ABOUT THE AGENT:

Wadzanai Mhute is an author, journalist, and former books editor at Oprah Daily and Oprah's Book Club where she edited and wrote about authors and books, helping to shape literary conversations on diverse platforms. She was also fiction editor at The Sunday Long Read.

She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, where she received the Himan Brown Creative Writing Award, and an MSc. in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Wadzanai is currently serving on the National Book Critic's Circle Board.

A recipient of the MacDowell Fellowship in 2016, Wadzanai worked on her debut novel exploring three generations of women in Zimbabwe. Her deep understanding of both the creative process and the publishing industry makes her an invaluable advocate for the authors she represents.

Born in Zimbabwe, Wadzanai now lives in New Jersey. She founded Antsu Literary Agency with a vision to champion diverse voices and ensure that stories from all corners of the world find their place in the literary landscape.

WADZANAI IS SEEKING:

ABOUT THE AGENT:

Tamara joined DeFiore and Company in 2022. She started her career with internships at Macmillan and Writers House, then worked at ICM for five years. Tamara represents writer and illustrator clients in both the children’s and adult markets, with a particular focus on talented LGBTQ+ and BIPOC storytellers.

​She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents, and serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Literary Agents of Change, where she co-directs a mentorship program for early career agents from underrepresented backgrounds.

TAMARA IS SEEKING:

ABOUT THE AGENT:

Aiden Siobhan (they/them) graduated from UNC School of the Arts in 2023 with a Filmmaking BFA specializing in Screenwriting and Animation. Before becoming an agent, they interned at LDLA and were an Author Mentor Match mentee in 2022. When they’re not binge reading an LGBTQ+ YA novel, they work as the Art Director for two alternative newspapers, attend film festivals for their documentary projects, and go on road trips with their fiancé and dog.

AIDEN IS SEEKING:

ABOUT THE AGENT:

Shelly Romero of Azantian Literary Agency began her publishing career in 2017 at Scholastic where she rose up the ranks from editorial assistant to associate editor, where she acquired her own titles and assisted on series publishing for The Bad Guys and Goosebumps. She later joined Cake Creative as Lead Editor and she was most recently a freelance editor. She graduated from Stephens College with a bachelor’s degree in English and attended the 2017 NYU Summer Publishing Institute. Shelly was selected as a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree and is a member of Latinx in Publishing & People of Color in Publishing. Born and raised in Miami by Honduran parents, she now resides in New York City where she might be found at a movie theatre viewing the latest release from her Letterboxd watchlist.

SHELLY IS SEEKING:

ABOUT THE AGENT:

Donovan Levine is an associate literary agent at Neighborhood Literary and AALA member based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When not doing agent work, he can probably be found at a local dive bar cheering for Philly sports teams.

Donovan craves voice-driven, fly-off-the-page characters and adventurous stories, with messaging and themes relevant to the times. And he is especially seeking underrepresented voices with powerful, lived experiences.

DONOVAN IS SEEKING:

*** WINNERS: Keely B., Annabel H., Stanisław G.

FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!

Welcome to the 2025 First Pages Contest. Contest #3 of this year is for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy (all types). If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on Feb. 11, 2025 [UPDATED, EXTENDED DEADLINE]. 

Here’s how it works: We invite awesome literary agents to judge the contest. The agents pick the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules!

(There are two other contests happening right now in January 2025 -- one for writers of young adult fiction and one for writers of romance /women's / historical.)

ABOUT THE AGENT:

Lee O’Brien (he/they) is an associate agent at Looking Glass Literary.
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Lee started his career at Irene Goodman Literary Agency in 2019, where he first worked as an assistant to Victoria Marini and later began building his own list as a junior agent, after completing his MA in English literature at UC Davis and moving back to New York full time in 2020.
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When not working as an agent, Lee writes YA fantasy about trans kids, magic, and monsters of all kinds as Lee Paige O’Brien.

​LEE IS SEEKING: