Five agents at Canadian literary agency Transatlantic currently open to new authors

It Happened One Christmas
by Chantel Guertin
represented by Transatlantic

Transatlantic Agency

2 Bloor Street East
Suite 3500
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

https://www.transatlanticagency.com/

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Transatlantic Agency is a leading literary management company with a team of 20 experienced agents based in cities across North America. They offer a full spectrum of career representation to authors (Adult, Children’s & YA, and illustrators) and storytellers (Speakers, Industry leaders & Influencers) across all genres and formats for book, content development, speaking and TV & Film.

Transatlantic represents more than 700 American, Canadian and internationally bestselling and award-winning clients. Their clients’ books range from commercial to literary for fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books, which regularly appear on notable bestseller lists across North America and have won major awards such as the Newbery Medal (U.S.), the Giller Prize (Canada), Michael L. Printz Honor Book (U.S.), and the Governor General’s Award for both adult and children’s literature (Canada).

Five of their agents are open to queries:

Jane Chun is new to Transatlantic. She joined in 2023 after four years at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Prior to her time at J&N, she worked on a freelance project for HG Literary and interned at Writers House and Maximum Films & Management.

Before entering the publishing world, Jane attended NYU where she majored in History and minored in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology; Creative Writing; and Spanish. She returned to NYU shortly after graduation and a brief stint at Asian CineVision and the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) to receive her M.S. in Publishing with distinction. She is a native New Yorker.

Jane is particularly interested in stories that center marginalized communities and prose that is cinematic and atmospheric with good rhythm. In both fiction and nonfiction, she is drawn towards compelling, fresh voices that make her feel as though the writer is in the room with her, telling her their story with intimacy as if they were already acquainted. Regardless of how plot-driven a story is, characters with rich inner worlds and emotional depth are a must for her.

For fiction, she is seeking commercial, upmarket, and literary works in both adult and MG/YA about the search for and rebuilding of identity, diaspora, family and community, and examinations of power in relationships.

She is also looking for fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction that delve into sharp social commentary and have meticulous world building and settings that don’t feel like Western Europe.

For historical fiction, she likes hidden histories and anything that is set in a time or place she’s not familiar with or focuses on a community that has been often overlooked if it’s a time/place she knows.

In terms of nonfiction, she is looking for memoirs and narrative nonfiction with a nuanced, intersectional approach and similar themes to her interests in fiction. She also is interested in books about food, travel, pop culture, and cultural criticism that dive deeply and thoughtfully into culture and traditions, particularly those written by authors of color.

In addition to traditional prose, she is very interested in graphic novels and nonfiction. She is looking for stylistically engaging, unique art that feels either nostalgic without being derivative or fresh and boundary-pushing. At the moment, she is only open to picture books by referral.

She is not the right person for prescriptive nonfiction, self-help, religion/spirituality books, romance, commercial thrillers, hard sci-fi, poetry, or short story collections.

Query Jane through her Query Manager here.

If you are having difficulty using Query Manager, you can query Jane by email at: queryjane@transatlanticagency.com

Please do NOT submit your query through both methods; the duplicate query will not be answered.

For Fiction, include a brief introduction, a synopsis, and the first ten pages. For email queries, please include all text in the body of the email

Nonfiction: a brief introduction, a full outline, and the first ten pages of the proposal. For email queries, please include all text in the body of the email

Graphic novels/nonfiction: a brief introduction, a synopsis/outline, and at least five illustrated pages with text. If you do not have five pages, you can send ten script pages and some sample art instead. For email queries, please attach the sample pages/art as a PDF

Brenna English-Loeb joined Transatlantic in 2019 after working for several years at Janklow & Nesbit Associates and Writers House, where she had the pleasure of working with New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors across multiple genres. Brenna grew up in beautiful Upstate New York and studied English and Theatre at Bucknell University. 

Brenna is also the owner of BEL Tower Editorial, where she works with authors as a developmental editor on such big-picture issues as world-building, plot and character development, pacing and theme, among other areas of concern, such as query and synopsis critiques.

Brenna has always gravitated to unique stories with a strong point of view. She is specifically looking for works of adult and select YA science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romcom and gothic horror. She’s interested in crime and suspense that does not center the police, military or state intelligence agencies and Westerns from a queer and/or BIPOC POV.

She loves character-driven space operas, rare myth and fairy tale retellings, nature survival stories, epistolary novels, and heists. She also has a soft spot for stories that blend multiple genres and she is always looking for works by underrepresented groups and identities.

Aspects of a work that are sure to catch her eye include: sports, pilgrimages, bog bodies, gothic and evocative atmospheres, relationship-driven plots, a sense of adventure, and narratives that reveal a deep knowledge of a particular subject. She also loves old tropes made new again, unreliable narrators, the age of sail and power imbalances.

