Prior to joining DeFiore & Company, Elise Howard was the founding publisher of Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Workman Publishing, which she led from 2011 to 2022. Elise was previously SVP and associate publisher at HarperCollins Children's Books, where she oversaw the publication of many award-winning and bestselling books. Some of the authors she has worked with include Masuma Ahuja, Avi, Tracey Baptiste, Kelly Barnhill, Sara Farizan, Neil Gaiman, Kelly Jensen, and Nova Ren Suma. Books she has edited have won the Newbery Medal twice, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for best juvenile novel twice, and many other awards and honors. She began her career as a book packager, conceiving, selling to publishers, and developing juvenile and adult fiction and non-fiction projects.

As a literary agent, Elise is looking for new favorites— hers, an editor’s, and ultimately the reader’s:  fiction and non-fiction to be savored and remembered for its immersive storytelling, rich world-building, and illumination of landscapes known and unknown. 

Elise is generally not looking for genre fiction, but she may take on a book with a great love story at its heart or one with elements of fantasy. She is looking for a twisty, well-done mystery, especially if it features a great new sleuth with many stories to tell.

She’s also eager to represent eye-opening narrative non-fiction, particularly stories of the natural world, visible or invisible, including the human mind and body, or of people and events previously unknown or overlooked. 

Submission guidelines: Please email queryelise@defliterary.com with the title of your work and its category (e.g., adult n.f., middle-grade fiction) in the subject line. Please include in the body of your email:

•	A brief, compelling description introducing your book.

•	A paragraph (not more!) about you, relevant to your submission.

•	For non-fiction, a concise synopsis that compels me to read on and the opening chapter.

•	For graphic novels, the first chapter or the first twenty-five pages.

•	For picture books, the full manuscript.

•	No attachments, please. Submissions that include them won’t be opened.

Elise Howard

Rebecca Strauss is an agent at DeFiore and Co. and focuses on literary and commercial fiction, women's fiction, fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery, YA, pop culture and select non-fiction. In all genres, she's looking for a compelling story, clear concept, fresh voice and emotional heart—a work that grabs you from the first page. She's especially interested in emerging writers and underrepresented voices; and, she's looking to develop long term relationships.

Before joining DeFiore and Co., Rebecca was at McIntosh and Otis for seven years where she was an agent and Director of Subsidiary Rights.  Prior to M&O, she was a foreign rights associate at Trident Media Group, and a book scout and development assistant at Sony Pictures. She's originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and earned her degree in English Literature from Duke University.

You can follow Rebecca on Twitter @rebeccaliterary.

Beth Cato (A THOUSAND RECIPES FOR REVENGE, BREATH OF EARTH, CALL OF FIRE, ROAR OF SKY, DEEP ROOTS, THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER, and THE CLOCKWORK CROWN)

Shannon Fay (INNATE MAGIC, EXTERNAL FORCES​)

Alyssa Goodnight/Stephanie Graves (A COURAGE UNDIMMED, A VALIANT DECEIT, OLIVE BRIGHT, PIGEONEER, AUSTENTATIOUS, AUSTENSIBLY ORDINARY, and JUST SAY YES) 

Priscilla Oliveras (WEST SIDE LOVE STORY, ISLAND AFFAIR, ANCHORED HEARTS, HIS PERFECT PARTNER, HER PERFECT AFFAIR, THEIR PERFECT MELODY, and KISS ME, CATALINA)

Nicole Peeler (TEMPEST RISING, Jane True series and JINN & JUICE)

Amanda Weaver (THE ONE I LOVE TO HATE, LOVE AND THE LAWS OF MOTION, and LOVE AROUND THE CORNER)

Liana De la Rosa (ANA MARIA AND THE FOX, TO RESIST A SCANDALOUS ROGUE, TO TAME A SCANDALOUS LADY and TO TEMPT A SCANDALOUS LORD) 

Emily Victoria (THIS GOLDEN FLAME and SILVER IN THE MIST)

Bethany Bennett (ANY ROGUE WILL DO, WEST END EARL, and DUKES DO IT BETTER)

