Eight agents at Fuse Literary seek fiction and nonfiction, picture books to adult books

The Iron Raven by Julia Kagawa
represented by Fuse Literary

Fuse Literary

Silicon Valley, California

https://www.fuseliterary.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the Follow Brian by Email box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. If you’re not yet on my newsletter list, send me an email, including your local to brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

Fuse Literary is a full-service west coast literary agency based in the Silicon Valley, with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Dallas, and Vancouver. Fuse has ten agents, most of whom are seeking new authors. Here are three that might be of special interest:

Gordon Warnock is a founding partner at Fuse Literary and is based in Vancouver, so he may be of special interest to Quick Brown Fox readers. Gordan brings years of experience as a senior agent, marketing director, editor for independent publishers, publishing consultant, and author coach. He frequently teaches workshops and gives keynote speeches at conferences and MFA programs nationwide. He is an honors graduate of CSUS with a B.A. in Creative and Professional Writing.

Gordon is interested in both fiction and nonfiction, both for adults and young adults.

In fiction, Gordon is looking for fresh concepts that excite him before he even starts reading and tension-filled prose that won’t let him stop. “Plot is very important, as is an authentic voice that makes me believe your protagonist is a real person.” Novels must be completed, polished and between 55,000 and 100,000 words long. For all text-based works, please paste in the first chapter below your query. For graphic novels, please attach a 10-page sequential PDF excerpt of the finished artwork, not to exceed 50 MB.

Genres he considers include:
High-Concept Suspense
Book Club Women’s Fiction
Literary Fiction for Adults through YA
Graphic Novels for Adults through MG

Some of his favorites are: The Good Girl, Gaijin, The Weight of Lies, Freakboy, and We the Animals.

In nonfiction Gordon is looking for large-platform projects in which the book represents something bigger than the book itself, of which you are the expert, the one best fit to bring it to the page. “I prefer to work with socially-responsible books that raise new issues or illuminate common issues in new ways. I love books with strong charity tie-ins and celebrities coming together to promote a good cause on a large scale.”

For memoir, please paste in the first chapter below your query. For graphic nonfiction, please attach a 10-page sequential PDF excerpt of the finished artwork, not to exceed 50 MB. For all other genres, please email your query letter only.

Genres he considers include:
Memoir (Adult, NA, YA, Graphic)
Cookbooks/Food Narrative/Food Studies
Illustrated/Art/Photography (especially graphic nonfiction)
Political and Current Events
Pop-Science
Pop-Culture (especially punk culture and geek culture)
Self-Help
How-To
Humor
Pets
Business and Career

Some of my favorites are: Wreck This Journal, Steak and Cake, Digging Up Mother, Drinking at the Movies, and Paper: Paging through History.

He’s not looking for Genre Fiction (Western, Romance, Sci-Fi), Satire, Legal Thrillers, New Age, Children’s and MG, Novellas, Screenplays, Collections of essays, short fiction, or poetry (unless you also write full-length works)

Query Gordan via  email at: querygordon@fuseliterary.com 

Follow him on Twitter, but unsolicited submissions via social media will get you blocked without notice.

***

Note: Gordon will be our guest speaker at our online How to get Published workshop Saturday, August 14. If you're interested in getting a book published don't miss it. Details here. 

***

Karly Dizon is an Associate Agent, and like all relatively new agents, she needs authors. Karly has a deep love for characters with a strong voice and seeks out stories she can get lost in. Diversity in genre fiction is {of course} a major bonus.

She specializes in picture book, middle grade, and young adult genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary).

Karly was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Northern California as a child. She obtained her Business Marketing degree and has been a Freelance Graphic Designer for over 10 years. In addition to designing a wide range of print and web promotional material for clients, Karly creates book covers for Short Fuse and promotional graphics for Fuse authors.

Professionally, Karly began her career in the publishing industry as a reader for Tricia Skinner at Fuse Literary. Her responsibilities quickly grew and she was promoted to Literary Assistant, a role that also included a spot on the production team of Short Fuse.

Karly is also the Marketing Coordinator of the San Francisco Writers Conference, held every President’s Day weekend. In her spare time, Karly is an Adobe Technical Trainer, freelance graphic designer, Young Adult author, video game geek, and art noob.

Query Karly through her query manager here.

Ernie Chiara has recently been promoted to Associate Agent, and like all new agents, he needs authors.

Ernie first joined the Fuse Literary team as a writer, signing on as a client with Michelle Richter. Then, when his interest in the agenting side of the business grew to match his love of writing, Ernie gained experience as an Assistant Agent under the guidance of Tricia Skinner. Ernie has previously served as Communications Director for Pitch Wars, a writer mentorship program, where he was also a Mentor in the Adult category.

Ernie is outspoken about the issues of equality, accuracy in representation, and the raising of marginalized voices, both in society as a whole and as they relate to the publishing industry.

Ernie specializes in Fantasy and Science for adults and young adults. 

In Fantasy, Ernie is looking for High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Science Fantasy. “I'm looking for second world fantasy with unique world-building elements, original settings, or based on peoples and histories that are traditionally underrepresented in the genre. In urban fantasy, I prefer stories that feature gritty action, complex characters, unusual plot structure, or any combination of the above. Retellings, but only if it's a fresh take on a concept that hasn't been overdone.”

