Submission Guidelines
Queries
Nat Sobel is closed to unsolicited queries.
Judith Weber is closed to unsolicited queries.
Keith Stillman is closed to unsolicited queries until September 1, 2026.
Requested Material
If we have requested your material, please note that we require a two-week period of exclusivity on all submissions.
Please include the following in your submission:
A brief introduction about yourself and your interest in our agency, as well as any prior publications. Please ensure that you reference our previous correspondence in your letter.
A one-page synopsis, tracking the plot of your story to its conclusion
The first fifty pages of your manuscript.
Unsolicited Material
If you are sending an unsolicited query, please note that we are unable to respond to every query sent our way.
We receive hundreds of queries a week, and though we would really love to respond to every single one, it is not possible. If you have not heard back about your query within a month, it likely means it’s a pass.
As a note, we pride ourselves on discovering and developing new talent—we will rarely pursue queries from authors with commercially- or self-published novels.
A few tips:
Novels
We handle only adult trade books, particularly thrillers, crime, and literary fiction. We are not looking for young adult, picture books, fantasy, westerns, or romances. As mentioned above, we pride ourselves on our ability to develop new talent—we prefer not to work with authors with published novels.
General Nonfiction
Nearly all nonfiction is sold on the basis of a proposal rather than a completed manuscript. In general, what publishers need to see is an introduction or overview of the work, an outline or annotated table of contents and a sample chapter or two. Also important is a brief biography of the author, including the author's particular qualifications for writing this book and what he or she may be able to do to help sell the book. We have rarely sold a collection of essays or a self-help book.
Cookbooks
No matter how good a cook you are, it is unlikely that publishers will be interested in a general collection of your recipes - unless you are a widely known celebrity or chef. Publishers will be as concerned about your visibility and ability to help promote a book as they are about the content of your proposed book. Do you teach cooking classes or publish articles in magazines? Do you have a popular blog? Have you appeared on television? As in the case of general nonfiction, most cookbooks are sold on proposal. Instead of a sample chapter, you'll need to include sample recipes - and make sure they are thoroughly tested! An interested editor may try a recipe or two.
A Note on AI
It is our policy to not accept any AI generated writing. If any portion of your manuscript was written by AI it will be rejected.
Due to legal questions around the copyright protections of AI generated artwork, it is too risky to undertake representation of such works until laws around AI copyright are clearer. Representing these works could expose agencies and publishers to potential legal troubles.
Detection of AI writing is generally simple. You are not likely to fool an agent or editor.
If you are uncertain whether your usage of AI is unacceptable, consider this question: was your usage of AI something you could ask for from a friend? IE, you can ask your friend for feedback on your writing. You cannot ask your friend to write any portion of your work and then take credit for it.