Kate Pembrooke (NOT THE KIND OF EARL YOU MARRY and SAY YOU'LL BE MY LADY)

Alanna Martin (HEART ON A LEASH, PAWS & PREJUDICE and LOVE AND LET BARK)

Ali Solomon and Janine Annett (I AM "WHY DO I NEED VENMO?" YEARS OLD)

Tori Anne Martin​ (THIS SPELLS DISASTER)

Please email her at Rebecca@defliterary.com with a brief query letter containing information on your book, your bio and the first five pages in the body of the email. Please include the word “query” and your book title in the subject line.

Rebecca Strauss

Before joining DeFiore in 2016, Reiko Davis was at Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency for four years. She grew up in Kansas City, received her BA in Comparative Literature and Art History from Brown University, and is a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course.

Reiko's interests are varied, but on the adult side she's primarily seeking literary and book club fiction. She loves historical, contemporary, or multigenerational novels both in the U.S. and internationally; family sagas; voice-driven coming-of-age stories; the occasional rom-com; and fierce, compassionately written works that grapple with identity and belonging and portray diverse lived experiences. She'd love to connect with promising writers of short fiction who are at work on a debut story collection and/or novel.

She also represents select narrative non-fiction projects that explore social justice, issues of race and gender, and the history and experiences of women and people of color. She loves compelling journalistic narratives that read like fiction or that use an intimate personal story as a lens for a larger issue or analysis. She consumes a lot of true crime in her free time so is open to seeing projects in the vein of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, The Fact of a Body, or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil if a project like that were to cross her desk.

On the children’s side, Reiko is actively looking for middle grade projects that aren't afraid to tackle big questions or important emotional truths, and do so through remarkable storytelling, humor, and heart. Right now she's especially on the lookout for middle grade non-fiction in the areas of mental health, science, political activism, environmentalism, and narrative history. She has a real soft spot for middle grade novels that empower kids to make a difference in their communities.

She's not looking for adult genre category fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, horror) or adult nonfiction with a highly prescriptive bent.

Lucy Jane Bledsoe A THIN BRIGHT LINE; THE EVOLUTION OF LOVE; LAVA FALLS; TELL THE REST (Akashic Books)

Devi S. Laskar THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES (Counterpoint); CIRCA (Mariner Books); MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR (forthcoming from Mariner Books)

Genevieve Plunkett PREPARE HER (Catapult); IN THE LOBBY OF THE DREAM HOTEL (forthcoming from Catapult)

Shannon Sanders COMPANY (forthcoming from Graywolf)

Lucy Jane Bledsoe RUNNING WILD (Margaret Ferguson Books); NO STOPPING US NOW (Three Rooms Press)

Andrea Debbink THE WILD WORLD HANDBOOK: How Adventurers, Artists, Scientists—and You—Can Protect Earth's Habitats; THE WILD WORLD HANDBOOK: CREATURES: How Adventurers, Artists, Scientists—and You—Can Protect Earth's Animals (Quirk Books); SYLVIE AND THE WOLF (Sounds True); IF THE RIVERS RUN FREE (forthcoming from Sleeping Bear Press); I WITNESSED: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (forthcoming from Clarion Books)

Dawn Cusick THE ASTROCHIMPS: America's First Astronauts (forthcoming from Chicago Review Press)

Brittany Geragotelis STEALING GREENWICH, GOING WILD, and NO ADMISSIONS (THE INFAMOUS FRANKIE LORDE series, Pixel + Ink); SIX MINUTES series with Gen Z Media (forthcoming from Razorbill)

Lindsey Klingele THE MARKED GIRL; THE BROKEN WORLD; THE TRUTH LIES HERE (Harper Teen)

Sean O'Brien WHITE HOUSE CLUBHOUSE series (forthcoming from Norton Young Readers)

Kristina Wong, Dr. Theodore Chao, Jenessa Joffe, and Anna Michelle Wang AUNTIE KRISTINA'S GUIDE TO ASIAN AMERICAN ACTIVISM (forthcoming from Beaming Books)

