If you’re looking for a publisher for your cozy mystery manuscript, here are 19 publishing houses you should take a look at.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for help with finding a top publisher for your book, below you’ll find 19 top literary agents for cozy mysteries.
1. Kevan Lyon
Kevan Lyon is the founding partner of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. She’s worked with authors like Lynn Cahoon, author of the New York Times and USA Today’s bestselling Tourist Trap series. Kevan and the rest of the literary agent team at Marsal Lyon have also worked with authors like Vivian Conroy, author of the cozy mystery “The Butterfly Conspiracy” and Dana Fredsti, author of the cozy noir mystery novel, “Murder for Hire: the Peruvian Pigeon.” She represents a broad range of genres in women’s fiction, which includes historical fiction, mysteries and cozies.
Kevan and her team at Marsal Lyon are currently accepting submissions and ask that you contact only one agent at the agency at a time with a query letter by email. They only accept electronic submissions, and ask that you include your contact information so that they can more easily get in contact with you if they’re interested in your work. If you’re interested in working with Kevan specifically, be sure to mention her in your query letter.
2. Rebecca Angus
As a literary agent with Golden Wheat Literary, Rebecca has over four years of experience in the publishing industry. She’s represented authors like Lorri Horn, author of the Dewey Fairchild cozy mystery series. She is currently seeking manuscripts of the cozy mysteries sub-genre, but is closed to all other types of fiction. The best way to send your submission is by first sending here a query letter and the first twenty-five pages of your manuscript via email. You can also use the only contact form on her website should you have any other inquiries.
3. Natalie Lakosil
Natalie Lakosil is currently a literary agent with the Bradford Literary Agency. She has earned a B.A. in Literature and Writing, and has been a literary agent since 2009. She is currently seeking submissions for cozy mystery stories. The Bradford Literary Agency does not accept unsolicited manuscripts outright, but highly encourage writers out there to send in a query email first. If you’re interested in working with Natalie, they ask that you mention your interest in working with her in your query, as well as send the first chapter of your manuscript and a brief synopsis of your story. For more information on their submission guidelines, click here.
4. Dawn Dowdle
Dawn Dowdle is the founder and literary agent of Blue Ridge Literary Agency, based out of Lynchburg, Virginia. She primarily represents romance and cozy mystery authors, and are currently seeking works for those two categories. They ask that you follow their submission guidelines very closely, or else your query may be deleted. Your query letter must include your contact information, the genre of your manuscript, an estimated word count, and any potential marketing plans that you may have to promote your book. They ask that you don’t email your query letter, but instead use their online form.
5. Evan Marshall
Evan Marshall is the founder of the Evan Marshall Agency. Founded in 1987, Evan works with a wide range of authors who write in many different genres, including cozy mysteries. Evan himself is actually an award-winning literary agent, and has worked with several publishing houses before founding his own publishing company. According to his website and page on Publishers Marketplace, he only accepts new clients by referral only. However, we encourage you to reach out to see if he is currently accepting new clients or to send a query letter.
6. Rachel Brooks
Rachel Brooks is a literary agent with Bookends Literary Agency. She represents and is always on the lookout for adult romance, young adult, women’s fiction, and cozy mysteries. She’s currently looking for cozy mysteries like Krista Davis’s Paws & Claws series, as well as Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop cozy mystery series. If you’re interested in working with Rachel, the best way to contact her is through the Bookends Literary Agency’s query form manager, found here. They ask that you provide a brief synopsis of your manuscript, along with the first five pages of your book for consideration.
7. Kathryn Green
Kathryn Green is the founder of the Kathryn Green Literary Agency, founded in 2004. Kathryn has a BA in Journalism from the George Washington University and has had several years of experience as a book editor with Penthouse magazine and Girl Scouts of America. She is currently searching for cozy mysteries and asks that you first send a query letter via email if you’re interested in working with her or her team. She does not accept query letters via regular mail. For more information on her submission guidelines, click here.
8. Amanda Jain
Amanda Jain is a literary agent with Inklings Literary Agency. She has a B.A. in English and has worked for several years in the trade department at W.W. Norton. She represents many authors of mystery books, including historical and cozy mysteries. She is not currently looking for children’s picture books, memoirs, self-help, poetry, erotica, science fiction and fantasy, horror, or inspirational fiction. She is unfortunately not currently open to unsolicited submissions or queries, but highly encourages you to check back at a later date to find out when her submissions will reopen. To find out about when this may be, you can contact her via email.
9. Saba Sulaiman
Saba Sulaiman is a literary agent with Talcott Notch Literary Services. She has a great deal of experience in the publishing industry, having worked several intern positions at various newspaper and magazine publications, as well as an internship at Sourcebooks. She represents up-market literary and commercial fiction, which includes psychological thrillers, memoirs, and cozy mystery books. She is unfortunately currently closed to new queries and unsolicited submissions, but encourages you to check back at a later date to find out when she’ll reopen to new queries.
10. Natanya Wheeler
Natanya Wheeler is a literary agent with Nancy Yost Literary Agency. She also happens to be the director of digital rights with NYLA. She is currently searching for new submissions in dark psychological thrillers, book club fiction, domestic suspense, and cozy mystery works. What she values the most in written works are strong characters and a clear narrative voice. Natanya is known for working with new writers and loves to help discover and nurture new talent. If you’re interested in working with Natanya, you can send her a query through the Nancy Yost Literary Agency query submission form, found here. They ask that you include a brief author biography, your contact information, and the first three chapters of your book for review.
