 ABOUT THE AGENT: Jeanne de Vita recently joined Martin Literary Management, bringing her editorial expertise to the team. While working in acquisitions and as a developmental editor for traditional publishers and freelance clients, Jeanne has edited hundreds of aspiring and established authors, including NYT, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestsellers. After more than a decade working with stories at various stages of the publishing cycle, including teaching both writing and editing at the college level, Jeanne brings a strong editorial vision and passion for the publishing industry to her clients. She is excited by strong voices and compelling stories across the sub-genres of fiction, with a specific interest in romance, fantasy, thrillers/mysteries/suspense, horror, and speculative fiction. She has MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in English from Iowa State University. Jeanne’s love for happy-ever-afters started in childhood, as her mother was a traditionally published romance author who wrote across the genres over her two-decades long career in publishing. Jeanne is committed to developing diverse voices and has run pro bono mentorships for underrepresented authors. Jeanne has volunteered extensively with medically fragile children, the arts, and survivors of gender-based violence. Jeanne is excited to discover new talent and to work with established authors searching for a caring, informed, and supportive advocate. Keep reading to see if Jeanne is your dream agent. JEANNIE IS SEEKING: Romance: Romance of all subgenres is Jeanne's happy place. Give her everything from contemporary small-town romance to epic romantasy, dystopian, horror, and just about every variation.
Romantasy: Since this term is used widely, Jeanne includes a separate definition of what she's looking for here. If you’re writing a no-technology universe with magic, monsters, or mythology, she would love to see it. She also loves paranormal romance or urban fantasy with contemporary settings and present-day technology. Pirates, mermaids, orcs, aliens, fairy tale retellings. She would love to see it all!  Need an expert critique of your query letter, synopsis, novel/manuscript, or nonfiction book proposal? We have you covered. Check out our critique options and many success stories who found literary agents after working with us. Thrillers/Suspense/Mystery: Thrillers might just tie with romance for Jeanne's go-to comfort reads. She loves a strong cast of characters, a premise that keeps her guessing, and well-developed pacing that keeps her turning the pages. A lot of sub-genres fall under the umbrella of thrillers/suspense/mystery. Jeanne would love to see:
Please make sure your law enforcement/legal/medical research are strong before you submit. Horror: Send me Jeanne you're scary! She's not a good fit for demonic/possession stories, but all other horror including Gothic, paranormal, slasher, crime, ghosts, zombies, haunted places—send it her way. Women's Fiction: Jeanne is very selective about women’s fiction, but feel free to surprise her. What She's looking for here is depth. Is the voice compelling? Setting immersive and someplace that comes to life? What truth is revealed or experience made real for the reader? Give her un-put-downable characters, themes, and places. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopian/Post-Apoc: Jeanne's interest in these genres is broad (space opera, LitRPG, soft sci-fi and fantasy, steampunk, etc.), but execution is key. She's looking for readable voice, propulsive pacing, deep stakes, and relatable characters. Nonfiction: Jeanne loves nonfiction, but she's very selective about non-fiction at this time. She's open to character-driven memoirs that read like novels (please no entire life stories) and work from experts who have something highly marketable to share with a defined audience. If you have expertise in a niche and have a book that makes your passion more accessible to others, she would love to see it. What Jeanne is not reviewing at this time:
To see Jeanne’s #MSWL, click here: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/jeanne-de-vita/ To see Jeanne’s website, click here: jeannedevita.com HOW TO SUBMIT: Please note: When we post a New Agent Spotlight, we try to make sure the agent is open to submissions at the time of posting. But as time goes by, an agent can close and open to submissions at any time. If some time has passed since this spotlight was posted, you will want to check their agency website and/or QueryManager before submitting, to be sure. If your manuscript is ready, please submit to Jeanne via Query Manager here: https://QueryTracker.net/query/4097  Attend a Writers Conference in 2026:
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