Andrea Debbink THRIVE WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED: A Guided Journal to Help You Get Outside, Touch Grass, and Connect with the Natural Wonders in Your Neighborhood (forthcoming from Quirk Books); FLOWER FORAGING (forthcoming from Chronicle)

Freda Epum THE GLOOMY GIRL VARIETY SHOW (forthcoming from Feminist Press)

Alan Gelb HAVING THE LAST SAY: Capturing Your Legacy in One Small Story (Tarcher Perigee); CONQUERING THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY IN TEN STEPS (Ten Speed Press); SEVEN STEPS TO CONFIDENT WRITING (New World Library)

Nancy A. Nichols WOMEN BEHIND THE WHEEL: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car (forthcoming from Pegasus Books)

Katie Simon UNTITLED ON SEX AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT (forthcoming from Kensington)

Dennis James Sweeney HOW TO SUBMIT: Publishing Your Writing with Small Presses and Literary Magazines (forthcoming from New World Library)

Brittany Wagner NEXT CHANCE YOU: Tools, Tips, and Tough Love for Bringing Your A-Game to Life (HCI Books)

Mallory Weggemann LIMITLESS: The Power of Hope and Resilience to Overcome Circumstance (Thomas Nelson)

Please email her at reiko@defliterary.com with "Query" and the title of the project in the subject line as well as the following:

For fiction, please include the first twenty pages of your manuscript pasted in the body of your email.

Reiko Davis

Abigail Snyder is the foreign rights assistant for DeFiore & Company, as well as for Kaplan/DeFiore Rights, working with Linda Kaplan. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she joined DeFiore in June 2022 after earning her BA in English and interning at Peachtree Publishing Company and Ayesha Pande Literary. At DeFiore, she works with agents to help negotiate contracts for publishing their authors’ works in translation and in the UK. In addition to offering assistance to authors and agents, she handles international tax forms and supports DeFiore’s involvement in the London, Frankfurt, and Bologna Book Fairs.

A lover of diverse, mission-driven storytelling and nonfiction that centers the unique intersection of place and personhood, she enjoys reading international fiction and books in translation.

Abigail Snyder

Lisa Gallagher joined DeFiore & Company Literary Management Inc., as a literary agent in 2014, after working at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates for five years.

She is actively seeking new clients both in fiction and non-fiction, who are great storytellers, delivering both narrative urgency and dramatic tension, combined with multi-faceted characters and a transporting sense of place.  She has more than twenty-five years of publishing experience and insight from both sides of the Atlantic, and now as an agent, being a champion of authors and their work continues to be her passion. She represents adult fiction, adult non-fiction and some YA projects, including New York Times bestselling novelists Christopher Moore and Charles Todd, Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Keller, national bestseller Hank Phillippi Ryan, New York Times bestselling collaborators Anthony Bozza and Rebecca Paley, memoirist Molly Bloom and #1New York Times bestseller Dr. Ian K. Smith, to name a few.

Formerly SVP & Publisher, William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins), Gallagher was previously Associate Publisher at Bloomsbury USA, following a move to New York from Bloomsbury's London office in 1998. Gallagher was educated at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, UK, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Submission Guidelines: No hard copy submissions are accepted. Please submit your manuscript or proposal to lgsubmissions@defliterary.com as a Word document: double spaced, 12pt, Times New Roman.

Lisa will do her best to read and respond to you within six weeks of receiving your submission. Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions received, she is unable to respond to every one personally, so if you haven’t heard from her at all by then, it means that Lisa is unable to offer you representation.  It is acceptable to make multiple submissions to different agencies - just let her know - and if you get an offer of representation from another agent before hearing back from Lisa, she would be grateful if you could let her know by sending an email with the subject line “Offer received.” Thank you very much.

Lisa Gallagher

Miriam Altshuler began her career at Russell & Volkening, where she worked for twelve years with such writers as Anne Tyler, Eudora Welty, Joseph Campbell, Nadine Gordimer, and Bernard Malamud. In 1994 she established her own agency, which she ran for twenty-one years until she joined DeFiore and Company in 2016.

