Getting a literary agent can be a stressful, difficult prospect and I hope this listing of reputable (as far as I know) agents who take romance will help you. Please know that this listing is far from complete. Many of the very best agents simply don’t have websites, although many do seem to be catching up to the times.
This listing may be one starting place for you, but I will also suggest that you JOIN RWA! They have a listing of agents who represent romance and keep tabs on their activity so you can be assured these people are on the up and up. Not only that, but the RWR, the RWA monthly magazine, produces a list of all approved agents and their complete information each year. For a listing beyond those who have websites, another good resource is Karen Fox’s website.
I also hope you’ll take a gander at my Agent F.A.Q., where I offer my personal take on agents in general. Agencies are listing in Alphabetical Order by agency name or agent last name (if their site is not affiliated with their agency).
Be sure to check out the Writer Beware list of 20 WORST Agents, as well.
Agents Who Represent Romance
3 Seas Literary Agency — Michelle Grajkowski and Cori Deyoe are the agents for this literary agency that is RWA-approval. They deal a lot in women’s fiction and in romance (clients are listed in the client page). They do have submission guidelines. Verified 8/5/2013.
Alička Pistek Literary Agency, LLC — Agency represents commercial fiction (including romance). Check out the page of submission guidelines for more of what they like to see as far as query letters. Verified 8/5/2013.
Alive Communications, Inc. — Representing many Christian authors, including Christian romance author Lori Copeland, this group may be an option for those of you writing to this specific sub-genre. The website includes submission guidelines, a sample proposal, and industry links. Update: Alive Communications is now only open to submissions from unpublished writers referred by their current authors or published authors. Verified 8/5/2013.
Ashley Grayson Literary Agency — An agency that has been around since the 70s and represents several romance clients currently. Submission guidelines at the bottom of the page. Verified 8/5/2013.
The Bent Agency — Jenny Bent formed this agency in 2009 after stints with several large, well-established literary agencies. She represents many romance authors and has submission guidelines, as well as a blog. Verified 8/5/2013.
Book Ends, LLC — They have an awesome mailing list. All their agents came from big New York publishing houses, working with big names in romance. Check out their submissions page for more info on which agent to query and while you’re at it, tour around their site for other good info they share there. They announced they will no longer update their blog as of 2012, but it’s worth a look. Verified 8/5/2013.
Books and Such Literary Agency — A literary agency that seems to have a focus on Inspirational romance, though they may also take secular romance, as well. They do have submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Bradford Literary Agency — Laura Bradford, formerly of Manus and Associates, formed this agency. Submission guidelines are here. Verified 9/9/2013.
Brown Literary Agency — Roberta Brown is a literary agent who has been around for a long while. She specializes in a lot of different kinds of romance. She has submission guidelines and be sure to check out the other pages on her site to get a general flavor. Verified 9/9/2013.
Browne and Miller — Formerly known as Multimedia Product Development, they have now officially changed their name. Danielle Egan-Miller is the AAR member who runs this agency (Ms. Browne passed away in 2003). They are interested in romance. They do have submission guidelines. Verified 10/27/2014.
Cornerstone Literary Agency — Though the site is pretty barren, with only a short description of their submission guidelines, an address and a list of current titles, this agency is still well-known and respected. Helen Breitwieser takes the romance. Verified 9/9/2013.
Crichton and Associates, Inc — This agency is run by lawyer Sha-Shana Crichton. They seem to have a keen interest in multicultural romance (especially African-American), contemporary and inspirational. They don’t appear to be interested in historical romance. Submission guidelines are available. Verified 9/9/2013.
Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc — This long-time agency (since 1977) represents women’s fiction and romance. There is a page with comments from her authors. And there is a submission page that also has links to articles about querying that might be useful to you. Verified 9/9/2013.
Elaine P. English, Attorney & Literary Agent — Elaine English, formerly of Graybill and English, has branched out on her own. Check out her section on her Literary Services, which contains her submission guidelines, as well as other info. As of 9/9/2013, her website states she is not currently accepting new submissions.
