Sarah N. Fisk is a former mechanical engineer who made the switch to publishing in 2011. They have worked in the publishing industry as an editorial assistant, author’s assistant, publicist, and art director. Sarah is a former Pitch Wars mentor, board member, and Agent Liaison. They host the podcast Queries, Qualms, & Quirks and have a passion for spreadsheets. Sarah is one of the founding members of Disability in Publishing. Updated info and a full FAQ can always be found at www.sarahnfisk.com.
In 2025, Sarah will be open to queries on the first five days of every month.
Basics:
- Young Adult (all fiction genres)
- Middle Grade (all fiction genres)
- Adult Romance
- Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and everything under the speculative fiction umbrella except gory horror
- Adult Book Club Fiction
- Upmarket Women’s Fiction
- Adult Mystery/Thriller
- Select Adult nonfiction
Particular Areas of Interest:
- books that are fun to read
- atmospheric fantasies or contemporary stories that feel like atmospheric fantasies
- speculative mysteries or mysteries woven into other genres
- books that challenge societal norms, especially gender norms
- personal interest in stories featuring queer characters
- personal interest in characters with disability, neurodiversity, chronic illness, or mental health challenges
- incredible or unhinged sibling relationships (think: siblings who will kill for each other or kill each other (or both!))
- authentic small town, southern, midwestern, or Appalachian settings
- weird Florida from Florida residents
- intriguing villains
- vibrant characters I can’t get out of my head
- smart heroines
- con artists who are not cis men
- books that are compulsively readable
- social justice issues woven into commercial plots
- themes: anticapitalist, pro-labor, conservationism, anti-disaster capitalism, etc
For Adult SFF
- I especially love grounded fantasy and near-future sci-fi.
- I am particularly looking for books with a strong hook and plot, but also very strong writing (aka upmarket SFF)
- No Military Sci-Fi, please
- Not for me: anything that comps Game of Thrones, Goblin Emperor, or a Memory Called Empire
- I’m open to cozy fantasy but it must have a strong hook
- Time travel is difficult for me
- No: Sci-fi concepts about AI
For Adult Romance
- Pretty much all subgenres that are traditionally published
- but historical needs to have a high concept, a nice hook, and/or a great voice for me
- I prefer romance books with a medium or high heat level, or a lot of sexual tension
- No pregnancy or baby-based storylines, please (it’s not triggering, I’m just not interested!)
- Romance has a happy romantic ending, by definition
- Not particularly interested in celebrity or writer main characters
For nonfiction
- Primarily interested in books with a social justice angle, progressive thought leadership OR
- Books that provide a new perspective on culture, food, current affairs, finance, food, history, science, nature, or relationships.
- Author platform is very important
- Especially interested in disabled or neurodiverse creators, especially those writing from an intersectional lens
- If the book could’ve been an older You’re Wrong About episode, I’d like to see it
- Other areas of interest: scam/fraud, capitalism, labor interests, chronic illness, environmental/climate change, cryptids, non-murder mysteries, relationship equity, or books that make me FASCINATED with a topic I previously didn’t care about (a la THE JOY OF SWEAT)
- Nos: parenting, religion, memoirs without one of the first two bullet points.
For Adult Mystery/Thriller
- I’m most interested in either: books that really have something to say (Kellye Garrett, Alyssa Cole, Nita Prose) AND/OR:
- books that are capital-F Fun.
- Not for me: anything extremely military or CIA-focused
Not for me:
- Gory horror (psychological & some horror elements are ok! Horror in MG is great)
- I am not interested in stories that center around who gets to rule an empire
- I cannot read stories that center around sexual assault or have on-the-page rape scenes
- Stories where the world-building is only misery and cruelty
- Graphic Novels
- Writing that is very literary
- Portal fantasies
- Stories set in recent historical times (80s, 90s, aughts) need to have a solid reason for the time period for me, i.e. that story cannot be told in any other time. (If you set it in that timeline because modern technology would make the story impossible, it’s a no for me)
- Any adult genres not listed above
- Disabled characters who serve solely as an able-bodied main character’s catalyst.
