Nancy Yost opens own agency

Nancy Yost Literary Agency
350 Seventh Avenue,
Ste. 2003
New York, New York 10001

Okay here’s the scoop: Nancy Yost was previously a partner at Lowenstein-Yost Literary Agency, but she’s left to form her own agency, which she's calling the Nancy Yost Agency (and her former partner’s agency is now Lowenstein & Associates).

Nancy’s new agency won’t officially open until Nov 1 and she doesn’t have a website yet {see update below}, but just because she’s not open doesn’t mean she’s closed for business – after all, a girl’s got to eat, right?

About Nancy Yost

Nancy represents a wide variety of writers of commercial fiction, specializing in crime novels; thrillers, mysteries, suspense; historical fiction and historical suspense; and women’s fiction of all kinds. Her nonfiction tastes lean to social history and natural science. She looks for complex, engrossing, character- and voice-driven reads, and has a fondness for a good ghost story, southern fiction, historical fiction, atmosphere, intelligence and humor.

She represents many New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, including the author of legal thrillers, Perri O’Shaughnessy; historical novelist, Stephanie Laurens; Mademoiselle columnist, Valerie Frankel, bestselling and critically acclaimed romance authors including Loretta Chase, Liz Carlyle, Suzanne Enoch and Gaelen Foley. Other authors include award-winning and Edgar nominated mystery and suspense novelists, Deborah Crombie, Margaret Frazer, and Victoria Thompson; along with bestselling mystery authors Monica Ferris, Tamar Myers, Patricia Sprinkle and Linda Castillo.

Submission guidelines for the Nancy Yost Agency:

For fiction and narrative nonfiction, please send a query letter, which should include a brief overview of your project, previous publications, if any, and any relevant information about you. We would also like to see the first chapter, as it’s the writing that really helps us connect with your manuscript.

For prescriptive nonfiction, please send a query letter, an overview, table of contents and all information regarding your platform.

Email queries to: QueryNancy@nyliterary.com

Photo: Nancy Yost (left) and author Jeaniene Frost

Update (Sept 23, 2009):

The Nancy Yost Agency now has a website, and two more agents on staff who are are accepting queries and looking for new and interesting writers:

Zoe F. Shacham is both an agent and the Foreign Rights Director at NYLA. She was formerly with Lowenstein-Yost in the same capacity. Prior to that, she was the Foreign Rights Associate for Atria and Pocket Books.

Zoe’s current writers include Gerri Brightwell and Mandy Hubbard. She is open to first-time writers and is looking for unique voices of all genres, but especially in literary fiction, compelling young adult fiction, narrative nonfiction and pop culture. She does not handle poetry, horror, fantasy or science fiction.

Email queries to: QueryZoe@nyliterary.com

Natanya Wheeler is particularly interested in literary fiction that touches on current events or multicultural issues; family sagas; dark and edgy thrillers with a great new hook, moody mysteries and cozy mysteries. She loves to find new writers and does not shy away from debut talent.

For nonfiction, Natanya would love to find authors with strong platforms who write in the areas of nature, especially birds, women’s issues, alternative lifestyles, green living and food.

Email queries to: QueryNatanya@nyliterary.com

Note: On Oct 4, Brian Henry is leading a seminar in Toronto on How to Get Published and will have a literary agent as a guest speaker (details here).

For information about all my upcoming writing workshops and creative writing courses see here.