Horror Literary Agents

Fantasy, science fiction, horror, young adult, thriller, romance

Lisa is interested in fantasy and science fiction with complex systems, cohesive worldbuilding, moral ambiguity, non-Western settings, marginalized protagonists, and stories driven by character choices. She also wants horror, YA fantasy, YA horror, YA science fiction, YA thriller, and YA romance, and likes non-traditional narrative structures.

Lisa is closed to unsolicited queries. Do not send queries by email.

Fiction and non-fiction

Crime/thrillers/mysteries, addictive hooky commercial fiction, grounded speculative, twisty horror, high-concept love story, crime-family epic, big-idea narrative non-fiction (sport/pop science/humour/true crime/memoir)

Email - submissions@watsonlittle.com

Commercial fiction, upmarket fiction, dark romance, romantasy, romance, speculative fiction, mystery, thriller, gothic, horror, historical fiction, rom com, magical realism, current events, true crime, science, history, narrative non-fiction, sports, politics, health, nutrition, pop culture, humor, music, memoir

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, author bio, sample pages

Jill seeks fiction and non-fiction by unrepresented voices, BIPOC and Latinx writers, disabled persons, and LGBTQ+ people. She wants commercial and upmarket fiction emphasizing dark romance, romantasy, speculative fiction, mysteries, thrillers, Gothic, horror, and historical fiction, plus food-centric novels and psychological suspense in the vein of Freida McFadden. For non-fiction, she seeks authors with big, timely, smart messages and deep dives into subcultures, social commentary, and historical projects.

Submit via QueryManager at QueryManager.com or JillMarr. Include query letter, 1-page synopsis, brief bio with publishing history, and first 10-15 pages for fiction. For non-fiction, include query letter and full book proposal.

Fiction and non-fiction

Commercial/high-concept fiction with hook (romance/crime/thriller/general), accessible literary, speculative/SFF/horror, fun fantastical MG, big-emotion YA. Less keen on political or gangland thrillers

Email submissions@thenorthlitagency.com when open to submissions

Women's fiction, historical fiction, mystery, romance, romantic comedy, horror, science fiction, fantasy, young adult, humor, nonfiction

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, sample pages

Courtney represents women's fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, romance and rom-coms, horror, science fiction and fantasy, YA novels, humor, and nonfiction. Her list emphasizes work from underrepresented voices.

Check Handspun submission status and submit through the agency query system when open. Query each project once with the agency.

Romance, contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, speculative romance, horror romance, monster romance, dark romance, dystopian romance, new adult romance, romantasy, speculative fiction, women's fiction, historical fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, young adult, upper middle grade, non-fiction

Wants: Query letter, first chapter, synopsis

She is looking for high-concept, commercial-leaning stories with propulsive and accessible narratives. She particularly wants dark romance, horror/monster romance, genre-mashups, fresh takes on historical romance and dystopian, mystery/thriller and suspense stories with female protagonists, and cozy crime stories with humor and charm.

Submit queries only through QueryManager. Include a query letter, first chapter, and synopsis for fiction. Include genre and word count in the cover letter. Query only one agent at a time.

Fiction

Genre fiction, crime and thriller hooks, high concept, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian/post-apocalyptic, speculative/supernatural, horror, spy stories, genre-bending with clear commercial appeal

Email hi.submission@dhhliteraryagency.com with a cover letter, first 3 chapters, and a 1-page synopsis as Word attachments

Romantasy, cozy fantasy, horror, science fiction, fantasy, southern gothic

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, sample pages

Cheyenne is interested in manuscripts from historically excluded communities, gritty or dark romantasies, cozy fantasy with high stakes, feminist-leaning horror, horror-romance crossover, grounded science fiction, epic fantasy, Southern Gothic, and speculative stories with folkloric and atmospheric elements.

Check Handspun submission status and submit through the agency query system when open. Query each project once with the agency.

Horror, speculative fiction, romantasy, fantasy, gothic, magical realism, contemporary romance, picture books, graphic novels

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, first 20 pages for graphic novels

#OwnVoices Horror, Speculative, and Romantasy; Horror including body horror, femgore, horror romance, monster horror, folk horror; Gothic romance; Magical Realism; Indigenous/First Nations works; Cozy fantasies; Picture books with climate change and environmental STEAM themes

Submit through QueryManager

Horror, gothic romance, grounded fantasy, thriller, mysteries, commercial fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction, erotic fiction

Wants: Query letter, 10-20 pages, synopsis

She seeks horror across almost all subgenres and age categories, gothic romance, grounded fantasy, thrillers and mysteries with non-cop protagonists, commercial fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction featuring BIPOC and queer characters, and adult erotic fiction especially featuring BIPOC and LGBTQIA characters. She particularly welcomes stories by Honduran authors and Latine/x authors from Central America and the Caribbean.

