LITERARY AGENT

I'm currently a junior literary agent at Birch Literary, having joined the agency in 2025, and I'm in the process of building my list.

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MSWL

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I’m looking for adult commercial or upmarket fiction that can be classed as women’s, book club, historical, romance, or fantasy or romantasy fiction. Ultimately, I want fiction that will make me feel something, keep me up late at night, and have me still thinking about it months down the line.

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I’m a sucker for coming-of-age stories and those told with multiple POVs, whatever the genre.

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Women’s fiction

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In women’s fiction, give me strong female characters facing difficult choices and complex relationships, like Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, or Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. I’ll read anything in the vein of Taylor Jenkins Reid or Kristin Hannah.

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Book club fiction

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I’m looking for books with emotional depth and human connections, or ones that will open up a new world to me, like video games in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, and hockey culture in Beartown by Fredrik Backman, while exploring different themes.

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Historical fiction

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Historical fiction is one of my first loves. I want fiction that's well-researched and that immerses me in another time and place. If it’s got a bit of romance thrown in, all the better, like the incredible In Memoriam by Alice Winn.

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Romance

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In romance, I want to see strong characters, big emotions, complicated relationships, and more. If I had to pick, I’d say my favourite tropes are slow burn romance and grumpy vs. sunshine, but these preferences are by no means prescriptive. I’m not a good fit for the fake dating trope as I’ve never been able to get into it. Spice is okay, but it shouldn’t feel gratuitous. My favourite romance book would have to be Beach Read by Emily Henry.

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Fantasy/romantasy

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I prefer romantic fantasy where the romance is not necessarily front and centre, but rather the plot shines and the romance is secondary. I’m drawn to anything that involves high stakes, political intrigue and dynamics, scheming, and unlikely heroes. Recently, I really enjoyed Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley with its high-stakes trials and strong female character.

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I am not seeking any YA, children’s fiction, or non-fiction books at this time. No Sci-Fi, please.

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Submission guidelines

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Please send a short query letter along with the first three chapters or 10,000 words of your manuscript, and a 1-2 page synopsis, all in one Word document to rhian@birchliterary.com.

 

Any submissions sent using the contact form on this page will not be read.

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Agent social media pages

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