New Literary Agent Alert: Whitley Abell of Inklings Literary

Literary agent alerts (like this one with Whitley Abell of Inklings Literary) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building their client list.

About Whitley: Whitley Abell joined Inklings Literary Agency in 2013. Before joining Inklings, she completed successful internships with Carol Mann Agency and P.S. Literary Agency. She is based in St. Louis, MO, where she daylights as a production manager for several medical and S & T journals. She graduated in 2011 BA in English and Creative Writing, and again in 2012 with a MAT in Secondary English Education, which basically means she can tell you anything there is to know about feminist literary theory and the Common Core Standards. Find her on Twitter.

She is seeking: Whitley is primarily interested in Young Adult, Middle Grade, and select Upmarket Women's fiction. She likes characters who are relatable yet flawed, hooks that offer new points of view and exciting adventures, vibrant settings that become active characters in their own right, and a story that sticks with the reader long after turning the last page, be it contemporary or historical, realistic or supernatural, tragic or quirky.

She loves mythology and literary re-imaginings, heartbreaking contemporary novels, historical suspense, and craving cute romantic comedies for YA through adult (ex: Sophie Kinsella, Lauren Morrill, Stephanie Perkins).

She is not interested in vampires, werewolves, angels, zombies, dystopian societies, steampunk, or epic fantasy. Please no paranormal / fantasy for adults.

How to contact: Type “Query for Whitley: [Book Title]” plus the title of your novel in the e-mail subject line, then please send the following pasted into the body of the e-mail to query(at)inklingsliterary(dot)com. The query should include the title, genre, and word count of your project, your story pitch, and a brief bio including any publishing credits. Under the query, paste a brief (1-2 pages) synopsis, and the first 10 pages of your manuscript.


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Chuck Sambuchino is a former editor with the Writer's Digest writing community and author of several books, including How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack and Create Your Writer Platform.