All ALA agents use Query Manager. Submit to one agent at a time, but if one agent passes, you can submit to up to three agents at ALA. Submit 10-20 polished pages for novels.

Fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, thriller, graphic novels, non-fiction

Wants: Query letter, bio, sample pages

Shannon seeks dark gothic fantasy, horror across all speculative levels, science fantasy that blurs magic and science, mysteries with cinematic feel, and graphic novels with found families or unsettling elements. She values experimental styles, unreliable narrators, excellent prose, strange concepts, botanical uncanniness, and stories incorporating religious elements.

Submit via QueryManager only. Select one agent to submit to initially. Include polished query letter, bio, and appropriate sample pages based on format.

Fantasy, science fiction, horror, contemporary romance, mysteries, thriller

Wants: Query letter, bio, 10-20 pages

She intends to represent marginalized authors and is especially seeking to uplift indigenous voices and voices from the Global South. She's particularly keen on growing her contemporary romance, thriller, and horror lists. She's looking for K-drama-style high-stakes romance, queer rivals-to-lovers sports romance, sapphic romantasy, BIPOC vampire horror with social commentary, and sex-positive, kink-positive contemporary romance.

All ALA agents use Query Manager. Submit to one agent at a time with a polished query letter, bio, and 10-20 polished pages for novels.

Fantasy, horror, science fiction

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, bio, first 3-4 pages

Josh wants forbidden magic, ancient rituals, epic space battles, and everything in between. Gothic fantasy and horroromance are high on his wishlist, but he is open and interested in all subgenres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is drawn to stories with a strong voice and three-dimensional characters.

Send a query letter with a synopsis of your book, your bio, and the opening 3 or 4 pages embedded in the body of your email. Do not send an attachment without a request to do so.

Fiction, graphic novels, middle grade, young adult, adult fiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fantasy, magical realism, psychological horror, literary fiction

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, sample pages

She is currently only open to graphic novel proposals. She seeks explorations of love, friendship, or familial bonds against fantastic backdrops, obscure retold fairy tales, women and girls in STEM, quirky middle grade, modernized mythologies, psychological horror/thrillers with speculative elements, literary and near-future science fiction, historical fantasy, magical realism, and internally consistent epic fantasy.

All ALA agents use Query Manager. Submit to one agent at a time. Include polished query letter, bio, and follow manuscript guidelines: novels submit 10-20 pages, graphic novels submit proposal with 10-20 sample pages and 2-4 full colored pages.

Women's fiction, thriller, speculative fiction, commercial fiction, horror, mystery, historical romance, poetry, picture books

Wants: Query letter, first ten pages, bio, title/genre/word count

She seeks stories that surprise and delight with characters readers can't stop thinking about and sharp writing. She wants high-concept, twisty stories with strong voices in women's fiction, thriller, and speculative fiction. She's particularly interested in timely commercial fiction where the personal intersects with world events, stories about female rage and friendships, complex family dynamics, incisive horror with social commentary, and atmospheric mysteries set in close-knit communities.

Submit through Query Manager with a brief bio including writing credentials, title or genre or word count, query letter, and first ten pages.

Literary fiction, horror, mysteries, thrillers, suspense, fantasy, romantasy, speculative fiction

James represents high concept literary and genre fiction for adults and young adults, co-repping with his colleague Jenny Bent. Together they are specifically interested in compact horror and mysteries with unique hooks and intricate plotting, atmospheric thrillers and suspense novels with a strong sense of place, and unique fantasy/romantasy. They are particularly interested in authors who have successfully been working in the indie space and are now looking to transition into traditional or hybrid publishing. On his own, James is looking for voice-driven literary fiction (including books with genre elements but literary execution) and grounded speculative fiction with high stakes that touches on contemporary issues. Across all genres, he prizes direct, economical prose, complex characters, building tension, narrative gravity, and a distinct sense of humor.

Email your query to James Mustelier at the address listed on his agent page, or use his QueryManager link if indicated there. Include the title of your project in the subject line. Paste the first ten pages of your manuscript in the body of the email — no attachments. For picture books, include the complete text, for illustrated work, include a link to your website or two to three PDFs or JPEGs. Do not query multiple Bent Agency agents simultaneously, if James passes, you may then query another agent at the agency.

Young adult, new adult, adult fiction, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, romance, romantasy, fantasy, science fiction, cookbooks, food writing, gardening, health, fitness, pets

Wants: Query letter, synopsis, first twenty pages, full proposal

Kimberly seeks YA, New Adult and adult fiction, including mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, romance, romantasy, fantasy and science fiction, plus adult nonfiction in cookbooks, food, gardening, health, fitness, natural healing and pets. She does not represent children's books, erotica, poetry, short stories, screenplays, novellas, literary/upmarket/women's fiction, or memoir.

Kimberly is currently closed to queries except for periodic windows. When open, fiction and nonfiction use separate QueryManager or QueryTracker forms from her submissions page.

Young adult fiction, adult fiction, fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror

Ciara has a wide range of interests, in young adult and adult, from fantasy and science fiction, to romance and horror. Above all, they wish to champion underrepresented voices and have strived to have a diverse list from the very beginning.

Check agent's submission page

Middle grade, young adult, adult speculative fiction, fantasy, science fiction, horror

Middle grade, YA, and adult speculative fiction, fantasy, sci fi, horror, especially when the genre is a unique setting for deeply human stories

Check agent's submission page

Commercial fiction, women's fiction, romance, historical fiction, thrillers, horror

She is always interested in seeing new women's fiction, romance, historical fiction, thrillers and horror. Nalini maintains a diverse client list and loves to find exciting new voices that utilize elements of different genres to tell their story.

Check agent's submission page

Middle grade, ya, science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance

Sci-fi, fantasy, horror and romance from MG through YA/crossover to adult, with quality writing, compelling characters and hooky plots

Email - mjamieson@unitedagents.co.uk

Fiction and non-fiction, children's

Adult: literary fiction, commercial women's, psychological suspense, gothic thrillers, ghost stories, historical including alternate histories, creeping-horror edge (not high fantasy). Children's: 7+/MG/YA, originality/depth, underrepresented voices welcome

Email submissions@nurnberg.co.uk

Self-help, pop culture, music, memoir, history, science, politics, social justice, narrative food writing, faith, true crime, commercial fiction, psychological thrillers, horror thrillers, children's books, picture books, ya

Rick Richter represents self-help, pop culture and music, memoir, history, science, politics and social justice, narrative food writing, and faith. He is also interested in select true crime, commercial fiction, and psychological/horror thrillers and diverse voices in all categories. He has extensive experience in children's books and represents illustrators and children's authors writing fiction and non-fiction from picture books through YA.

Rick Richter only accepts queries through Query Manager. Please check his Query Manager profile for more information.

Commercial fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, crime or psychological thriller, historical, gothic, magical realism or urban fantasy, selected non-fiction (per wishlist)

Not children's, YA, sci-fi, epic fantasy, or romantasy

Email - eg.submission@dhhliteraryagency.com

Horror, fantasy, suspense, thrillers, romantasy, romance

Jenny is currently looking for clients she can co-rep with her colleague James Mustelier. They are seeking all kinds of high concept genre fiction for adults and young adults: horror, fantasy, suspense/thriller, romantasy, and romance. Of particular interest are authors who have successfully been working in the indie space and are now looking to transition into traditional or hybrid publishing, and submissions from BIPOC authors are additionally welcomed. Jenny tends to prefer plot-driven books with strong pacing, novels with an element of magic or fantasy, and stories that are dark and weird in content but traditional in structure and storytelling — she is not the right fit for books with overtly political or extremely complicated plotlines.

Email your chosen agent at the address listed on their individual page, or use their QueryManager link if indicated. Include the title of your project in the subject line. Paste the first ten pages of your manuscript in the body of the email — no attachments. For picture books, include the complete text, illustrators should also include a link to your website or two to three PDFs or JPEGs of your work. For graphic novels, paste the first ten pages of your script plus the first five pages of your dummy in the body of the email.

Adult fantasy, adult science fiction, adult horror, adult romance, young adult science fiction, young adult fantasy, young adult romance, young adult contemporary

Wants: Query letter, first ten pages, author website

Matthew Valdez is a literary agent at Megibow Literary Agency. He represents adult and YA storytellers, especially voices from marginalized backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community. He is looking for adult fantasy, high-concept science fiction, horror, romance, and YA science fiction, fantasy, romance, and contemporary.