Miriam specializes in adult literary and book club fiction, narrative nonfiction, and books for children. She is particularly interested in finding emerging and underrepresented voices, and she loves reading and representing books that focus on diversity and explore the experiences of BIPOC people.

First and foremost, she responds to voice and stories that are character-driven. 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.

In fiction, she is most interested in family sagas, historical novels, and stories that offer a new twist or retelling of some kind. She does not work with adult romance, sci fi, or fantasy.

In nonfiction, she loves memoir, narrative nonfiction, and self-help (as long as it is not highly prescriptive). She particularly responds to books that have an important cultural, social, or psychological focus.

For children’s books, she focuses primarily on YA and middle grade, and her tastes vary broadly in those areas. It always comes back to the voice and the heart of a story for her.

Elizabeth Rosner (SURVIVOR CAFÉ: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory)

Marja Mills (New York Times bestselling THE MOCKINGBIRD NEXT DOOR: Life With Harper Lee)

Wednesday Martin (New York Times bestselling PRIMATES OF PARK AVENUE: A Memoir)

Dr. Sue Johnson (HOLD ME TIGHT: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love; LOVE SENSE: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships; CREATED FOR CONNECTION: The "Hold Me Tight" Guide for Christian Couples)

Harriet Brown (SHADOW DAUGHTER: A Memoir of Estrangement and Reckoning; BODY OF TRUTH: Change Your Life by Changing the Way You Think About Weight and Health; BRAVE GIRL EATING: A Family's Struggle With Anorexia)

Donna Freitas (CONSENT: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention; CONSENT ON CAMPUS: A Manifesto; THE HAPPINESS EFFECT: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost; THE END OF SEX: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy; SEX & THE SOUL: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses)

Arlene Stein (UNBOUND: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity)

Dr. Molly Millwood (TO HAVE AND TO HOLD: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma)

Andrew Carroll (MY FELLOW SOLDIERS: General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War; New York Times bestselling WAR LETTERS: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars; HERE IS WHERE: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History; OPERATION HOMECOMING; BEHIND THE LINES)

Dr. Craig Malkin (RETHINKING NARCISSISM: The Bad--and Surprising Good--About Feeling Special)

Adina Hoffman (BEN HECHT: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures; TILL WE HAVE BUILT JERUSALEM: Architects of a New City; SACRED TRASH: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza; MY HAPPINESS BEARS NO RELATION TO HAPPINESS: A Poet's Life in the Palestinian Century)

Phil Zuckerman (WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MORAL; LIVING THE SECULAR LIFE: New Answers to Old Questions)

Jill Santopolo (New York Times bestselling and Reese's Book Club pick THE LIGHT WE LOST; MORE THAN WORDS; EVERYTHING AFTER)

Donna Freitas (THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO)

Robb Forman Dew (National Book Award winner DALE LOVES SOPHIE TO DEATH; THE EVIDENCE AGAINST HER; THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER; BEING POLITE TO HITLER)

Douglas Trevor (THE BOOK OF WONDERS; GIRLS I KNOW; A THIN TEAR IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE)

Jennifer Murphy (the forthcoming SCARLET IN BLUE)

Walter Dean Myers, former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (MONSTER; FALLEN ANGELS; SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH; ON A CLEAR DAY; DARIUS & TWIG; BAD BOY; HANDBOOK FOR BOYS; GAME; WE ARE AMERICA; FREDERICK DOUGLASS)

Leslie Connor (THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE; A HOME FOR GODDESSES AND DOGS)

Ted Sanders (The Keepers series: THE BOX AND THE DRAGONFLY, THE HARP AND THE RAVENVINE, THE PORTAL AND THE VEIL, THE STARLIT FORGE)

Donna Freitas (THE HEALER; UNPLUGGED; THE BODY MARKET; THE MIND VIRUS; THE TENDERNESS OF THIEVES; THE SURVIVAL KIT; THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD; THIS GORGEOUS GAME; GOLD MEDAL SUMMER; GOLD MEDAL WINTER)

