Query Submission

Send a Query to Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media

Hi! Thank you so much for thinking of me for your work!

A few things to note:

I'm the Vice President and a Literary Agent at New Leaf Literary & Media. I work with an amazing team of agents and authors. My list is focused on children's and adult, with mostly fiction and some select nonfiction.

My list is best known for romance and fantasy, but I love books with an element of romanticism of some kind. I love strong relationships and I will follow a character I love anywhere. Some non-client recent reads that are reflective of my taste include Starling House by Alix E Harrow, Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco, The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon, and The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren in the adult space, What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez, Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin, and A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid in the YA space and Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton, The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Maas, and The School for Good and Evil series in the MG space.

A few all-time favorites of mine are the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series (I used to set my VHS to tape all the shows while I was at swim practice as a teen), A Dog's Way Home (I am such an animal person), When You Reach Me (the voice and the plotting are masterful), The Likeness by Tana French (love all her books but this is my absolute favorite), Night Film by Marisha Pessl (the depth of the character relationships and the world is incredible), Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now and Courtney Summers' Some Girls Are (the visceral feels!), anything by Melina Marchetta, A Discovery of Witches (book and TV series), the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey and the Black Jewels world by Anne Bishop (incredible romantasies from before this was a term!).

More about me: I have two cats and two dogs, and they all came with their names (Pumpkin, Lucas, Larry, and Loretta). both named after DC characters (Harley) Quinn and Raven. I'm the oldest of five, and I love being a big sister (& I love books that deal with all types of family dynamics). I love books of course and storytelling in all it's various mediums. I met my partner playing World of Warcraft. I also love tea, traveling, and hiking. But I'll take a hotel with room service over a tent/camping.

I do have a rather full client list and I am not signing many new writers at this time. I always believe in exceptions so you're always welcome to query me. But if I don't request your manuscript, please know that it is likely because I have been forced to be so very selective. If I don't request, please feel free to query another agent on the NL team.

Please follow our submission guidelines https://www.newleafliterary.com/submissions-3/.

If you're unable to use QueryManager, please send your query to query@newleafliterary.com with my name and the category and genre of your work in the subject line (i.e. Query - Suzie Townsend - Adult Fantasy).

Please do not query multiple agents at New Leaf at the same time. We do share queries internally, but you're always welcome to query another New Leaf agent if eight weeks has passed with no response from the agent you're currently querying.

Thank you for considering me for your work!

Best,
Suzie

Step 1. Tell us about the author

Fill in these author-related fields.

First Name: (required)

Last Name: (required)

E-Mail Address: (required)

Phone Number:

Street Address:

City:

State/Province:

Zip/Postal Code:

Biography: Tell us a little about yourself and any writing credentials you may have.

Website Address: (if you have one)

Twitter Handle (if you have one)

Have you previously published other books? Yes No

Have you ever been represented by a literary agent before? Yes No

If you previously self-published a book, about how many copies were sold in the first year?

If this query is a referral, who referred you?

In an ideal world, is this book a stand alone or part of a series?

Step 2. Tell us about the book

Fill in these book-related fields.

Title: (required)

Genre: (required) This agent only represents the genres shown in this list. Selecting an inaccurate genre will result in a rejection. If your book's genre is not shown here, please go to QueryTracker for a list of agents who do represent your genre.

Word Count: (required) Enter the approximate WORD count of your book. Enter numbers only. Do not include any letters or special characters.

Is this book currently published or has it ever been published before? Yes No

Query Letter: Tips for formatting and pasting text Enter your query letter for this book. (Tips for formatting and pasting text) Do NOT paste images into this field. Pasting large blocks of text can take several minutes. Please be patient.

Before you query, get your query letter critiqued for free at qtCritique.com

The First 5 Pages of Your Book (or full book proposal if non-fiction):
(If your book is shorter than this (such as a picture book) please include the entire text.) Tips for formatting and pasting text Paste in the first 5 pages of your book, or your full book proposal if your book is non-fiction. (Tips for formatting and pasting text) Do NOT paste images into this field. Pasting large blocks of text can take several minutes. Please be patient.

Before you query, get your pages critiqued for free at qtCritique.com

Pitch: Enter a one sentence pitch for your book.

Similar Books: List some books that are similar to yours. (500 characters or less)

Step 3. For Artists and Illustrators

Provide illustrations or art samples, if applicable.

Link to online art samples or portfolio: (if you have one)

Optional: Sign into QueryTracker

A QueryTracker account is NOT required to send a query. If you are not a member of QueryTracker, you can skip this section.
Or join QueryTracker, a free service that helps authors find agents and keep track of queries.

Signing into QueryTracker will link this query to your QueryTracker account, allowing it to be automatically tracked and displayed in QueryTracker.

Your QueryTracker Username or Email Address: Your QueryTracker Password:

Forget your credentials? Recover them at QueryTracker.

Not a QueryTracker member? Join here (Free)

Learn more about auto-tracking queries.

Final Step: Submit Your Query

Sorry, your browser does not support JavaScript. You'll need to enable it before you can use this page properly.

Click here to learn how and why to enable JavaScript.

Important: After submitting your query, you will receive a personalized link to a special page that you can visit any time to check your query's status.

If the recipient of your query would like to read more, they will contact you through that page as well as through email.