Email matthewquery@megibowliterary.com. Megibow asks for a query letter, the first ten pages of the manuscript, and an author website if available. Matthew is only open to queries from the 15th through the end of each month. He does not currently accept nonfiction, middle grade, picture books, chapter books, poetry, short-story collections, screenplays, or religious or inspirational material.

Fiction, nonfiction, young adult, upmarket fiction, book club fiction, mystery, suspense, historical fiction, literary horror, grounded science fiction, grounded fantasy, narrative nonfiction, cultural criticism, history, pop culture, aapi voices, underrepresented voices, lgbtq and

Wants: Query letter, sample pages, proposal

Amy represents fiction, nonfiction, and YA. She is seeking upmarket and book club fiction, mystery or suspense elements, propulsive plots with beautiful writing, historical fiction, literary horror, grounded SFF by women of color, coming-of-age stories, global retellings, expert-driven narrative nonfiction, cultural criticism, history, pop culture, YA with murder and intrigue, immigrant stories, queer stories, girls working for justice, and light-hearted contemporary YA.

Use the QueryManager route linked from Amy Bishop-Wycisk's Trellis profile and review her current wishlist before querying.

Literary fiction, commercial women's fiction, contemporary fiction, family drama, historical fiction, crime fiction, thrillers, suspense, magical realism, speculative fiction, sff, horror, gothic fiction, romantasy, fantasy, science fiction

Susan Armstrong seeks strong prose, compelling storytelling, vivid characters, and originality of vision. She welcomes novels that blend genres, feature unusual settings or circumstances, contain unexpected twists, possess some darkness, and present moral dilemmas. Books that evoke laughter are particularly appreciated.

Send all submissions to susan.submissions@cwagency.co.uk.

Science fiction, fantasy, literary horror, non-fiction

Sam represents science fiction, fantasy, literary horror, and non-fiction for a general audience. He is looking for fantasy with wit and deep world-building, hard SF and cyberpunk exploring big questions about humanity, and work that pushes SFF genre boundaries. He is also interested in upmarket folkloric horror-tinged fiction, fiction and non-fiction engaging with landscape or the sea, books about jazz and classical music with an unconventional approach, and writing by experts who relay complex ideas with verve. He is keen to work with writers whose background, identity, sexuality, cultural experience, or ethnicity have historically been under-represented on publishers' lists in the UK. He does not accept children's or young adult submissions.

Email: sam@greyhoundliterary.co.uk

Thrillers, espionage, book club fiction, romance, gothic fiction, horror, dark humor, politics, smart thinking, big ideas

Thwaites seeks commercial upmarket writing that is powerful and cinematic yet feels different and fresh. She wants stories unlike anything encountered before with gripping plots and strong voices across all genres. She particularly values effortlessly quick-witted and funny writing with memorable characters, and is currently interested in compelling stories with Jewish themes and politics of the US and Middle East.

Email: info@curtisbrown.co.uk

Fiction and non-fiction

Smart compelling commercial-to-literary, upmarket crime/thrillers, voiced historical, light horror/gothic/supernatural, memoir, narrative non-fiction, health/wellbeing/lifestyle from experts

Email julia@greyhoundliterary.co.uk

Adult upmarket fiction, speculative fiction, gothic, fantasy

Adult upmarket and speculative fiction, especially gothic and fantasy. If there's at least a hint of romance mixed in, all the better.

Check agent's submission page

Fantasy, science fiction, horror, women's fiction, romance, mystery or suspense, young adult

Wants: Query letter, book proposal for nonfiction

Works with a unique premise and unforgettable characters, underrepresented viewpoints, twisty layered stories, and strong worldbuilding.

Use The Knight Agency submissions page and the relevant QueryManager link, do not query multiple TKA agents simultaneously.

Children's authors and illustrators

Children's authors/illustrators across ages/genres, currently especially: witches, teen romance/romcom series, MG/YA sci-fi/fantasy, MG/YA horror/supernatural, YA romantasy, books for boys, compelling contemporary. For picture books/graphic novels currently only author-illustrators

Email childrensbooksubmissions@theagency.co.uk with submissions as attachments, not download links. Do not email the agent directly. No postal submissions.

Science fiction, fantasy, horror, upmarket fiction, historical fiction

Jordan is primarily pursuing genre and upmarket fiction for adults with a focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy and horror. She loves intergenerational stories that grapple with the complexities of families and culture through time and anything with an unreliable narrator or a speculative bent. She's always on the hunt for books that feature female wit and rage, bodies of water as foreboding, and eruptive moments of catharsis. She also considers historical fiction or retellings with a fresh approach and compelling perspective.

Check agent's submission page