 ABOUT THE AGENT: Nour Sallam is now a literary agent at Helm Literary. Nour represents a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, and she's always on the hunt for compelling and accessible stories that spark “brain butterflies.” As an Arab woman and immigrant, Nour is drawn to books that amplify joy and connection or feature nuanced narratives. She loves working closely with authors at all stages of their publishing careers, and she considers herself to be an editorial agent. Nour is based in Canada (hello from the North!) and sits on the advisory committee of BIPOC of Publishing in Canada. She is also a member of the AALA. NOUR IS SEEKING: Nour is interested in representing fiction and nonfiction work. In fiction, she's seeking commercial and upmarket titles with a high concept pitch in the following spaces: book club fiction, women’s fiction, horror, thriller, and romance. She is also open to historical fiction with settings from the 1960s and onwards, grounded retellings of underrepresented mythological or folkloric tales, and extremely grounded books with a speculative bend (think THE HUSBANDS by Holly Grazimo). Generally, Nour is drawn to characters that are haunted by something, whether figuratively (a secret, a past, an obsession) or literally (a ghost, a monster, an object). She's always looking for character-driven stories featuring women in power, stories of female rage, or stories that negotiate patriarchal structures. She has a soft spot for unreliable narrators, family sagas with dysfunctional families, and stories that focus on friendship dynamics (whether sweet or sinister). She is also drawn to fun and joyful titles that explore the diverse experiences of underrepresented groups and challenge our understanding of diasporic cultures or experiences. In nonfiction, Nour welcomes both narrative and prescriptive books with fresh and accessible perspectives. She's especially hungry for big-idea books, self-help, industry deep dives, health and wellness, and business books for millennials and Gen Z. She's also seeking personal narratives with bigger reverberations across pop culture, art, and nature, as well as books that offer incisive commentary on culture, socio-economic structures, and corporate underbellies. Her taste in nonfiction is pretty broad. She gravitates towards books that either challenge what we know or explain what we might not know. Nour is especially keen on championing underrepresented narratives across genres, so if your book seems like it might be just outside her wishlist, she'd like to consider it! HOW TO QUERY: Nour accepts queries via Query Tracker. Watch her page to see when she is open: https://querytracker.net/query/3987  Attend a Writers Conference in 2026:
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