The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency — One of the most well-known and well-respected agents in romance… or anywhere else for that matter. Ellenberg has also written numerous articles on agentry and the market. Submission guidelines available. Verified 9/9/2013.
Farris Literary Agency — Two married lawyers are the primary agents here. They do have detailed submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
FinePrint Literary Management — This literary agency has some impressive clients in the women’s fiction realm. Be sure to check out About the Agents on the menu on the side for the best fit on querying your manuscript. Then head to the Submission Guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Folio Literary Management, LLC — A literary agency formed by Paige Wheeler (formerly of Creative Media), Scott Hoffman and Jeff Kleinman. They have a submissions guidelines page, as well as other info about their clients and personnel. Verified 9/9/2013.
Fox Literary — Page from Publisher’s Marketplace. Literary agency takes romance and cross-genre with romantic elements. Diana Fox also tweets, if you want to check her out on Twitter. Verified 9/9/2013.
Greyhaus Literary Agency — Puget Sound area (WA) based literary agency that only takes romance. Check out the About Us to see some of their thoughts on various genres. Check out their Contact page for info on submissions, as well as a rule for turn-around on requests (if you’re not ready to submit a request immediately to an agent… I probably wouldn’t submit here). Verified 9/9/2013.
Hartline Literary Agency — An agency that represents a lot of inspirational romance. They don’t seem to have made actual sales in mainstream romance, but they will look at it. Check out their submission guidelines for more info. Verified 9/9/2013.
Harvey Klinger, Inc — Another long time literary agency. You can read more about the agents in About Us. They have submission guidelines, as well. Verified 9/9/2013.
Irene Goodman Literary Agency — One of the most well-respected agencies in romance. Their website includes info on the agents, current titles and more! There are also submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Jane Chelius Literary Agency, Inc. — This long-time agency has finally gotten a website. It includes some good tips on what they do for clients, bios of Jane and Mark Chelius, as well as submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Jennifer Jackson — A vice president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency (where other agents also take queries for romance), she is a member of AAR. She holds membership in several writing organizations (common for agents) and you can click on her client list. Also submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Jet Literary Associates, Inc — The romance authors they represent are listed here. Also query guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Judith Ehrlich Literary Management, LLC — This agency has been around since 2002 and its main agent, Judith Ehrlich, has been agenting since 1998 (before that she was a journalist and authored a nonfiction book of her own). Recently they’ve hired an agent interested in romance, so be sure to check out their listing of agents to know who to send to. And their submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Kimberly Cameron and Associates — The new name of the Reece Halsey agency. They do have a bit of romance in their list, so check out their submission guidelines for more info. Verified 9/9/2013.
The Knight Agency — Deidre Knight (who is also a romance author) is the founder of The Knight Agency. There is a list of acquiring agents and their tastes at the About page. The webpage has a lot of good information for a new author wondering what an agent is looking for, plus submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Larsen Pomada Literary Agency — This agency based out of San Francisco does indicate it takes romance submissions. Each agent has written several books on agenting including Michael Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal
Levine Greenburg Literary Agency, Inc — Formerly known as James Levine Communications. Stephanie Kip Rostan (a former romance editor for Bantam/Dell) is the romance agent. They still have an electronic submission form. Verified 9/9/2013.
Linda Chester and Associates — This agency represents several heavyweights in fiction and also has an agent interested in romance. Check out their About page to see which agent to query, then go to their submission guidelines, but be sure to read and follow their directions there. Verified 9/9/2013.
The Literary Group International — A large agency that represents all kinds of work from Fiction to Non-fiction. They lay claim to several Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning authors. They do represent some romance and have simple submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Loretta Barrett Books — Established in 1990, this agency represents fiction and nonfiction. In romance they specifically mention romantic suspense. They have represented romances in the past and have a list of authors. There are submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Lowenstein Associates — A long-time literary agency with a great track record. I’m leaving them up, though I’m not all together certain that they still take romance based on their submission guidelines and the info about main agent Barbara Lowenstein. Verified 9/9/2013.
Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc — This literary agency has been around for a long time and is well-respected, but their website and Publisher’s Marketplace has very little information. However, it does have submission guidelines. Well worth a query. Verified 9/9/2013.
