have something she has never considered before, and it might be absolutely perfect for her. She is open to any good story that is well written with a strong, authentic voice. Surprise her!

Melissa Jeglinski, The Knight Agency

A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English with a writing concentration, Melissa began her career as an editor with Harlequin Enterprises. Looking to work with a variety of authors and genres, she joined The Knight Agency in 2008.

With over two decades experience in the publishing industry, Melissa has fostered her clients to National prominence including a recent Newbery Honor. She is a member of RWA and AAR. Melissa is currently seeking projects in the following areas: Romance (contemporary, category, historical, inspirational), Women’s Fiction and Mystery.

Patrica Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

Patricia Nelson joined Marsal Lyon Literary Agency in 2014. She represents adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction, and is actively building her list.

In general, Patricia looks for stories that hook her with a unique plot, fantastic writing and complex characters that jump off the page. On the adult side, she is seeking women’s fiction both upmarket and commercial, historical fiction set in the 20th century, and compelling plot-driven literary fiction. She’s also looking for sexy, smart adult contemporary and historical single title romance. On the children’s side, Patricia is open to a wide range of genres of YA and MG, with particular interest in contemporary/realistic, magical realism, mystery, science fiction and fantasy. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents.

Patricia’s clients include RITA Award-winning and USA Today bestselling romance author Sarina Bowen (Rookie Move, Berkley/Penguin); women’s fiction authors Susan Bishop Crispell (The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, St. Martin’s Press) and Loretta Nyhan (All the Good Parts, Lake Union Publishing); young adult novelists Mary McCoy (Camp So-and-So, Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab), Axie Oh (Rebel Seoul, forthcoming from Tu Books) and Catherine Alene (The Sky Between You and Me, Sourcebooks); and middle grade novelists Kristi Wientge (Karma Khullar’s Mustache, forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Children’s), Hayley Chewins (The Turnaway Girls, forthcoming from Candlewick) and Margaret Dilloway (Momotaro: Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters, Disney-Hyperion), among others.

Patricia is a member of SCBWI and RWA. She 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.

Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic

Before joining Sterling Lord Literistic in 2017, Sarah worked as an editor for fifteen years, holding roles at G.P. Putnam Son’s, Hyperion Books, HarperCollins Children’s Books, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. Over the course of her career, Sarah has had the pleasure of editing many talented authors including the likes of: Jodi Lynn Anderson, Kasie West, Claudia Gray, Michael Buckley, Eileen Cook, Erin Summerill, and Megan Shepherd. Sarah is looking for middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction across all genres. She is particularly drawn to middle grade fantasy and contemporary with heart, humor, and magic. In the young adult space, she has an affinity for southern voices, high-concept plots, grounded sci-fi/fantasy, historical, mysteries & thrillers, and emotionally compelling contemporary. Sarah graduated with a BA in English from the University of Virginia.

Gabrielle Piraino, DeFiore & Company

Gabrielle Piraino is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a dual-B.A. in Honors Classical Languages and English. After graduation, Gabbie earned her Masters of Science in Publishing at Pace University. She has previously worked for both major commercial publishing houses and literary agencies alike, including Farrar, Straus & Giroux and most recently at AGI Vigliano. Gabbie joined the team at DeFiore and Company in the summer of 2016.

Gabbie is actively seeking projects that you can lose an entire afternoon reading: imaginative sci-fi/fantasy with strong world building, blood-curdling horror, whip-smart thrillers, and up-market chick lit that pairs well with sand and a margarita. She’d love to see any of the above for Young Adult readers (virgin daiquiri, though!), and wholeheartedly enjoys spunky, stubborn characters that never do exactly what you’d expect. For Children’s and Middle Grade, Gabbie is looking for books that introduce curious young readers to new concepts—be it historically leaning or learning your manners—with compelling characters and an engaging voice. She’s also interested in author-illustrators working within the comic/graphic novel space and can’t wait to develop the next generation’s favorite villains. An avid personal baker/cook, Gabbie would also love to receive queries for cookbook and crafty lifestyle projects.

Carlisle Webber, Fuse Literary

Carlisle Webber refused to major in English in college because she didn’t think there was anything fun to read on the required lists. No Stephen King? No R.L. Stine? No thanks!

After college, she took her love of commercial, YA, and middle grade fiction to the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, where she earned a Master of Library and Information Sciences. She worked as a public librarian for years before deciding to move to the business side of publishing. She attended the Columbia Publishing Course, interned at Writers House, and worked at the Jane Rotrosen Agency in New York City.

She considers herself to be an editorial agent and has industry experience as a copy editor for Yen Press, a division of Hachette Book Group, and the health and parenting website Spright.com. She belongs to the American Copy Editors Society and Bay Area Editors’ Forum and holds a Professional Certificate in Editing from University of California, Berkeley. When editing, she aims to make a book the best possible version of itself, shaping it in a way so it can best use its unique voice to appeal to a wide audience.

Cate Hart, Corvisiero Literary Agency

Cate represents young adult and middle-grade fiction, select commercial adult fiction, contemporary and historical romance, and nonfiction in the areas of history and pop culture. Cate has been with the Corvisiero Literary Agency for three years. She works with clients to build their platform, works on PR projects to help promote clients’ books, and reads manuscripts with an editorial eye.

Cate seeks unique stories with well-crafted plots and unforgettable characters with a strong voice. She loves characters that surprise her and plots that keep her guessing until the very last page.

In adult fiction, she is actively looking for Romantic Suspense. She loves FBI agents, Special Law Divisions, Cyber Crime. She’d love a caper or heist romance, sexy and stylized like To Catch a Thief or fun and adventurous like Ocean’s 11. She would love to find Historical Romance set in the Gilded Age, give her a swoon-worthy Fifth Avenue Tycoon or Knickerbocker. She is also looking for contemporary fantasy and especially magical realism.
She is looking for adult and children’s nonfiction specifically in the areas of lesser known or quirky historical facts and forgotten people of importance. She prefers pop culture nonfiction centered around music and film, and Nashville and unique Southern culture.

In Middle Grade, she accepts all genres, but is drawn to stories of strong bonds of friendship, or mischief and adventure. Cate prefers more high-concept, commercial young adult, especially fantasy, fairy tale and classics retellings, mystery and thrillers, and historical fantasy.

As always, Cate welcomes all diverse stories and authors.