2022

Eleni Gage

Eleni N. Gage is a veteran magazine journalist and the author of the travel memoir North of Ithaka, the novels Other Waters and The Ladies of Managua, and the gift book Lucky In Love: Traditions, Customs, & Rituals to Personalize Your Wedding. The former articles editor of O: The Oprah Magazine, she has also served on-staff at Allure, Elle, InStyle, People, and Martha Stewart Weddings. A graduate of Harvard University (where she majored in Folklore and Mythology) and the School of the Arts at Columbia University (where she earned her MFA in Fiction), Eleni contributes freelance articles to publications ranging from Travel+Leisure to The New York Times. As a freelance editor, she assigns and edits personal essays for outlets including OprahDaily.com and Le Scoop, the online magazine at Maisonette.com. Eleni lives in New York with her Nicaraguan husband and their two Greekaraguan children.

Specializes In:

Travel writing, Folklore, Fiction, Personal Essays.

A successful first-person essay describes a moment or experience that is deeply personal and unique to the individual—written in such a way that a vast range of readers immediately relate to it with strong reactions and emotions of their own. An essay can describe a major transformation or dramatic event such as leaving a marriage or a near-death experience, or it can be about a quiet moment like teaching a kid to jump rope, but it should speak to larger, universal experiences or emotions: love, loss, joy, fear. The best essays are incredibly specific but universally understood.

Alex Rice

Alex Rice is an Agent in the Books department at the leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). She is based in the New York office, and works across all departments to create publishing opportunities for the agency’s clients, with a focus on women’s and commercial fiction, pop culture and criticism, and young adult and middle grade across all genres. Alex graduated from Miami University Ohio with a degree in English Literature. She began her publishing career at Foundry Literary + Media before joining CAA in April 2018.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

With an eye towards a more commercial, upmarket audience, Alex is especially drawn to stories in adult fiction that explore one’s identity and sense of self, family sagas, female friendship, and a fresh start on life. Alex is fond of storylines that fundamentally challenge the protagonist in some facet of life, pushing them to question their views on morality and purpose. She’ll also consider select genre books in romance, mysteries, and some thrillers when looking for a more escapist read.

Dawn Michelle Hardy

Dawn Michelle Hardy is an award-winning book publicist and highly sought-after publishing consultant who transitioned from a fashion career to the book world by working as an author's assistant in 2002.

In 2004 she leaped into entrepreneurship and formed Dream Relations PR & Literary Consulting Agency to aid and advocate for Black writers and their books. A ‘Cool Jobs’ profile by Ebony magazine, recognized Dawn as 'the Literary Lobbyist’ for her passion in bringing the books of creatives, thought leaders and first-time authors to market with national media attention, awards and events.

Called a “powerhouse who shares industry truths” in Upscale magazine, Dawn is a frequent podcast guest and conference presenter who teaches platform building, proposal writing, and the best practices for securing a traditional book deal. She has served as a member of the NAACP Image Award Literary Committee; launched Publishing in Your Pajamas, a virtual one-day conference for emerging authors and hosts; and produces Book Banter TV, a cool interactive streaming series about writers and their books.

Some of her past author clients include: New York Times bestselling authors Clint Smith and D. Watkins; award-winning poet Khalisa Rae; sports biographers Kent Babb and Bob Lederer; podcaster Elayne Fluker; and women’s fiction authors Sadeqa Johnson, Tia Williams, and Jayne Allen.

Recently featured in Forbes Women, Dawn Michelle Hardy is celebrating her 20th year in the book publishing industry, has rebranded her agency name to The Literary Lobbyist and continues to passionately champion for BIPOC writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s books, and memoir.

Elizabeth Kracht

Elizabeth Kracht is a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates and the author of The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She also works as a freelance developmental editor coaching authors. Elizabeth represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist, and writer. In fiction, she represents thrillers, mysteries, literary, commercial, women’s, and historical. In nonfiction, she is interested in finding true crime, investigative journalism, narrative/creative nonfiction, prescriptive, voice- or adventure-driven memoir, high concept, science, spirituality, sexuality, self-help, and pet stories.

Elizabeth is not looking for children’s, poetry or short story collections, screenplays, and previously published works.