A few specifics:
Anything that comps THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, or WARRIOR (HBO Max)
Fantasy that comps Peaky Blinders or Harlots or both
Fantasy with cultural roots like BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF by Marlon James
LGBTQIA+ Adult Fantasy
Fantasy that blows me away with a brand new, entirely unique magical system
IP MAN meets THE MAGICIANS with magic martial arts schools or clans instead of a magic university
Adult Asian-based or Asian-American fantasy
Historical fantasy like JONATHAN STRANGE but from a different culture
Afrofuturist Fantasy or any BIPOC Fantasy story with BIPOC characters. Send me everything that comps N.K. Jemisin
Urban Fantasy-Mystery like MAGIC FOR LIARS or RIVERS OF LONDON. No werewolves or vampires please
Magical libraries, magical bookstores, magical book stalls with back alley portals to magical worlds
Fantasy set in Boston or an alternate-Boston. Give me a Boston version of THE CITY WE BECAME, UN LUN DUN, or NEVERWHERE
Contemporary fantasy or magical realism like BIPOC ADDIE LARUE or THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

His science fiction interests include, Science Fantasy, Climate SF (Cli-Fi), Time Travel, Alternate/Parallel Universe, and Speculative Fiction

“I'm especially excited for cerebral our-world stories, distant future stories, near future stories (must have exceptionally unique elements or be something unusual and original). I'm also receptive to Science Fantasy with original concepts, Military SF, AI, and some cyberpunk. 

“I'm not particularly drawn to dystopian, post-apocalyptic, science-based zombie/vampire effect, or superheroes/powers, unless they're completely unique and based on peoples or histories that are traditionally underrepresented in the genre.”

A few specifics:
Rescue mission from poor/dying Earth upward through each distinct orbiting level of society to the uppermost/richest hardest-to-penetrate level. Think race/gender-flipped SENLIN ASCENDS meets Altered Carbon S1.
Climate Fiction like Paolo Bacigalupi's THE WINDUP GIRL and THE WATER KNIFE
Anything that comps SPACE SWEEPERS or MANIAC (Netflix)
Time travel stories with strong characters at their heart, think 11/22/63 by Stephen King or KINDRED by Octavia Butler
SF 'one room'–style mystery set in the future, where near-ageless conniving matriarch is the prime suspect in deaths of all her adult offspring. Like Speculative KNIVES OUT flipped on its head
LGBTQIA+ Adult Sci-Fi
Mars rovers meets Battlebots
Fabulist Urban Spec Fic like China Miéville's PERDITO STREET STATION
Africanfuturist SF, or any BIPOC SF story with BIPOC characters. Send me everything that comps Nnedi Okorafor

His magical realism interests include Literary and Upmarket Fiction, Fabulism, and Fantasy/Speculative crossover

“I'm not so much into stuffy, self-important literary fiction, but if your adult literary or upmarket fiction sits firmly within magical realism, fabulism, speculative, or out-of-the-ordinary retellings, I'd be all over it. In those, I prefer full characters with genuine issues and needs, inner-city settings, gritty and strange, inexplicable or experimental, not just from communities I know, but from those you make me want to know more about.”

A few specifics:
Contemporary fantasy or magical realism like BIPOC ADDIE LARUE or THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
Black version of UTOPIA AVENUE featuring Magical Realism in Motown or the golden age of Rap
Anything that comps Claire North
Literary or Upmarket Magical Realism like Carlos Ruiz Zafón's THE SHADOW OF THE WIND
Magical Realism set in Boston or an alternate-Boston
He’s not interested in Greek mythology or derivative adaptations, ghosts or supernatural/paranormal

Like everyone else, Ernie would especially like to see “writers whose characters share their marginalizations, with stories that come from a place of truth. I'd love to see more true diversity in SFF, more BIPOC or LGBTQ+ characters in Fantasy stories with unique, underrepresented settings.” If writing from one's own experience is not something you believe is important, he says he may not be the right agent for you.

Stalk him via his website here.

Query Ernie via his query manager here.  

See details for all Fuse agents and their submission requirements here.

Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape...

July

Online: How to Write Great Dialogue, Sunday, July 25. Details here.

August 

Online: How to Get Published, with literary agent Gordon Warnock of Fuse Literary, Saturday, Aug 14.  Details here.

In-Person: How to Write Great Characters,  Saturday, Aug 21. Details here.

September ~ Weekly classes

Online: Welcome to Creative Writing, 10 weeks of discovering your creative side, Tuesday afternoons, Sept 28 – Dec 7, 2021 {no class Oct 26}. Details here.

Online: Writing Personal Stories, 9 weeks of creativity and companionship, Monday afternoons, Sept 27 – Dec 13 {no class Oct 11 or Oct 26}. Details here.

In-Person: Writing Personal Stories, 9 weeks of creativity and companionship, Wednesday evenings, Sept 29 – Nov 24, in Burlington. Details here.

Online: Intensive Creative Writing, a challenging course to help you grow as a writer. 
Offered online at two different times: Thursday afternoons, Sept 23 – Dec 16, 2021 {no class Oct 21}, and Friday mornings, Sept 17 – Dec 10, 2021 {no class Oct 22}. Details here.

Writing Retreat:

Lake Joseph in Muskoka: Writing Retreat at Sherwood Inn Resort.  Join us for a writers’ getaway at one of Ontario’s most elegant inns. Friday, Oct 23 – Monday, Oct 25. Details to come. But to reserve a spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

***

 Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. If you're searching for more interviews with literary agents or a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.