This list of Literary Agents is seeking high-quality, well-crafted literary memoir. Deeply felt stories, beautiful prose, and riveting storylines are their forte. Read each agent's entry to find out their specific requests. Updated January 2023.
Ethan Bassoff of Ross Yoon agency is seeking memoir and narrative nonfiction. He specializes in guiding emerging writers through their first publications and advising them on how to build long, successful careers. He looks for original stories told by equally original voices. His email address is ethan@rossyoon.com.
Miriam Altshuler of DeFiore and Company is seeking memoir and narrative nonfiction. She is particularly interested in finding emerging and underrepresented voices, and she loves reading and representing books that focus on diversity. She searches for books that draw her in and give her a new perspective on a world she doesn’t know, or make her think more deeply about a world she does know. Miriam seeks books with a heart and writers with wonderful storytelling abilities. Her email address is miriam@defliterary.com.
Gordon Warnock of Fuse Literary is seeking memoirs and other books that ask difficult questions, illuminating common issues in new ways. Gordon is looking for fresh concepts that excite him before he even starts reading and tension-filled prose that won’t let him stop. Contact Gordon at querygordon@fuseliterary.com.
Jody Kahn from Brandt and Hochman is seeking beautifully written works. She enjoys literary memoirs that contain rich storylines, deeply drawn characters and voice-driven narratives. specializes in nonfiction narratives related to culture, social justice, sports, food, history, literary memoir and journalism. She’s also interested in untold stories, misunderstood populations, and anything that’s plugged into the current cultural conversation. Above all, she wants to be gripped by what she’s reading and taken into a new and riveting world, one that touches her with layers of complexity and does not easily let go. You can reach Jody at jkahn@bromasite.com.
Emily Forland from Brandt and Hochman represents voice-driven memoir and literary nonfiction with original writing that jumps off the page and beautifully crafted writing. eforland@bromasite.com
Iwalani Kim from Greenburger is looking for literary memoir, as well as coming-of-age narratives, family dramas, and stories that challenge systems of power. Loves lush prose, wry humor, irreverent characters, and a sense of yearning. Drawn to narratives about identity, deep dives into subcultures, and writing that complicates the idea of ‘paradise’ or explores progressive movements such as prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition. Contact her at ikim@sjga.com
Nicki Richesin from Dunow, Carlson & Lerner would like to see memoir that makes an impact and becomes part of the larger cultural conversation. She is invested in discovering underrepresented voices. You can reach her at nicki@dclagency.com.
Joanne Wyckoff of Carol Mann Agency has a particular love of the memoir, narrative nonfiction, the personal narrative, and narrative journalism. She is always looking for writers with strong, original voices who explore a subject in new and surprising ways. Get in touch at joanne@carolmannagency.com.
Thomas Hill from Martin Lit enjoys authentic voices in narrative nonfiction and memoir 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. Reach Thomas at Thomas.Hill@MartinLit.com.
Roz Foster from Frances Goldin Literary Agency is seeking exquisite linguistic skill. She is interested in books that grapple with what it is to be human, books that confront big human themes—love, morality, purpose, freedom, faith or its lack, hierarchy, success, violence, meaning, and death. She looks for stories that make sense of the chaos of life and the harshness of reality. She loves writing that has emotional depth, makes insightful observations, and demonstrates exquisite linguistic skill. Get in touch with Roz at rf@goldinlit.com.
Dana Newman from Dana Newman Literary loves compelling, inspiring narrative nonfiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, pop culture, current affairs/women’s interest, social trends, and sports/fitness. A favorite genre is literary nonfiction: true stories, well told, that read like a novel you can’t put down. Contact her here: dananewmanliterary@gmail.com
Christy Fletcher from Fletcher and Co. is drawn to memoir and non-fiction that uses narrative to explore new ideas and present novel frameworks for understanding the world, especially when written by someone who comes to their point of view via professional experience, scientific research, or deep investigative journalism. Find her at christy@fletcherandco.com.
Sarah Levitt from Aevitas Creative Management is looking for nonfiction so enthralling and far-reaching that it feels like a novel. She enjoys strong female and underrepresented voices. She's looking for biography, cultural history, memoir, science, and ideas books. Query her here.
I wish I would've known about several of these agents before self-publishing my first memoir. I might have been an acceptable fit for some. Then again, maybe not. I self-published that memoir (I'm working on another) because I was having a great deal of difficulty in crafting a suitable query for it. I worked over a year on the thing and never reached the point where I felt it was ready to submit. As well, my failing health caused me to hurry up the process and get the memoir out to the public. So in May, 2022 I took the plunge and went with Amazon.
Since then, my health problems have stabilized somewhat (I just turned 77) and so am…
Thanks!