Specializes In

FICTION: Commercial Fiction, Crime, Family Saga, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers/Suspense, Upmarket Women's Fiction

NONFICTION: Adventure/True Story, Cultural/Social Issues, Dating/Relationships, Health & Fitness, History, Humor, Investigative Journalism, Medical, Memoir, Narrative, Nature/Ecology, Parenting, Pets, Psychology, Science, Self-Help, Spirituality, True Crime, Women's Concerns

Considers

FICTION: Chick Lit, GLBT, Humor/Satire, Romance

NONFICTION: Current Affairs, Food & Lifestyle, GLBT, Gift Books, Men's Concerns, Military/War, Multi-Cultural, Music, Pop Culture, Religion, Sports, Travel

Margaret Sutherland Brown

Margaret Sutherland Brown is an Agent at Folio Literary Management eagerly seeking literary and upmarket fiction as well as select narrative nonfiction. She came to Folio from Emma Sweeney Agency, LLC, and before she became an agent worked on the editorial side of book publishing, primarily at St. Martin’s Press. Among her award-winning clients are bestselling authors Lauren Belfer, Janet Burroway, Edgar Cantero, Lynn Cullen, Lucy Ferriss, Vanessa Hua, Alka Joshi, Vaddey Ratner, and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

Voice-driven, idiosyncratic, and searing novels in the vein of the books of Jesse Ball, Melissa Broder, Rachel Cusk, Katie Kitamura, Raven Leilani, Jenny Offill, Helen Phillips, Dana Spiotta, and Rachel Yoder.

Multi-generational, sweeping, and emotionally-engaging novels like Brit Bennett's The Mothers, Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt, Tayari Jones' An American Marriage, Rebecca Makkai's The Great Believers, Torrey Peters' Detransition, Baby, and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.

Intelligent, witty, and fully-realized page-turners like the books of Rumaan Alam, Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan, Laura Dave, Helen Ellis, Xochitl Gonzalez' Olga Dies Dreaming, Julia May Jonas' Vladimir, Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age, J. Courtney Sullivan, and Colson Whitehead's Sag Harbor.

Dark, psychologically-rich thrillers like the novels of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn, Jessica Knoll, and Gin Phillips' Fierce Kingdom.

Literary historical fiction that immerses its reader completely in another fascinating era: think the novels of Jo Baker, Esi Edugyan, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Janice Y.K. Lee, Hilary Mantel, Maggie O'Farrell, Maggie Shipstead, and Amor Towles.

Fresh re-imaginings of mythology and fairy tales for adult readers, from Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic to Madeleine Miller's Circe to Naomi Novik's novels.

Paradigm-shifting nonfiction with a sociological bent like Matthew Desmond's Evicted, Jill Leovy's Ghettoside, Mikki Kendall's Hood Feminism, and the books of Peggy Orenstein and Bee Wilson.

Narrative nonfiction with an inimitable take on contemporary life from a female perspective, as found in the books of Sloane Crosley, Nora Ephron, Caitlin Moran as well as in Lauren Collins' When in French and Lisa Taddeo's Three Women.

Illuminating books about parenting, both narrative and prescriptive, from Angela Garbes Like a Mother to Julie Lythcott-Haims's How to Raise an Adult, Jennifer Senior's All Joy and No Fun.

Helen Thomaides

Helen Thomaides is an assistant editor at W. W. Norton & Company, where she is actively building her list of narrative nonfiction and fiction. In nonfiction, she is open to projects across a range of genres—history, reportage, cultural criticism, memoir, science, work that spans genres—as long as they feature dynamic characters, a vivid sense of place, or a narrative-driven, fresh perspective on important social/cultural issues. In fiction, she’s drawn to literary and upmarket novels that are beautifully written and have some of those same characteristics; she also loves novels with a speculative element—and a well-crafted plot. A previous Norton editorial intern, she returned to Norton full-time in 2017, after additional internships at New Leaf Literary & Media and Folio Literary Management, and work with the digital literary studio Plympton. She grew up in New Jersey and attended Stanford University, where she studied English and Italian.

Foyinsi Adegbonmire

Foyinsi Adegbonmire is an Editor at Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. She acquires Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, from contemporary to mystery to grounded science-fiction, and enjoys lighthearted stories with conversational narrative voices. She was named a 2021 PW Star Watch Honoree and her acquisitions include New York Times-bestseller Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. When not reading or thinking about her very large TBR pile, she can be found watching Black sitcoms from the 90s/early-2000s or being sucked into Twitter (@Foyinsi_Pub).

