Elizabeth Copps
Copps Literary Services, LLC
My Manuscript Wish List®
In the summer of 2010, I used my savings to move from Florida to New York City with the goal of doing something—anything—related to books. Luckily it worked, and I was offered a position with Maria Carvainis Agency where I cut my teeth and discovered my passion for publishing. For over a decade, I’ve dedicated myself to the care and management of author careers. My business philosophy is simple: to foster relationships across the industry that are equitable, transparent, and long-lasting.
I’m drawn to fresh takes on timeless plots–stories that are thought provoking and discussion spurring. I love complex characters who are brimming with personality and burst off the page. Who are irreverent and dark. Smart and sarcastic. Creative and wise. There are only so many settings and themes to expound on, but every single person is different, which means there are limitless combinations of character traits a writer can play with. That’s pretty amazing. The King said it best regarding what it means to create a complex character: “Bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do―to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street.”
I specialize in middle grade and adult fiction and am currently seeking horror, speculative, upmarket contemporary, and historical projects in kidlit and adult. In nonfiction, I seek platform-driven memoir and biography. While I’m interested in light magic, I don’t rep hard sci-fi or epic fantasy projects.
Fun facts about me:
- Because I’m a literary cliché, I am very much a cat person (shoutout to Spud & Olive).
- My toddler has a larger library than I do.
- I’m based in Denver, so when I’m not working, I’m probably out hiking or camping.
- Nothing gives me more satisfaction than an excellent thrift store find.
- When I was in elementary school, I was on a speed skating team. As in roller skates. And I feel that I should tell you that I…was very bad.
- I shamelessly and joyfully eat an unhealthy amount of Taco Bell.
Submission Guidelines
Please visit our website for full submission guidelines and policies.
For Fiction:
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Include an attention-grabbing query letter that includes word count, genre, comparative titles, and writing credentials.
For Non-Fiction:
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Submit a complete non-fiction proposal including a chapter outline, author credentials, positioning and market considerations, comparative titles, and 1-2 sample chapters.
For All Submissions:
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Please only submit one project at a time, to one agent at a time. If we love your work but don’t feel it is a fit for us, we’ll share it with colleagues.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Dark Humor, Fairytale Retellings, Hauntings, Literary Noir, Narrative Nonfiction, Psychological Horror, Southern Gothic, Speculative Fiction, historical mystery, historical romance, non-Western historical fiction
I’d like the next…
- Voice-driven horror that plays with fear in smart and unusual ways. Send me macabre humor, gothic settings dripping with atmosphere, and petrifying psychological dramas. And, horror that reflects current socio-political issues and subtly taps into our collective anxieties. (Blacktop Wasteland, Tender is the Flesh, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, The Last House on Needless Street, Woman Eating, The Twisted Ones, Mongrels, The Hunger, The Bone Orchard).
- Myth/folklore/fairytale retellings (the spookier the better–Where the Wild Ladies Are, In the Night Wood, The Changeling, Boy Snow Bird, The House in the Dark Woods).
- Gut-busting romcoms featuring quirky characters and unique settings (Honey Girl, The Kiss Quotient, Red White & Royal Blue, The Accidental Beauty Queen)
- In nonfiction, I’d love to see anything that speaks to female love and empowerment like Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman or Glennon Doyle’s Untamed.
- Non-western historical novels (Pachinko, The Island of Sea Women, The Dove Keepers).
- Middle Grade! I’m interested in both historical and contemporary stories. And of course, always up for seeing “kid-horror” as well–both novels and graphic novels (Karma Moon: Ghost Hunter, The Haunting of Henry Davis, Small Spaces Quartet, Nightlights, Sheets, Anya’s Ghost).
My favorites include…
Tried and True Reads:
- Adult: Bel Canto, Five Quarters of the Orange, House of Sand and Fog, Mama Day, The Absolutist, The Green Mile, The Night Circus, The Shadow of the Wind, Unaccustomed Earth, White Oleander, Me Talk Pretty One Day
- MG: Matilda, The House on Mango Street, Raymie Nightingale, Inside Out and Back Again, Coraline, Dear Sweet Pea, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
TV Shows I Can’t Live Without:
I love character driven shows with cheeky humor and smart dialogue. Favorites: Schitt’s Creek, Killing Eve, What We Do In The Shadows, Sex Education, Gilmore Girls, Bob’s Burgers, and Parks and Rec.
(…and every single David Attenborough documentary.)
Copps Movie Classics:
Give me all the feels; give me all the laughs. Broadly, favorites include quirky horror, foreign films, anything Pixar, “bad” 90s romcoms, and the Netflix holiday catalog. I’m also a sucker for any and all British period pieces.
Specifically: Parasite, Roma, No Country For Old Men, Lady Bird, Little Women, Pride & Prejudice (The BBC Version)
