Vicky Weber is a literary agent with Creative Media Agency.

I’m a former elementary school teacher turned children’s book author and literary agent. I represent commercial fiction – board books through adult – but specialize in children’s literature.

In all manuscripts, I want intensity in the writing. (Give me all the feels!) I want to be dropped into the moment and experience the story alongside the characters. Character development and emotional arcs go hand-in-hand with the plot. If a book is high-concept, commercial fiction with beautiful, literary-leaning prose, it’s probably up my alley.

In adult and young adult fiction, she seeks: horror, psychological suspense, thrillers, commercial, upmarket, historical, women’s fiction, romance, fantasy (dark/high/epic), magical realism, speculative, and paranormal/supernatural. In middle grade and picture books, she seeks highly giftable, commercial fiction with a strong voice—stories that feel like they always should have been on the shelf

Hailey Stephens is a literary agent with Arthouse Literary.

Hailey is an avid reader, writer, and editor with a bachelor’s degree in English-Writing from Illinois Wesleyan University, as well as a master’s in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University. She is especially interested in uplifting diverse artists from rural communities that may be overlooked by such a metropolis-based industry.

While Hailey’s reading tastes include almost everything (she currently favors romance, literary fiction, and creative memoirs), her writing is focused on both creative nonfiction and psychological/supernatural horror. When not reading or writing, Hailey enjoys exploring her many hobbies. She’s a baker, hiker, puzzler, gamer (board games, card games, D&D, video games-she’s open to it all!), cross-stitcher, and so much more.

She is seeking:

In general, Hailey is only looking for Adult novels, but she will selectively take on Middle Grade books if the manuscript will inspire a passion for reading the way books like FABLEHAVEN by Brandon Mull, PERCY JACKSON by Rick Riordan, SKELETON CREEK by Patrick Carman, and PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale did for young Hailey. She would also love to champion authors from rural areas, especially authors from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and/or any other community that tends to be overlooked in rural areas. (This doesn’t mean the manuscript itself has to be based in a rural setting, although she always appreciates a good rural horror.)

For Literary, Upmarket, and Contemporary fiction, Hailey wants vivid stories that pull the reader in right away, immersing them in the work the author has created. The voice should be earnest and make readers feel intertwined with the characters. She would love to champion works that are as devastatingly honest and impactful as ROOTLESS by Krystle Zara Appiah, THE BLUEST EYE by Toni Morrison, and THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach all are.

For thriller and horror, she wants stories that linger in the corners of the mind, with characters that feel like they’re in the room with the reader (for better or worse). Hailey is always chasing the high left behind from reading HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski. She aspires to feel as involved in the narrative as she did while reading Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN. She wants manuscripts that get hearts and minds racing, but they should not ever include gratuitous violence or gore.

Hailey will also selectively take on Adult Romance, and is hopeful there are still love story tropes out there that can be discovered or re-explored in a way that redefines the genre.

In nonfiction, she is looking for both trade and literary proposals. She is especially interested in memoirs that play with the concept of time and structure like THE FACE series published by Restless Books, EVIDENCE OF V by Sheila O’Connor, and DEAR MEMORY by Victoria Chang. She would also be very interested in cookbooks of all kinds.

Hailey is always looking for a great love (in any sense of the word) story, but what she really needs in a manuscript is content that changes the minds and lives of its readers in unexpected ways. While the stories she represents do not necessarily need to have a happy ending, she is focused on finding manuscripts that inspire positive community and discussion for years to come. (In other words, a book with strong potential to cultivate a thriving fandom!)

What she doesn’t want: Poetry, Picture Books, Children’s Books, Erotica/Romances where being “spicy” is one of the main draws, Historical Fiction, YA Fiction, Legal Procedurals, Fantasy