Tod Olson (LOST series: LOST IN THE PACIFIC, LOST IN OUTER SPACE, LOST IN THE AMAZON; LOST IN THE ANTARCTIC; INTO THE CLOUDS: The Race to Climb the World's Most Dangerous Mountain)

Alex Sanchez (YOU BROUGHT ME THE OCEAN; THE GREATEST SUPERPOWER; RAINBOW BOYS, RAINBOW HIGH, and RAINBOW ROAD; GIRLFRIENDS WITH BOYFRIENDS; BAIT; THE GOD BOX; SO HARD TO SAY)

Charles R. Smith (28 DAYS: Moments in Black History That Changed the World; BRICK BY BRICK; I AM THE WORLD)

Kathryn Siebel (THE TROUBLE WITH TWINS; THE HAUNTING OF HENRY DAVIS)

Christine Kendall (RIDING CHANCE; THE TRUE DEFINITION OF NEVA BEANE)

PLEASE NOTE: For all subsidiary rights and permission inquiries, please contact Miriam at miriam@defliterary.com

For all manuscript queries, please send an email to her at querymiriam@defliterary.com. Miriam only accepts email queries. Include the following:

The first chapter pasted in the body of your email. Attachments will not be opened.

I also really want to know what you feel the heart of your book is, in one or two sentences.

Miriam Altshuler

Tanusri’s background in human rights law has helped shape her eclectic list, which features compelling new voices in the adult and children’s books spaces. She looks for accessible and wide-reaching, narrative nonfiction set against themes in social justice and representation, as well as memoirs and select fiction featuring diverse perspectives, contexts, and even storytelling styles. In the YA and middle-grade spaces, Tanusri is drawn to contemporary coming-of-age stories, charming and relatable romances, ambitious world-building fantasies, and well-plotted, voice-driven suspense. She’s also a big fan of stories set in schools or interesting neighborhoods told from fresh viewpoints. For picture books, her list includes both meaningful, lyrical, stories as well as ones that bring alive the wonder and complexity of our world with humor and heart. She’s also interested in nonfiction that excites the imagination and curiosity of young readers.  Tanusri was born and raised in India, and has been living in NYC for well over a decade. She is a graduate of the National Law School of India, holds an LLM from Harvard Law School and a PhD from Oxford University. 

Simran Jeet Singh (THE LIGHT WE GIVE: The Power of Sikh Wisdom to Transform Your Life)

Ayesha Siddiqua Chaudhry (THE COLOUR OF GOD)

Keerthik Sasidharan (DHARMA FOREST: Book 1 of the Dharma Trilogy)

Kevin Christopher Snipes (MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD)

Simran Jeet Singh (FAUJA SINGH KEEPS GOING: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon)

Qasim Rashid (HANNAH AND THE RAMADAN GIFT)

Hope Lim (MY TREE, I AM A BIRD, MOMMY’S HOMETOWN, AT THE WINDOW)

You can query her at tpsubmissions@defliterary.com with a concise pitch, short bio, and a two-page synopsis if querying YA/MG fiction. For picture books, please include the entire text in the body of your email. If querying an illustrated project, please provide sample illustrations and links to your website/Instagram page.

Tanusri Prasanna

Brian DeFiore began his career in publishing in 1981 as an editor at St. Martin's Press. In 1988 he moved to Dell Publishing as senior editor, quickly moving up to the position of Vice President and Editorial Director of Delacorte Press. In 1992 he joined The Walt Disney Company's start-up publishing operation, Hyperion, where he served for five years as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. In 1997, he took over the Villard Books division of Random House as Senior Vice President and Publisher.

Some of the authors Brian worked with as an editor and publisher include Ridley Pearson, T. Jefferson Parker, James Lee Burke, Ken Follett, Daniel Silva, Eve Ensler, Jon Krakauer, Jack Olsen, Leonard Nimoy, Jesse Green, Roger Kahn, M. Scott Peck, Linda Barnes and Bill Carter.

