US literary agents listings

US Literary Agent Listings

Our Agent Match service has now expanded to include all agents and agencies in the US and in this blog post we’re giving you a helping hand with finding you perfect match with a full listing of all the fresh new agents in our database.

Finding a literary agent to take on, edit, sell and champion your work is a career-defining moment for any traditionally oriented writer. But it’s career-defining partly because it’s hard to achieve.

So let’s try to keep this simple. Here’s what you need to do to attract a literary agent:

Step 1: Write a wonderful book.
That’s hard, admittedly, but you’re on this page because you’re pretty serious.

Step 2: Compile a longlist of qualified literary agents.
A qualified literary agent is one who is (A) in the right country, (B) open to your genre, and (C) reasonably open to taking on new work and new clients. Once you have that longlist – which could easily run to 100+ names – you can start to filter it. [Oh, and if you’re looking for UK literary agents, then you should be on this page instead.]

Step 3: Narrow down to a shortlist of 10-12 names
Once you have your longlist, you need to work to find the ones who jump out at you – normally because you find a point of contact. You’re looking for something that seems to connect the kind of reader that agent is with the kind of writer you are.

(OK, then. We admit it. This page isn’t a complete guide to getting an agent. You can get that here. You can get help on your query letter here, and your synopsis here. We even have a complete course on getting published, which is available free to members. You can get an overview of all your options on how to get published right here if you need it. Phew!)

OK, that’s a sensible enough plan, right? But it still leaves you with the problem.

Even assuming you’ve handled that not-so-easy Step 1 correctly, how do you manage steps 2 and 3 without going bananas?

Well, we’re here to help. We have a complete, no subscription needed list of ALL literary agents currently active in the US. We keep that list permanently up to date. We respond immediately to any errors that get notified to us.

Not just that, but each agent name links to their own profile summary on our system. So if you want to get a feel for each agent, you can check them out with a single click.

Literary agents: all you need to know

  1. Agents sell manuscripts to publishers
  2. All the agents in the US are listed on this page
  3. You need to shortlist 10-12 agents
  4. Write a synopsis
  5. Write a query letter
  6. Submit your work to your shortlisted agent
  7. Keep your fingers crossed

But why leave it there?

We offer a free trial of Agent Match proper. That gives you access to ALL the data, not just profile summaries. You can also get access to our search tools, which allow you to compile your agent longlist in about 20 seconds . . . and compile a really effective shortlist in the time it takes to drink a couple cups of coffee and maybe eat a croissant too.

Our “free trial” means just that.

We don’t ask you for any payment details. We don’t restrict your usage of the site. Any data you collect, you are welcome to retain and use for your own purposes. (We’re nice like that!)

You can get your free trial here.

We hope you love it!

Meantime, just scroll on down, and you’ll find that complete list of every literary agent. Pretty neat, huh?

US literary agents: the list