- Demonization of mental health medication.
- If the main motivation is related to being a parent, it’s probably not for me.
- Romances between a minor and a non-minor that are not critiqued on-the-page
- Animal protagonists
Submission Guidelines
If your book sounds like something I would like, please submit via this form. If you’re not sure if your book would be a fit, as long as it fits in the “Basics” section, go ahead and submit!
Submission Materials include:
- Metadata
- Title
- Genre
- Wordcount
- Name
- Email
- Everything else is optional
- Query
- Synopsis
- should tell what happens in the entire story from beginning to end, including all spoilers and twists.
- A synopsis is different from the description used in the query.
- 1 to 2 single-spaced pages is an ideal length, but use the space you need
- First three chapters
- If you have a chapter-length prologue, consider that one of the three. If it is a short prologue (2 pages or less), still include 3 additional chapters
- If you don’t have chapters, submit 25 manuscript pages.
- Content warnings (there is a separate field for this)
For non-fiction: place the query/cover letter in the Query section, the Chapter Outline in the Synopsis section, and all other proposal materials in the Sample section.
All materials are copy and pasted into the form.
I assume that all submissions are simultaneous. There is no need to inform me of full requests from other agents. Please inform me if you have received an offer of representation from another agent.
Guidelines & Details
Fiction:
BIPOC Crime Fiction, BIPOC Mystery, BIPOC Thriller, Bookclub, Commercial, Contemporary, Crime, Domestic Thriller, East Asian Literature, Eco-Fiction, Fantasy, Folklore, LGBTQ, Magical Realism, Middle Grade, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Romcom, Science Fiction, Speculative, Thriller, Upmarket Speculative, West African Literature, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult
Non-Fiction:
Cultural criticism, Fitness, Health, History, Journalism, LGBTQ, Memoir, Pop Culture, Psychology, Relationships and family, Science, True Crime, Wellness
Favorite sub-genres:
#Dis, #ownvoices, #wndb, AAPI Fantasy, AAPI Sci-Fi, Adult, Adult Rom Com, Adult Romantasy, Adult SFF, African Diaspora, African Fantasy, African Sci-Fi, Africanfuturism, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Apocalyptic, Asian American Literature, Asian Diaspora, Asian Fantasy, Asian Sci-Fi, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Mystery, BIPOC Sci-Fi, Book Club, Category Romance, Character-driven SciFi, Children's and Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, Classic retellings with BIPOC characters, Cli-Fi, Climate Fiction, Commercial MG, Commercial Women's Fiction, Commercial YA, Commercial adult fiction, Complicated Relationships, Concept SF, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Cozy mysteries, Crime & Thriller, Crime Fiction, Cross-genre, Dark topics with a light touch, Detective, Diaspora Narratives, Disability, Diverse Protagonists, Diversity, Domestic Fiction, Domestic Suspense, Domestic Suspense/Thriller, Dystopia, Dystopian, East Asian Literature, Ecology, Economics, Ensemble Casts, Environment, Epic Fantasy, Fabulism, Fairytale Retellings, Family Drama, Fantasy, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, Female Friendships, Feminism, Feminist, Feminist SF/F, Finance, First Person, Florida history, Folklore, Found Families, Funny MG, Geek Culture, Gothic, Gothic Fantasy, Grief, Grounded fantasy, Hard Science Fiction, Health and Wellness, Health and healing, High Concept, High Fantasy, High-Concept Literary Commercial Fiction, High-concept YA, High-concept YA/MG, Immigrant Experiences, Indigenous Futurism, Indigenous Sciences, Intersectional Feminism, Intersectionality, Investigative Journalism, Issue-Driven, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+ rom coms, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx Sci-Fi, Latinx stories, Layered Family Stories with multiple narrators, Layered Rom-Coms and Comedy of Manners with a cultural component, MG, MG Fantasy, MG Horror, MG Sci-Fi, MG adventure, MG contemporary, MG mystery, MG/YA, Magic Realism, Magical Realism, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Mental