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.
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”.
Marina Green
Associate Agent
Marina is actively acquiring fiction (adult and YA) and non-fiction (adult). In fiction, she is particularly drawn to speculative, atmospheric, and voice-driven narratives for both adult and young adult audiences. She has a soft spot for hybrid genres, such as horror-romance or speculative thrillers, and books with big hooks. In literary fiction, she is looking for stories that push the boundaries of genre and form. She’d love horror in the vein of an A24 film. When it comes to mysteries and thrillers, she looks for atmospheric stories with unreliable narrators that skew psychological or slowly get under your skin. For romance, she seeks stories with heart and something big to say, or unconventional takes on the genre. In fantasy, she is looking for unique magic systems, strong characters, and stories inspired by myth or folklore, particularly outside the Western canon. While she’s open to romantasy, these submissions need to stand out against the saturated market. On the non-fiction side, she is interested in self-help, spiritual (Marina loves the woo woo!), and the occult. She’s also very keen to find poignant nature memoirs and other nature-based non-fiction. As a child of diaspora herself, across all categories, she is looking for diverse and inclusive stories rooted in the diasporic experience, cultural identity, and belonging. If you would like to send a query to Marina, please review our submission guidelines above. Please use this format in the subject field of your email: “Marina / BOOK TITLE / CREATOR NAME / GENRE”.