AGENT

Stevie is currently CLOSED for submissions.

I joined Zeno at the beginning of 2020 after time served working for science fiction and fantasy imprint Gollancz, adult non-fiction publisher Icon, and almost every Waterstones bookshop London has to offer. My degree specialised in children’s literature with a dissertation debating what Young Adult fiction actually is. All of the above strongly influenced the kind of books I get excited about, as well as broader narratives that explore stories connected with LGBTQIA+, BAME, disability, mental health, and other marginalised experiences.

When open, I’m particularly interested in submissions in the following areas: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Children’s, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction.

More details can be found here.

COMPANY DIRECTOR

John is currently CLOSED for submissions.

Essentially I’m a sucker for a good old plot-driven narrative. To break this down further, I like books in which things happen to people (or monsters, or aliens or whatever) – in which a character is faced with a problem and in which the meat of the novel is about them solving that problem. For me, good fiction is about forward momentum and the plot is the engine that should drive a story onwards. There are infinite variations and riffs on this classic approach and seeing them reinvented time and again is one of the great pleasures of reading.

I’ll happily consider all kinds of fantasy and SF – but anodyne Tolkien derivatives will be given short shrift and I can spot ‘em a mile off!  I like cool monsters and heavy magic and I like books in which magic seeps into contemporary life. Neil Gaiman does this kind of thing beautifully but please don’t send me Gaiman derivatives either – be inspired by brilliant writers, but don’t try to replicate their work.

I’ll read Urban Fantasy, but note that I’m not the ideal target demographic for this kind of stuff so I’m only looking for the highest quality material. Given the level of competition, anything less than exceptional will be bounced back to you. I’ll gladly read YA stuff but do note that it’s really not an area I tend to represent, so the chances of me being the right agent for a YA book are slim. That said, if you can ignite my sense of wonder, lost so long ago, buried beneath a black mountain of cynicism, then I’ll get the drinks in! And I’ll read space opera, horror, and thrillers and crime and historical fiction and combinations of all of the above – surprise me! And if it helps you further to target your submission, don’t send me political treatise disguised as fiction, or anything too whimsical or stuff that purports to be funny but isn’t. And read our submission guidelines!

For more, see here.

A list of our partners in other countries/territories. For full details, see here.

Bianca is currently CLOSED for submissions.

I joined Zeno in 2024, driven by my passion for the expanding market for zeitgeist-y, compelling and addictive fiction – books and authors with an electric feel that cause ripples across social media and beyond. I formerly worked in Editorial, acquiring and publishing books across the spectrum of commercial fiction for Aria at Head of Zeus. I have also worked in sales at Simon and Schuster UK. Alongside agenting, I am an author – my first novel, BAD PUBLICITY, will be published by Bloomsbury UK and Penguin Pamela Dorman in the US in February 2025. I am excited to be expanding Zeno’s commercial offering, and will be representing authors of commercial fiction, with some select non-fiction clients.

When open, I am looking for: Romantasy, Rom-coms with an edge, women’s fiction with a strong hook and deep emotional narrative (think Taylor Jenkins-Reid), atmospheric thrillers with a strong sense of place (think In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead). My primary focus is fiction, but I am open to a select number of narrative non-fiction projects, with a focus on stories that have particular relevance for young women (think I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy), or are so gripping they read like fiction (think Educated by Tara Westover).

More details can be found here.