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency — Two agents recently of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency formed this new group together. They are taking various genres of romance. Check out their submission guidelines for more info. Also, be sure to read their bios. Verified 9/9/2013.
Martha Millard Literary Agency — Not much detail, and you need a publisher’s Marketplace log in account to see her information. I’ve not heard of her before even though she says she has twenty years of experience. She does accept romance (and says she’s big with sci-fi/fantasy so paranormal writers may want to take a look). Submission guidelines at the bottom of the page. Verified 9/9/2013.
Mendel Media Group, LLC — This agency is run by Scott Mendel. See their list of authors and scroll down on their contact page to see their guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Nancy Yost Literary Agency — Powerhouse literary agent Nancy Yost (formerly of Lowenstein-Yost) has started her own independent agency. She represents a lot of big romance names, but be sure to click on the agent names (which are at the top of the main page) to read their bios before you submit. Verified 9/9/2013.
Natasha Kern Literary Agency — This site presents a list of clients and books they’ve represented. She also offers advice and submission guidelines on her pages, including submitting online. Verified 9/9/2013.
Nelson Agency, LLC — Kristin Nelson is the agent for this agency. She does list submission guidelines and you can query by email. Verified 9/9/2013.
New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. — The agents here take a variety of romance/women’s fiction genres and have several very successful authors on their roster. Check out submission guidelines. Also, see their page on Publisher’s Marketplace. Verified 9/9/2013.
Prospect Agency — Emily Sylvan Kim, formerly of powerhouse Writers House, has started her own agency here. The site has a very friendly feel and a nice theme. Submission guidelines are available, as is a list of current clients. Verified 9/9/2013.
Richard Curtis Associates, Inc — Richard Curtis has been around for over forty years. They stress on their homepage that they’re looking for romance fiction that can be marketed as mainstream and also say they aren’t taking previously unpublished authors. However, it never hurts to query. Submission guidelines are available. Verified 9/9/2013.
Rosenberg Group — Barbara Collins Rosenberg is the owner and agent for this agency. There are submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency — This 20 year veteran literary agency has finally gotten a website. Check out the Meet the Agents page to find out who takes romance and then check out the submissions guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
The Seymour Agency — Mary Sue Seymour has sold many books to several publishing houses, historical romance and contemporary. You can check out her list of sales at the site. Current submission guidelines are here, and as of this verification, they do not accept poetry or erotica. There is also a contact info page. Verified 9/9/2013.
Spectrum Literary Agency — They have long been loved by the Sci-Fi/Fantasy crowd and are interested in representing romance, as well. They specifically mention romantic suspense and historical romance on their main page. They do have submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
The Stringer Literary Agency — Founded by literary agent Marlene Stringer, this agency does list romance in its interests. The site has submission guidelines, as well as a list of current clients. Verified 9/9/2013.
Talbot Fortune Agency, LLC — Former Berkley romance editor Gail Fortune has joined with John Talbot (of the John Talbot Agency, Inc since 1998) to form this new entity. Check out their FAQ for genres they have an interest in. And then go to their submission guidelines to submit a query via email (check out the guidelines carefully for format, etc). Verified 9/9/2013.
Trident Media Group — This agency was started by powerhouse agent Robert Gottlieb after he left William Morris. Several of the agents here represent a wide variety of romance writers. Submission guidelines are available, as are agent bios and client lists so you can pick exactly the right match for you. Verified 9/9/2013.
Upstart Crow Literary — Former agents from Firebrand have created this new agency. They have a submissions page where you can click the agent names to get a cute pop-up with their interests. Verified 9/9/2013.
Waxman Literary Agency — This agency takes mostly mainstream fiction and non-fiction (at least that’s what it touts the most), but if you stumble into the Agent Bios, you’ll find at least one agent does take romance. Submission guidelines are available. Verified 9/9/2013.
Writers House — One of the powerhouse agencies for romance. They rep some of the best known writers around (see their list of bestsellers) and have submission guidelines. Verified 9/9/2013.
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