Chelsey Emmelhainz

Chelsey Emmelhainz joined Copps Literary Services as a literary agent after a decade as an editor in the NYC publishing world, working on a wide range of adult commercial fiction and nonfiction. As an editorial agent, she enjoys helping authors elevate their work through a collaborative revision process designed to best position their book for success. While lucky enough to have worked with authors at all stages of their careers, Chelsey has a special affinity for those just starting out and seeks to create a lasting partnership in service of helping authors achieve their career goals. Chelsey is building a highly selective list, focused mainly on adult fiction and nonfiction. Regardless of genre, she is always looking for authentic storytelling and to elevate diverse voices.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

Fiction: Chelsey loves high-concept adult fiction that expertly weaves complex, layered conflicts into a fast-paced narrative. Her target genres include: horror, supernatural thriller, suspense, mystery, and upmarket commercial fiction. Her ideal projects feature fresh, high-concept hooks and multifaceted, layered conflicts. She is especially interested in unique takes on modern relationships—be they romantic, platonic, or familial.

Nonfiction: Chelsey gravitates toward American history, hidden history, true crime, platform-driven nonfiction in the social sciences (especially concerning politics, feminism, and social justice), as well as deep dives into specific subjects with a prescriptive approach, aiming to help the reader live a better life, such as Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus. Regardless of topic, Chelsey’s nonfiction authors bring a well-rounded platform and unparalleled expertise to their chosen subject matter.

Specializes In

FICTION: Commercial Fiction, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thrillers/Suspense, Upmarket Women's Fiction

NONFICTION: Adventure/True Story, Cultural/Social Issues, Current Affairs, Memoir, Narrative, Politics, Women's Concerns

Considers

FICTION: Chick Lit, Commercial Fiction, Crime, Family Saga, GLBT, Historical Fiction, Horror, Literary Fiction, Multi-Cultural, Mystery, Romance, Thrillers/Suspense, Upmarket Women's Fiction

NONFICTION: Adventure/True Story, Cultural/Social Issues, Current Affairs, GLBT, History, Investigative Journalism, Memoir, Multi-Cultural, Politics, Pop Culture, Psychology, Science, True Crime, Women's Concern

Carolyn Kuebler

Carolyn Kuebler is the editor of New England Review, where she works with authors at all stages of their careers. Before coming to NER as managing editor in 2004, she was an associate editor at Library Journal and founding editor of Rain Taxi Review of Books. Carolyn has published dozens of book reviews, small-press profiles, and author interviews in publications such as Publishers Weekly, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Rain Taxi, and City Pages. Her fiction and essays have been published in The Massachusetts Review, The Common, Copper Nickel, The Literary, Review, and others. She lives in Vermont.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

We publish poetry and fiction in a variety of shapes and styles—some renovating old forms and others inventing new forms altogether—alongside a range of nonfiction, including personal and lyric essays, cultural revaluations, travelogues, and more. We're also interested in short plays that work well on the page and translations in all genres. Word limit for prose is a generous 20,000 words, though most of what we publish is less than 10,000 words, including the occasional flash fiction or nonfiction piece. We are committed to publishing emerging writers and writers of every nationality, race, religion, and gender, including writers who have never been affiliated with an MFA program and whose perspectives are often underrepresented in the literary world.

Specializes In

FICTION: We are looking for short stories, short shorts, novellas, and translations.

POETRY: We publish long and short poems, including translations. We usually publish 1-3 poems per author in an issue.

NONFICTION: We publish a broad range of nonfiction, including interpretive and personal essays, critical reassessments, cultural criticism (art, film, etc.), travel writing, environmental writing, and works in translation.

DRAMATIC WRITING: We are looking for short plays, monologues, and screenplays, up to 5,000 words. Please consider that the work must read well on the page.

NER is on the lookout at all times for writing that rewards the reader for spending time with it. Our editors are impressed by work that’s attentive to craft without drawing attention to it, that takes risks whether noisy or quiet, and that’s serious in its purpose even when its leading edge is humor. We believe that writing is an art form that is under constant revision, renovation, and innovation. New England Review is truly dedicated to discovering significant new voices and to giving them a place in the broader literary discussion that happens all around us and in every issue of our journal.

2022

Eleni Gage

ELENI GAGE

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

Alex Rice

ALEX RICE

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Dawn Michelle Hardy

DAWN MICHELLE HARDY

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Elizabeth Kracht

ELIZABETH KRACHT

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Margaret Sutherland Brown

MARGARET SUTHERLAND BROWN

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Helen Thomaides

HELEN THOMAIDES

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Foyinsi Adegbonmire

FOYINSI ADEGBONMIRE

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Chelsey Emmelhainz

CHELSEY EMMELHAINZ

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Carolyn Kuebler

CAROLYN KUEBLER

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS

Rebecca Podos

REBECCA PODOS

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS