How to submit to us

Thank you for your interest in submitting your novel or nonfiction book proposal to Folio Literary Management, LLC.

(Please note: Folio Literary Management does not represent poetry, stage plays, or screenplays.)

Please do not submit simultaneously to more than one agent at Folio. If you’re not sure which of us is exactly right for your book, don’t worry. We work closely as a team, and if one of our agents gets a query that might be more appropriate for someone else, we’ll always pass it along.

Keep in mind, however, that although we do work closely together, we are all individuals, with specific tastes and preferences – as well as our own unique working styles. So it’s important that you check each agent’s bio page for clear directions as to how to submit, as well as when to expect feedback.

Please note that hard copies of any unrequested materials, either sent directly to an agent or to Folio in general, will be recycled, unopened, and not returned to you.

Step #1: Find your agent.

Please visit the Agents section of our website and read the bios of each of our individual agents to figure out which of us might be right for your project, and our individual submission preferences.

  • Please wait until you’ve got a completed, polished novel or a complete nonfiction proposal with a sample chapter to query any of us. Our nonfiction proposal guidelines can be found here.
  • Be sure that your cover letter, manuscript, and supplemental materials are properly formatted, and the best you think they can be: that means, at a minimum, double-spaced, well-proofed, well-written, and well-presented.
  • Please contact us about one project at a time. You may have a drawer full of fabulous yet-to-be-published manuscripts, but only tell us about the one you feel is the most polished, the most ready to go.

Step #2: Contact us.

Agents at Folio ONLY accept email queries.
All hardcopies will be recycled and not returned to you.

In your one-page cover letter, tell us briefly what the book is about, and a little about yourself. Guidelines on writing an effective query letter can be found here.

For all queries, see individual agent’s bio page for his or her submission preferences, and their email addresses.

Step #3: Now What?

We do our best to respond to all electronic queries as soon as possible, whether we’re interested or not. If you haven’t heard back from the individual agent within the time period that they specify on their bio page, it’s possible that something has gone wrong, and your query has been lost – in that case, please re-email a follow-up.

We look forward to hearing from you. It’s as important for us to find good literary talent as it is for you to find good representation. We take all of the queries submitted to us very seriously, and are always on the lookout for new literary talent!