Brian started the agency in 1999, with a goal to create an editorially-driven agency that served the talents of its clients and its staff by bringing together creative, innovative, enterprising and dynamic agents to work collaboratively and boldly to help shape and market books with impact. And indeed, since its inception, DeFiore and Company has had the honor of representing dozens of bestselling, award winning, and culture-shaping writers and influencers. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Authors Representatives, as the Chair of the AAR Electronic Rights Committee, and on the faculty of The Center for Publishing at New York University.

Brandon Stanton (HUMANS OF NEW YORK: STORIES, HUMANS OF NEW YORK, LITTLE HUMANS, HUMANS)

Frank Warren (POST SECRET: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives; MY SECRET; THE SECRET LIVES OF MEN AND WOMEN; A LIFETIME OF SECRETS)

Bobby and Cheryl Love (THE REDEMPTION OF BOBBY LOVE)

Joel Fuhrman (EAT FOR LIFE, THE END OF DIETING; THE EAT-TO-LIVE COOKBOOK)

Dr. Neal Barnard (YOUR BODY IN BALANCE, THE CHEESE TRAP; POWER FOODS FOR THE BRAIN; THE 21 DAY WEIGHT LOSS KICKSTART; THE VEGAN STARTER KIT; YOUR BODY IN BALANCE, forthcoming)

Jill Schlesinger (THE DUMB THINGS SMART PEOPLE DO WITH THEIR MONEY: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs)

Tom Ryan (FOLLOWING ATTICUS: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship)

Louis Zamperini and David Rensin (DON'T GIVE UP, DON'T GIVE IN)

David Rensin (ALL FOR A FEW PERFECT WAVES; THE MAILROOM)

Bill Shapiro (OTHER PEOPLE'S LOVE LETTERS)

Richard Yancey (CONFESSIONS OF A TAX COLLECTOR)

Rick Yancey (THE 5TH WAVE, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP; THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST, THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE DETECTIVE)

Benjamin Hale (THE FAT ARTISTS AND OTHER STORIES, THE EVOLUTION OF BRUNO LITTLEMORE)

Adena Halpern (THE TEN BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE, "29")

My tastes are eclectic, and I tend to respond favorably to projects of any sort if they demonstrate a real storytelling talent. And to me, that means a combination of strong narrative drive and mastery of voice which leads the reader seamlessly into the author's realm and won't let him leave without a fight. It's not easy to do, and not easy to describe. But when it's there, it's hard to miss. That said, the areas I tend to respond more favorably to in non-fiction are memoir, popular culture, pop science, sports, self/help and inspiration, cookbooks, humor and lifestyle. In fiction: not romance or western. But all other sorts of novels that meet the criteria for 'storytelling talent' for both adult and young adult readers.

Send a persuasive e-mail to Querybrian@defliterary.com. (Or, if you must, a snail mail letter.)
The note should clearly indicate:

a BRIEF description of the book's contents

anything about your life experiences that will make readers take notice

most importantly: a level of creativity, confidence, and precision in the prose that will make me want to read several hundred more pages written by you…

Brian DeFiore

Dana Bryan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and a minor in business administration. While attending UF, she was an editorial intern for Tower Publications, a writer for Spoon University magazine, and a teaching assistant for a web development course. She is a 2021 graduate of the New York University publishing course. 

Dana has eclectic taste and will read anything that tells a good story. She enjoys young adult and children's books (from picture books to middle grade fiction to new adult), especially those with underrepresented voices. She also enjoys narrative nonfiction that tugs on heartstrings and gets people to think differently. She is drawn to books that display intellectual thought and have a lot of heart. Dana favors stories with meaningful imagery that can transport readers into a book's world and into the minds of its characters.

She became an assistant at DeFiore & Company in July 2021 and assists Laurie Abkemeier, Lisa Gallagher, Caryn Karmatz Rudy, and Brian DeFiore. She is not accepting queries. 