For nonfiction: Brenna is looking for serious, groundbreaking sociological work that holds our culture up to the magnifying glass. She also loves accounts of historical events and people that deserve to be better known, as well as unusual and influential object histories.

Query Brenna at: querybrenna@transatlanticagency.com

Rob Firing has been working as a promoter and publicist for more than 20 years, 15 of those at HarperCollins as their Senior Director of Publicity, Communications and Speakers’ Bureau. Rob has worked closely with everyone from JK Rowling to Tom Wolfe, from Margaret Trudeau to Margaret Drabble — literally hundreds of writers across many genres. 

He has won awards for his work from the Canadian Marketing Association and other marketing and PR organizations. He is also the co-author of The Everyday Squash Cook (HarperCollins, 2014), and the author of STEAK REVOLUTION (HarperCollins, 2018), which was a Gourmand World Cookbook Award finalist. 

Rob's looking for books about food and drink, cookbooks, memoir, biography, general nonfiction and YA nonfiction.

Please note that due to the sometimes very high volume of inquiries, not all inquiries regarding manuscript submissions will be answered.

If you are submitting a proposal, please submit a synopsis and 20 pages of the manuscript via email to rob@transatlanticagency.com

No attachments

Samantha Haywood is President of the Transatlantic Agency. She has extensive experience selling authors in North America for publication and TV/film representation. She launched her client list with Transatlantic Agency in 2004 after working in the international rights departments of Random House of Canada and Westwood Creative Artists. 

Samantha represents a diverse and vibrant client list of novelists, memoirists, investigative journalists, graphic novelists, cookbook authors and thought leaders. Samantha represents international rights for the renown publisher, Drawn & Quarterly. She is also a founding member and former President of PACLA, the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents.

Samantha Haywood is looking for a plurality of voices – stories and authors of all backgrounds are encouraged! Her objective in here client list are originality and diversity.

In fiction, she’s looking for literary fiction to upmarket commercial fiction of all types. Getting more specific, yes to: smart contemporary fiction, upmarket women’s fiction and cross-over/hybrid style novels with speculative elements. Yes to literary thrillers and upmarket mystery with some cozy mysteries and historical fiction.

In nonfiction, she prefers narrative nonfiction, especially on culturally relevant topics. Some examples: sexuality/gender; investigative reportage; outstanding memoirs (must be truly original or well-known subjects); environmental issues; historical narratives handled in refreshing ways and true crime with societal implications. “Essentially, I’m looking for a strong narrative drive and distinctive voice at all times.”

She’s also seeking full length graphic novels with author and illustrator as one creator, or already teamed-up. Graphic novel memoirs, biographies, travel narratives and other nonfiction graphica also welcome.

Query Samantha at: querysamantha@transatlanticagency.com

Include a sample of your work, maximum of 20 pages. “Embed the sample/excerpt into the email after the cover letter. Graphic novel submissions may include an attachment. Please submit an author bio/publishing history and a synopsis. Please note if other agents are also considering the project and please do not submit to me if you have already submitted to another Transatlantic Agent.”

Carolyn Forde is temporarily open to queries until December 6, 2023. (After Dec. 6, check back to Transatlantic’s website for update). 

Carolyn was a literary agent and International Rights Director at Westwood Creative Artists for 14 years before joining Transatlantic. For the last decade Carolyn has traveled to both the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair and New York regularly, and she will continue to do so in her new role at Transatlantic. Carolyn has lived and worked in Japan, Mexico and the Czech Republic and is a dual citizen of Canada and the UK.

Carolyn does not consider submissions that are sent to other Transatlantic agents simultaneously.

Carolyn would love to see literary fiction (especially speculative and horror), commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction by experts in the field and is open minded to a broad range of topics and styles – as long as it engages her. There are a few things she’s not keen on – medical/disease related memoirs, police procedurals, climate thrillers, military or CIA fiction, cozy mysteries, books about film and tv behind the scenes, and fantasy.

Query Carolyn at: carolyn@transatlanticagency.com  

Paste the first 20 pages into the body of your query – attachments will not be opened (double spaced and 12 pt font).

Amanda Orozco will open to submissions on January 1, 2024.

For fiction, she’s looking for literary and upmarket adult fiction that feature stories about love, complex relationships, messy family dynamics, folklore and mythology, ghosts, and/or magic, in whatever forms they may take. 

For nonfiction, she’s interested in stories that offer fresh cultural, political, and/or social critiques along with personal narratives on art, pop culture, tech, and forgotten, unexamined history. 

Come January, query Amanda at: queryamanda@transatlanticagency.com

Include a 25-page sample (for fiction) or proposal (for nonfiction). Please include “Query” in the subject line along with the title and genre of your project, and notify her if another offer of representation is received. Alternatively, queries can be submitted through her
Query Manager: https://querymanager.com/query/amandaorozco

Please submit your query either through email OR Query Manager; do NOT submit your query through both.

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