About Zeno
Zeno Agency Ltd is a London-based literary agency specialising in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror. We are also expanding into other genres, such as crime and thrillers, women’s fiction and young adult fiction. Authors seeking representation should refer to our submission guidelines. We represent a top-drawer range of authors, both as primary agent and in association with a number of well-known agencies abroad. Our list comprises major brand-names, high profile award winners, talented debut authors and prestigious literary estates.
Founded in 2008, the company is solely run by John Berlyne. Zeno is a member of the Association of Author’s Agents and an affiliate member of SFWA. In 2020, Zeno expanded again, when Stevie Finegan joined as a Junior Agent.
For Rights and Permissions, please refer to the individual client pages or contact us directly through the usual channels.
Zeno Agency Ltd is a member of The Association of Author’s Agents and follows their Code of Practice.
the team
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Stevie Finegan
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.
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John Berlyne
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.
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Co-Agents
A list of our partners in other countries/territories. For full details, see here.
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