Dana Bryan

Originally from northern California, Laurie Abkemeier graduated from Wells College with a degree in communications and experience in broadcast and print journalism. Her first job was as an editorial assistant in the Touchstone/Fireside division of Simon & Schuster, and she soon moved to Hyperion where she acquired and edited dozens of books, including five New York Times bestsellers and many national bestsellers.

In 2003, Laurie joined DeFiore and Company as a literary agent. As a former editor with extensive experience in what goes on behind publishers’ doors, she works closely with her authors to develop their ideas, polish their proposals, and guide them from deal to publication. She has represented more than a dozen New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. Laurie strives to maintain an eclectic list that spans history, science (physical, biological, and psychological), nature, sports, adventure, health and wellness, self-improvement, investigative journalism, big ideas, women’s studies, pop culture, and the offbeat. She is very interested in working with BIPOC who are writing on these topics.

Laurie also represents a select group of artists (see complete list below).

Laurie is always open to queries. More than half of her authors have come to her via an unsolicited email query. Please see her query instructions below.

Narrative Nonfiction and Memoir Highlights:

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s SEINFELDIA (Simon & Schuster) and WHEN WOMEN INVENTED TELEVISION (Harper)

Saul Austerlitz’s JUST A SHOT AWAY (Thomas Dunne Books) and GENERATION FRIENDS (Dutton)

John Grogan's MARLEY & ME and THE LONGEST TRIP HOME (William Morrow)

Nathalia Holt's RISE OF THE ROCKET GIRLS (Little, Brown) and WISE GALS (Putnam)

Anne Gardiner Perkins' YALE NEEDS WOMEN (Sourcebooks)

Kimberly Potts’ THE WAY WE ALL BECAME THE BRADY BUNCH (Grand Central)

Jean Kennedy Smith's THE NINE OF US (Harper)

Peter Brannen’s THE ENDS OF THE WORLD (Ecco)

Daniel Chamovitz, PhD's WHAT A PLANT KNOWS (Scientific American Books)

Lisa Cron's WIRED FOR STORY and STORY GENIUS (Ten Speed Press)

Shaun Gallagher's EXPERIMENTING WITH BABIES and EXPERIMENTING WITH KIDS (TarcherPerigee)

Keith Houston's SHADY CHARACTERS and THE BOOK (W.W. Norton)

Jessica Lahey’s THE GIFT OF FAILURE and THE ADDICTION INOCULATION (Harper)

Steve Magness’s DO HARD THINGS (HarperOne)

Traci Mann PhD's SECRETS FROM THE EATING LAB (HarperWave)

Deirdre Mask’s THE ADDRESS BOOK (St. Martin’s Press)

Cal Newport’s DIGITAL MINIMALISM and A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL (Portfolio) and DEEP WORK (Grand Central)

Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD’s THE GRIEVING BRAIN (HarperOne)

Brad Stulberg’s THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS (Portfolio)

Scott Young's ULTRALEARNING (HarperBusiness)

Meg Adams: WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? (Andrews McMeel)

Lee Crutchley: THE NOCTURNAL JOURNAL and GET LOST! (TarcherPerigee)

Rachel Dougherty: SECRET ENGINEER (Roaring Brook) and A RACCOON AT THE WHITE HOUSE (Simon Spotlight)

Jorey Hurley: NEST, FETCH, HOP, BEEHIVE et al (Paula Wiseman/S&S Books for Young Readers)

Andrew Kolb: EDMUND UNRAVELS (Nancy Paulsen Books), PEACE: A CARD GAME (Chronicle), and ALL ABOARD! (Abrams Appleseed)

Meera Lee Patel: START WHERE YOU ARE, MY FRIEND FEAR and MADE OUT OF STARS (TarcherPerigee)

Philippa Rice: SOPPY, SISTER BFFs and BABY: A SOPPY STORY (Andrews McMeel)

Yumi Sakugawa: THE LITTLE BOOK OF LIFE HACKS (St. Martin’s Press)

Becky Simpson: I’D RATHER BE SHORT (Plume) and THE ROOMMATE BOOK (Andrews McMeel)

