Submission Guidelines
The P.S. Literary Agency represents both fiction and non-fiction in a variety of categories. Please read each individual agent profile below to help determine who is best suited to your project.
Note: We do not represent poetry, original screenplays, or work generated by artificial intelligence.
Your submission should consist of the following:
Paragraph One - Introduction:
Include the title and category of your work (i.e. fiction or non-fiction and topic), an estimated word count and a brief, general introduction.
Paragraph Two - Brief overview (this is where you hook us!):
This should read similar to what is found on the back-cover of a published book.
Paragraph Three - Creator’s bio:
Sample Material:
If your work falls into the following categories: adult fiction, adult memoir, adult non-fiction essay collection, or children’s fiction and non-fiction, please include the first ten pages of text only (or the full text of fiction and non-fiction picture books) within the body of your email. If your work is illustrated, please include a link to your portfolio or sample art. Otherwise, please limit your submission to just the three paragraphs as indicated.
Tips
Do not send attachments. Please use text within the body of your email.
Please do not submit a full-length manuscript/proposal unless requested.
At the time of submission, let us know if your manuscript/proposal is under consideration by other agents or publishers.
Address your query to the attention of the agent you feel is the best match for your work.
You will receive an auto reply confirming receipt of your query. If you don’t, please check your junk/spam folder.
Please do not query multiple agents at the agency simultaneously – if you don’t receive a request for further material within 4-6 weeks it means a no from the agency.
We only accept submissions via email. Queries should be directed to query@psliterary.com. We do not accept or respond to phone, paper or social media queries. To learn more about our agents and to meet the rest of our team, please check our Who We Are page.
We do not charge reading fees.
For more information please check our F.A.Q. page.
Note: If we are interested in seeing further material we normally respond within 4-6 weeks. However, the process may take longer depending on the volume of submissions we may be reviewing at a particular time. Please do not call to check on the status of your submission – if you have a question or concern with regard to your submission, email is the best way to inquire.
Curtis Russell
Founder | President | Principal Agent
Curtis is currently acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. In terms of fiction, he is seeking literary, commercial, mystery, thriller, suspense and romance. In terms of non-fiction, he is looking for business, history, politics, current affairs, memoir, health, wellness, sports, humor, pop culture, pop science, and pop psychology. If you would like to send a query to Curtis, please review our submission guidelines above.
Carly Watters
Senior Literary Agent and Senior Advisor
Carly is currently acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. In terms of fiction, she is seeking women’s fiction, upmarket adult, commercial adult, domestic suspense, literary mystery and thrillers, historical, contemporary romance, and smart book club fiction. In terms of non-fiction, she is looking for pop science, business, psychology, cookbooks, unique memoirs, lifestyle (health, wellness, relationships, parenting), narrative, and platform based non-fiction (must have demonstrable expertise and a quantifiable market). If you would like to send a query to Carly, please review our submission guidelines above. For fiction queries, please format email subjects as “Fiction: TITLE / GENRE / CREATOR NAME” and non-fiction queries as “Non-Fiction: TOPIC / TITLE / CREATOR NAME”.
Maria Vicente
Senior Literary Agent and Advisor
Maria is accepting submissions for literary and upmarket fiction, non-fiction book proposals, and graphic novels. In fiction, she’s looking for contemporary novels, (including contemporary stories with speculative elements), fantasy, grounded science fiction, magical realism, horror, fairy tale retellings, and mysteries. If your novel’s a little strange, then she wants to read it. In non-fiction, she’s interested in projects that explore the arts, pop culture, nature, psychology, cultural history, science, and the occult, written by creators with an existing platform and unique approach to the chosen topic. For illustrated projects, Maria is only considering projects by a single creator both writing and illustrating the book. You can view her detailed submissions wish list here. If you would like to send a query to Maria, please review our submission guidelines above.
Claire Harris
Literary Agent
Claire is acquiring both fiction and non-fiction projects for adults. She’s actively seeking projects that shine a spotlight on people, places, and events that are often overlooked or not given the attention they deserve. In fiction, she’s looking for horror, standalone psychological thrillers, mysteries, rom-coms, and contemporary fiction. She’s looking for diverse characters and creators, stories that twist and subvert classic tropes, and strong female leads. She likes friendship stories, revenge stories, and sharp voices across all genres. She has a soft spot for stories that have a tie to the Midwest, but she’s also interested in small town settings in other areas. In non-fiction, she’s primarily looking for cultural criticism, true crime, essay collections, pop culture, lifestyle guides, and pop psychology projects. She loves books that present an untold perspective or bring a fresh take to a well-loved topic. She’s looking for strong voices, regardless of tone. You can find her wish list in more detail here. If you would like to send a query to Claire, please review our submission guidelines above. Please title your submission email “ATTN: Claire Harris / PROJECT TITLE / GENRE / CREATOR NAME”.
Cecilia Lyra
Literary Agent
Cecilia is acquiring a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction on the adult side. In terms of non-fiction, no title is too serious or too accessible for her taste, and she is seeking original and provocative expert-led proposals in psychology, history, current affairs, science, politics, narrative journalism, nature and the environment, wellness, spirituality, business and economics, mathematics, parenting, lifestyle, pop culture, and memoir. As for fiction, Cecilia’s taste gravitates towards books by women, for women, whether commercial, upmarket, or literary. She can’t get enough of: family sagas, female friendship, edgy psychological suspense, closed-setting novels, anti-heroines, smart romances, comedy of manners, found family, and stories with light speculative elements. Above all else, Cecilia is looking for a story she can’t put down. She often tweets about her manuscript wish list as well as the books she’s currently lost in, so follow her there. Cecilia is not a good fit for the non-fiction categories of true crime, sports, and music, and she does not represent children’s books or young adult. If you would like to send a query to Cecilia, please review our submission guidelines above.
Rose Ferrao
Associate Agent
Rose is currently acquiring both fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, she is looking for commercial romance, adult and crossover fantasy, science fiction, horror, upmarket thrillers, contemporary fiction and select young adult fiction. She is drawn to stories that embrace genre conventions from a fun, fresh angle. In non-fiction, she is looking for cookbooks and food writing, sports, pop culture, music, psychology, lifestyle, and wellness, especially when approached from a specific, unique perspective. She welcomes and encourages submissions from neurodivergent writers. If you would like to send a query to Rose, please review our submission guidelines above.
Nour Sallam
Associate Agent
Nour is acquiring fiction and non-fiction for adults. She is seeking voice-driven upmarket and commercial fiction, edgy psychological thrillers, mysteries, romance, and horror. In fiction, she is drawn to characters who are haunted by something, whether figuratively (a secret, a past, an obsession) or literally (a ghost, a monster, an object). She is especially looking for character-driven stories featuring women in power, unhinged women, and stories of female rage. She has a soft spot for unreliable narrators, family sagas with dysfunctional families, protagonists in their 20s-30s navigating adulthood, protagonists on the cusp of major life changes, and stories that focus on friendship dynamics. She is also drawn to fun and joyful titles that explore the diverse experiences of underrepresented groups and challenge our understanding of diasporic cultures or experiences. In non-fiction, Nour welcomes fresh and accessible perspectives on big ideas or industry deep dives as well as personal narratives on pop culture, art, and nature. She appreciates books that offer incisive commentary on culture, socio-economic structures, corporate underbellies, health and wellness, and lifestyle. Her taste in non-fiction gravitates towards books that generally challenge what we know or explain what we might not know. If you would like to send a query to Nour, please review our submission guidelines above. Please title your submission email “ATTN: Nour Sallam / PROJECT TITLE / GENRE / CREATOR NAME”.