If you’re an author from Boston, or another part of the state of Massachusetts, and need a literary agent who is local or regional to you, you’ll be unsurprised to know there are not many unlike in New York City, or Los Angeles.
However, there are some individuals in Boston you can look up and contact about possible representation.
In order to help make your search easier, we’ve created this post.
Below we’ve featured 5 top literary agents in Boston, MA. Continue reading to learn about who they are, the types of books they represent and the agencies they work for.
1. Lorin Rees
Lorin Rees is a literary agent at Rees Agency, which Helen Rees (1936-2015) formed in 1983. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Salamander Literary Journal and has a role on the advisory board of the Southern New Hampshire MFA program. Some of the books Lorin has represented include The Marauders by Tom Cooper, I Believe in Zero by Caryl Stern, and Black River by S.M. Hulse, among others. When it comes to genres that Lorin represents, his particular interests are literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, and nonfiction such as business books, memoirs, science, self-help works, history and psychology books.
If you would like to make a submission to Lorin, you can do so via email and through the post. If your book is fiction, you need to send a query letter, along with the first three chapters of your book. If you want to make a submission for nonfiction, you need to send a proposal with a query letter. Email submissions can be sent to Lorin@reesagency.com, while hard copy submissions can be sent to Rees Literary Agency, 14 Beacon St. Ste. 710, Boston, MA 02108.
2. Amaryah Orenstein
Dr. Amaryah Orenstein is founder of GO Literary, a full-service boutique agency. Her career began by working as a book editor at different academic foundations, and then joining Laura Gross Literary Agency 2009. A native of Montreal in Canada, Amaryah has a BA from McGill University, an MA from Ohio University and a PhD from Brandeis University.
Amaryah and GO Agency represents fiction and nonfiction books that are engaging, compelling with a powerful narrative. It should be noted that GO Agency goes far beyond just negotiating contracts, and works with established and first-time authors throughout the whole process, from the development of a book idea through to publication and promotion, assisting authors in developing long careers from their writing.
If you would like to make a submission, the initial thing to do is to send a query by email. Your email needs to include an explanation of your book and provide a short bio of yourself. This is not the time to send your full manuscript. You will be requested to do so in due course, if your query is of interest. Expect a response to your email within 4-6 weeks. The email address to send your query to is submissions@go-lit.com. Do ensure to read the submission guidelines at this page.
3. Matthew DiGangi
Matthew DiGangi is a Boston-based literary agent who works at Bresnick Weil Literary Agency, which is an organization based in New York. Matthew has in excess of 10 years of experience in the publishing industry including editing, anthologizing and publishing books. He studied for a BFA in English & Textual Studies at Syracuse University and also holds an MA in Publishing & Writing that was awarded from Emerson College.
Matt represents both fiction and nonfiction. For fiction, he looks for high quality writing that depicts characters that stick in the minds of readers and plots that are unpredictable. For nonfiction, he is interested in works about sports, American history, food, video games, weird science and pop culture. If you would like to make a fiction query, you need to email a query letter, along with two chapters, and for nonfiction, you need to forward a query letter and a proposal. The email address to send your submission to is matt@bresnickagency.com.
4. Beth Marshea
Beth Marshea is the owner of Ladderbird, a literary agency in Boston. Beth’s educational background involves being awarded an undergraduate degree in Literature, and an MBA. Before starting Ladderbird, Beth worked in small publishing houses which sparked up the idea to merge her business experience with her love for books to start her own agency.
Beth and Ladderbird represents various genres including literary fiction, commercial fiction, women’s fiction, fantasy, science fiction, crime fiction, young adult thrillers, young adult science fiction and fantasy, and nonfiction. You can find out about what Ladderbird looks for in books belonging to these genres here, while clients this agency represents can be found at this page.
If you would like to make a submission for fiction, you need to send a query letter that includes a brief bio of yourself, a short synopsis of your book, examples of recently published competitive books, and the first 20-25 pages of your book pasted into the main body of your email. If you’re make a submission for nonfiction, you need to submit a book proposal that includes your bio and qualifications, a synopsis of your book, an outline of the chapters, an analysis of your book’s target market, examples of some competitive books recently published, and three chapters pasted into the email. Do take a look at the submission guidelines carefully before emailing your submission to info@ladderbird.com.
5. Rebecca Podos
Another literary agent at Lorin Rees, Rebecca Podos has an MFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College, A published young adult author, examples of her books include The Mystery of Hollow Places and Like Water. As a literary agent, examples of books and authors she has represented include The Girl From the Well series and The Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco, Suffer Love and How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake, and Maybe in Paris by Rebecca Christiansen, among many others.
If you’ve written a young adult or middle grade fiction book, then Rebecca might just be the agent for you, as she exclusively represents these two popular genres. Specifically, she looks for stories that illustrate complicated female relations, for contemporary romance that is elegantly written, stories in which characters are given strong emphasis, and works about different cultures and those that give a voice to underrepresented voices across different genres.
The best way to make a submission to Rebecca is through her preferred route; namely email. You need to send a query letter and the first three chapters of your book. Rebecca’s email address is Rebecca@reesagency.com.
Do you know of any other literary agents in Boston, MA? Please tell us about them in the comments box below.
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Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of Writing Tips Oasis.