Debbie Tung: QUIET GIRL IN A NOISY WORLD and BOOK LOVE (Andrews McMeel)

Katie Vaz: MY LIFE IN PLANTS, MAKE YOURSELF COZY and THE ESCAPE MANUAL FOR INTROVERTS (Andrews McMeel)

Laurie accepts only email queries. Send a brief email describing you and your project to Laurie@defliterary.com Please include the word “query” and your book title in the subject line. Attachments will not be opened unless requested. Submissions do not need to be exclusive, and response time is generally no more than two weeks. If you have not received a response within four weeks, please check that the defliterary.com domain name is on your email server whitelist; the response might have been rejected by your server. Please note that Laurie does not consider fiction queries of any kind.

Laurie Abkemeier

Linda joined DeFiore and Company in 2015 after 15 years at the Crown Publishing Group as VP, director of subsidiary rights. Before Crown, she had worked at the Walt Disney Company’s start-up publishing group, Hyperion, where she worked with Brian. She has nearly thirty years of subsidiary rights experience and has licensed across all categories including children’s books, history, science, cooking, craft, spirituality and self-help as well as literary and commercial fiction.

She has negotiated many deals on behalf of, among others, Gillian Flynn, Anthony Marra, Martha Stewart, Andy Weir, Tim Ferriss, Deepak Chopra, Barack Obama, George Bush, Byron Katie and Hayley Pomroy.

In addition to her DCO responsibilities, Linda is also the director of a separate business, Kaplan/DeFiore Rights, which represents North American literary agents and independent publishers in the UK and translation marketplace. For more info on Kaplan/DeFiore Rights, click here.

Originally from Minnesota, Linda graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Montclair, NJ with her husband and twin daughters.

Please note: Linda is NOT a literary agent, and therefore does NOT take submissions. Please do not send her submissions, as they will be ignored. Thank you.

Linda Kaplan

Chris represents books across a broad spectrum of nonfiction—memoirs, narrative, prescriptive, Christian, and sports—and works with her authors to develop books that are appealing and accessible to a broad audience.

She is passionate about stories that must be told: of an achievement-oriented mother who learns the true worth of every life when her daughter is born with Down syndrome, a medical missionary who puts his life on the line treating patients during the Ebola epidemic, a couple who makes the stunning choice to forgive their daughter’s killer.

Chris is drawn in particular to authors whose faith engages the wider world, such as  American Psychological Association president Dr. Thema Bryant, Bread for the World president and CEO Eugene Cho, The Center for Justice + Renewal founder Christena Cleveland, and the Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy (CATTA) director Jason Wilson. 

Her bestselling authors in the sports category include sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr., Big Ten Network lead studio host Dave Revsine, and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Publishing a book by NFL legend Brett Favre fulfilled Chris’s wedding vows – in which she pledged allegiance to the Green Bay Packers, for better or worse.

Prior to becoming an agent, Chris worked as an editor for several New York publishing houses, including Hachette Book Group and Random House, and helped launch an independent publishing company. Chris has a degree in English from Harvard University.

Amy Julia Becker - TO BE MADE WELL (Herald Press)

Dr. Thema Bryant - HOMECOMING (Tarcher Perigee/Penguin Random House)

Curtis Chang - THE ANXIETY OPPORTUNITY (Zondervan/HarperCollins)

Eugene Cho - THOU SHALT NOT BE A JERK (David C. Cook)

Christena Cleveland - GOD IS A BLACK WOMAN (HarperOne)

Chanel Dokun - LIFE STARTS NOW (Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins)

Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore - LITURGIES FOR HOPE (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House)

Stephanie Landsem - CODENAME EDELWEISS (Tyndale House)

Helen Lee - THE RACE-WISE FAMILY (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House)

Ernie Johnson, Jr. - UNSCRIPTED (Baker Books)

Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, and Michelle Higgins - TRUTH’S TABLE (Convergent/Penguin Random House)

Jason Wilson - BATTLE CRY (Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins)