Heather Jackson
Heather Jackson Literary Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
My Manuscript Wish List® Items
The Heather Jackson Literary Agency is a NY-based, full-service firm specializing in book-based author representation with an expertise in commercial fiction and nonfiction properties. Its founder is a member of the AALA, Author’s Guild, PEN America, and Women’s Media Group and is a bookworm with 25+ years of publishing experience.
Heather Jackson decided to vault over the desk to the agent side in 2016 after a highly successful career as a trade editor.  In her 20+ years as an editor she acted as the creative midwife to multiple dozens of New York Times bestselling authors and titles, including: Tim Ferriss, Suzanne Somers, Dr. Steven Gundry, Rick Hanson, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, B. Smith, Howard Dully…among many others.
The selective client list she and we are cultivating has one unifying theme: to represent authors and books that make a difference and that make you want to press the pause button on everything else–ditch the screens, the duties, the worries–to sit down and read for hours.  Books that inform, inspire, entertain, surprise, help; books that make you cry, laugh, question, feel, and stretch.  Books that make a personal difference and a more global one; yet always those that can ignite or shift a conversation. And, most importantly, books that can connect deeply and widely with masses of readers.
We specialize in commercial fiction and nonfiction and represent top-tier authors in personal health and well-being, popular science and psychology, memoir, and self-help. We are always game for a deeply moving journalistic narrative that takes us into a world we didn’t know would intrigue us through its brilliant writing and insights. We love big ideas and groundbreaking big think books. Lastly, we are looking to grow our fiction list with gorgeously written and emotionally resonant works. We love a unique and memorable character in women’s fiction, and are steadfastly looking for a reliable narrator who isn’t a hot mess, someone intriguing and flawed, certainly, like the rest of us…
Fun facts about me:
When I worked at a cotton candy stand as a teenager, I never knew that I would help spin ideas into books years later. But both are sweet and sticky businesses. My fur baby is Milton. How could I not adopt this doggie when he came with that name?
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to https://QueryTracker.net/query/HJLIT
We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We are open to queries. Though we’d love to respond to every aspiring author, we can only do so to those projects we are interested in considering.
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Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
"Big Idea/Think", 1800s+ historical, Accessible Literary Fiction, Adult Rom Com, BIPOC, Book Club, Books about books, Chicklit, Classic retellings with BIPOC characters, Commercial Women's Fiction, Commercial adult fiction, Commercial and Literary, Complicated Relationships, Crime & Thriller, Dark Female Friendships, Domestic Suspense/Thriller, East Asian Literature, Epic Fantasy, Female Friendships, Health, Health and Wellness, High Concept, Historical Fiction, Historical Women's Fiction, Layered Family Stories with multiple narrators, Layered Rom-Coms and Comedy of Manners with a cultural component, Mind/Body/Spirit, Modernized Mythologies, Monsters, Mothers and Daughters, Multigenerational, Multiple Timelines, Narrative, Pop Psychology, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thrillers, Romantic Suspense, Thrillers, Upmarket Commercial Fiction, Upmarket Nonfiction, Wellness, Women's Fiction, award-winners!, beach reads, book club fiction, classic retellings, commercial, contemporary, feminine narratives, literary suspense, mystery, rom-coms
I’d like the next…
Part of the fun of what I do is not knowing what’s next! Discovering a great read, an amazing talent, a blisteringly fast or emotionally devastating story, a character that just delights me…that is what I’m after always. I’d love to see a scorching love triangle, contemporary or historical. A triplet-themed multi-POV thriller. Multi-generational sagas. And gosh, would I love a Nanny Diaries set in a NYC nail salon. Make me cry; make me laugh. Both are always a great indicator of whether I can be a passionate advocate for your work.
My favorites include…
How can I pick a favorite book after all this time? I’m still a sucker for all things Jane Austen, but I also gobbled up the Flowers in the Attic series as a kid, so I am definitely a hybrid reader and viewer. Enjoyed The Gilded Age and The Pitt recently; loved Succession, though would be nice to not have to hate so many characters on TV. As to movies, I love the oldies: Hitchcock, the Italian neorealists, any anything starring Audrey Hepburn.