11. Lisa Abellera
Lisa Abellera is a literary agent with the Kimberley Cameron & Associates literary agency. She is currently open to queries between August 1, 2018 to November 1, 2018, after which she will be closed to unsolicited submissions for the remainder of the year. She has been a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates since 2013 and has a B.A. in Creative Writing, Design and Business. She is currently interested in upmarket and literary fiction, including cozy mysteries. If you’re interested in working with Lisa, the best way to contact her is through the literary agency’s query submission form, found here. They ask that you include a brief synopsis of your manuscript, as well as the first fifty pages of your book for consideration.
12. Madelyn Burt
A literary agent with Stonesong since 2015, Madelyn is currently in search of cozy mystery submissions. She’s looking to develop long-lasting relationships with the authors that she works with to help develop their careers in the literary world. Stonesong accepts electronic queries for both fiction and nonfiction works. They ask that you send a query via email and mention in your query letter that you’re interested in working with Madelyn as your literary agent. Also be sure to include the first chapter or first ten pages of your work pasted in the body of the email for their consideration.
13. JD DeWitt
JD DeWitt is the founder and director of development of Five by Five Media, a literary management and production company. This company provides a very unique opportunity to bring a writer’s work to both the big and small screen. JD DeWitt is interested in cozy mystery works, as well as to adapt well-written manuscripts for television and movies. One of their current projects in development includes “The Dream Jumper’s Promise” based on the bestselling novel by Kim Hornsby. The best way to get in contact with JD is through their online contact form. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but encourage writers to send a query about their work.
14. Elizabeth Kracht
Elizabeth is a literary agent who also works with Kimberley Cameron & Associates. She’s been with the literary agency since 2010 and represents both literary and commercial fiction, including cozy mystery books. She likes to work closely with her authors and help them develop their careers in the literary field. She is currently accepting submissions and asks that you use her online submissions form, found here. You should include an estimated word count, as well as the first fifty pages of your manuscript for her to review.
15. Paige Wheeler
Paige Wheeler is an agent and the president of Creative Media Agency, Inc. She also happens to be a founding partner of Folio Literary Management in 2006. With over twenty year so publishing experience, Paige represents both commercial and up-scale fiction, which includes cozy mystery books. She is not currently looking for children’s books, science fiction, or fantasy. She loves manuscripts that are cleverly written with brilliantly thought-out plotlines, appreciates fun plot twists, and seeks out stories with engaging and believable characters.
Paige is currently accepting queries via email only (they no longer accept queries by regular mail). She asks that you include the first five pages of your text along with your contact information and a brief manuscript synopsis. For more information on their submission guidelines, click here.
16. Sharon Belcastro
Sharon is a literary agent and founder of Belcastro Agency. She’s worked with authors like “Murder Most Fermented” by Christine E. Blum and “A Shot of Murder” by J.A. Kazimer. Sharon is currently looking for mystery manuscripts, including works of the cozy mysteries sub-genre. She asks that you send a query email first that includes a short synopsis of your manuscript and three sample chapters. The Belcastro Agency loves strong and determined protagonists, as well as manuscripts with strong and entertaining plotlines. For more information on their submission guidelines and other genres that they’re also looking for, click here.
17. Nikki Terpilowski
As the founder and senior literary agent of Holloway Literary Agency, founded in 2011, Nikki loves to represent writers of romance, mystery, thriller, historical, literary, science fiction and young adult. Nikki has earned a B.A. in English and has even worked with bestselling authors like Kimberly Belle, author of “The Marriage Lie” and “Three Days Missing.”
She is currently in search of cozy mystery submissions, with specific interest in works similar to those of Ellery Adams, Eva Gates, and Amanda Flower. She asks that you send a brief query letter and the first fifteen pages of your manuscript via email. If she’s interested in your work, you can expect a response between six to eight weeks.
18. Andrea Somberg
Andrea Somberg has over fifteen years of experience as a literary agent. She’s worked with several literary agencies over the years, and has been working with Harvey Klinger Literary Agency since 2005. She’s worked with clients who have been on both the New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists, and has even worked with award-winning clients. She represents literary, book club fiction, upmarket women’s fiction, romance, thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries – which includes cozies.
The Harvey Klinger Literary Agency is currently accepting submission from both new and previous clients. They ask that you send a query letter via email to one agent at a time. Due to the high volume of submissions that they receive, only parties that they’re interested in will receive a response. For more information on how to reach Andrea, click here.
19. Janna Bonikowski
Janna Bonikowski has been an associate literary agent with the Knight Agency since 2016. She has previous experience as an independent editor and freelance editor for publishing companies like Lyrical Press and Kensington. She is currently interested in cozy mystery submissions and is happy to work with authors who have come up with truly unique and exciting new concepts.
The Knight Agency is currently accepting queries by email only (they do not accept queries or submissions by regular mail). Be sure to mention in your email that you’re interested in working with Janna so that they know who to forward your query to. For more information on their submission guidelines, click here.
Do you know any other literary agents for cozy mysteries? Please tell us about them in the comments box below!
K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.