The roundtablethataccompanies
thisroundupfeaturesfiveagents
who,inadditiontoothergenres,
areactivelyseekingliteraryfiction.
Theytookthetimetotalkabout
whatthattermmeanstothemand
shareexactlywhattheworldofpub-
lishingwantsandneedswhenyou
see“literary”ona wishlist.
Soclinkandcheer“The End”
andthenrollupyoursleeves.You
haveworktodo.The workyou’ve
alreadydonedeservesit.
JORDYALBERT
THEBOOKERALBERT
LITERARYAGENCY
YORK,PA.
THEBOOKERALBERT
AGENCY.COM
@BLUEDRAGONFLY81FICTIONINTERESTS:“Fun,wittyYA
contemporary,particularlysci-fiand
fantasy(romanceis a plus).Also,
smart,sexycontemporaryandhis-
toricalromance.”DOESNOTWANT:
Picturebooks,nonfiction,screen-
plays.RECENTSALES:YourNewBest
FriendbyJayneDenker(romantic
comedy,Halliday).HOWTOSUBMIT:
Fillouttheformatquerymanager.
com/query/1426.TIPSFORWRITERS:
“Gettingpublishedis a longroad,and
thoughit’seasytogetdiscouraged,
keepwriting!The moreyouwrite,
themoreyougrowasanauthor.”
BETSY AMSTER
BETSY AMSTER
LITERARY
ENTERPRISES
LOS ANGELES
AMSTERLIT.COMFICTION INTERESTS: Literary fi ction,
voice-driven mysteries and thrill-
ers, upscale commercial women’s
fi ction. “I’m looking for something
fairly elusive: confi dence. I want tofeel that you’re in the driver’s seat—
that you’ve got a distinctive voice
and know how to launch your story
in the crucial fi rst pages. I’m also
looking for characters with depth.
Overall, it’s important to me that
writers understand the eff ect of their
writing on readers. I look for that on
every page.” NONFICTION INTERESTS:
Narrative nonfi ction (especially by
journalists), travelogues, memoirs
(including graphic memoirs), social
issues and trends, research-based
psychology and self-help, popular
culture, women’s issues, history and
biography, lifestyle, careers, health
and medicine, parenting, cooking
and nutrition, gardening, quirky gift
books. DOES NOT WANT: Romances,
screenplays, poetry, Westerns, fan-
tasy, horror, sci-fi , techno thrillers,
spy capers, apocalyptic scenarios,
self-published books, political or
religious arguments. RECENT SALES:
Th e Taste of Sugar by Marisel Vera
(literary fi ction, Liveright); Th e
Lost Gutenberg: Th e Astounding
Story of One Book’s Five-Hundred-
Ye a r O dy s s e y by Margaret Leslie
Davis (narrative nonfi ction,
TarcherPerigee); What Makes a
Wine Worth Drinking: In Praise of
the Sublime by Terry Th eise (wine
and spirits, Houghton Miffl in); Th e
Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine
N. Aron, Ph.D. (research-based
psychology/self-help, Kensington);
Sugarproof: How Sugar Puts Your
Kid at Risk for Hyperactivity,
Tantrums, Learning Problems,
Digestive Troubles, Overactive Fat
Cells, Chronic Disease, and More—
and What You Can Do About It by
Michael I. Goran, Ph.D., and Emily
Ventura, Ph.D. and M.P.H. (nutri-
tion and parenting, Avery). HOW TO
SUBMIT: For fi ction or narrative non-
fi ction, embed the fi rst three pagesof your manuscript in the body of
your email. For other kinds of non-
fi ction, embed the overview of your
proposal. Send to b.amster.assistant@
gmail.com. TIPS FOR WRITERS: “Don’t
be in a hurry to submit. Make sure
your material is ready. I always fi nd
it reassuring to hear that an author
has worked through multiple draft s.”ELISE CAPRON
SANDRA DIJKSTRA
LITERARY AGENCY
DEL MAR, CALIF.
DIJKSTRAAGENCY.COM
@ELISECAPRONFICTION INTERESTS: Adult literary
novels with “unforgettable writ-
ing, a distinctive voice, and memo-
rable characters—novels with an
unusual or eccentric edge.” Family
sagas, coming-of-age stories set in
interesting settings, multicultural, a
hint of magical realism are all pluses.
NONFICTION INTERESTS: “Cultural his-
tories, history of science, medicine,
journalism focused on mainstream
science topics including environ-
ment, and all must be strongly nar-
rative-driven—fascinating true sto-
ries told in a compelling way.” DOES
NOT WANT: YA, middle-grade, pic-
ture books, romance, fantasy, sci-fi ,
business books, cookbooks, poetry,
religious/spiritual books, screen-
plays, self-help. HOW TO SUBMIT:
Send a query via the online form
QueryMe.Online/DijkstraCapron.
Include a one-page synopsis, brief
bio, and the fi rst 10–15 pages of
your manuscript, pasted into the
form. TIPS FOR WRITERS: “Write as
much as possible to hone your craft ,
be part of the community by engag-
ing with a critique group, going to
events, and supporting your writer
friends, and remember that this is aWritersDigest.com I 23