Health, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Adventure, Middle Grade Contemporary, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Horror, Middle Grade Humor, Middle Grade Mystery, Middle grade magical realism, Minority Voices, Modern Dating, Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales, Modernized Mythologies, Monsters, Multicultural Romance, Multigenerational, Multiple POV, Muslim, Mysteries, Mystery / Crime, Mythic, Mythology, Narrative, Narrative Nonfiction, Near future, Near-future SF, Neurodiversity, Occult, Occult Nonfiction, Own Voices, POC, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Thriller, Personal Development, Politics/Current Affairs, Pop Psychology, Pop Science, Popular Science/Psychology, Post-apocalyptic, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thrillers, Racial Justice, Relationships, Retellings, Rom-com, RomCom, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Romantic Suspense, Romantic Thriller, SWANA Fantasy, SWANA Sci-Fi, Same-Sex Romance, Sci-fi Thriller, SciFi Romance, Science Fiction YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy Favorite sub-genres: Absolutely all of them!, Science nonfiction, Second World SF, Series Romance, Sexuality, Shakespeare Retellings, Social Issues, Social Justice, Soft Fantasy, Soft Science Fiction, Solarpunk, South Asian, South East Asian Literature, Southern Fiction, Southern Gothic, Space Opera, Speculative, Speculative Fiction, Speculative Middle Grade, Speculative Thriller, Sports, Supernatural, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Sustainability, Tarot, Tech Thrillers, Thriller, Thrillers, Underrepresented Voices, Upmarket Commercial Fiction, Upmarket Fiction, Upmarket Nonfiction, Upmarket Women's Fiction, Upmarket YA, Urban Fantasy, Wellness, Women's Fiction, Women's Issues, YA, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Fantasy, YA Mystery, YA Rom-Coms, YA RomCom, YA Romance, YA Romantasy, YA SF/F, YA Sci-fi, YA Science Fiction, YA Thrillers, YA fantasy/light sci-fi, YA rom com, YA thriller/mystery, YA/MG graphic novel, Young Adult, afrofuturism, aliens, anti-capitalist sci fi, beach reads, book club fiction, classic retellings, commercial, commercial middle grade, commerical, commerical women's fiction, contemporary, contemporary MG, contemporary middle grade, contemporary women's fiction, crime, current affairs, dark academia, diasporic, diverse, diverse and own voices, diverse heroines, diverse voices, domestic thrillers, eco-fiction, enemies to lovers, epic, fairy tales, family saga, fantastical, fantasy of manners, folklore history, found family, friendship, friendship stories, fun SF/F, gaslamp fantasy, gender, generation ships, ghost story, gothic romance, health and fitness, high concept fiction, high-concept science fiction, inclusive sf/f, indigenous futurisms, invisible disability, just one bed, light Sci-Fi, light fantasy, mental illness, migration, mystery, mythpunk, narrative non-fiction, near-future science fiction, non-Western fantasy, non-western settings, nonfiction, personal finance, pining, psychology, queer, queer narratives, quirky, realistic fiction, rivals to lovers, rom-coms, romantacy, romantasy, romantic New Adult, romantic fantasy, romantic suspense/mystery, sci-fi, science fantasy, science fiction, science fiction epic, science fiction horror, scifi thriller, slow burn, slow burn romance, small-town romance, soft science, space adventure, spooky mg, subversive, traditional fantasy, traditional mysteries, upmarket genre fiction, upmarket/book club with female protagonist, visible disability, witchcraft, witches, witty
I’d like the next…
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
- Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
- Rajani LaRocca
- The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
- Legendborn by Tracy Deon
- Daniel José Older
- White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- Rob Hart
- The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
- Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- Helen Hoang
My favorites include…
- Schitt’s Creek
- Kellye Garrett
- Cozy mysteries
- Lucifer (tv)
- The Old Guard
- Legends of Tomorrow
- Great British Baking Show
- The Good Place
- Wynonna Earp
- The Princess Switch
