Tia Ikemoto

Originally from the Bay Area, I graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in Communication and a minor in Business. After interning at Writers House’s San Diego and New York offices, I joined ICM Partners in 2019 where I assisted the Co-Head of the Publishing department until the agency was acquired by Creative Artists Agency in 2022. I was promoted to full literary agent in 2024.

At CAA, I represent a diverse range of nonfiction and fiction across the commercial to literary spectrum that speaks to a wide audience. My authors include BookTok sensation Alissa DeRogatis (Call it What You Want), debut novelist Brian Schaefer (Town & Country, forthcoming), home chef and content creator Cassie Yeung (Bad B*tch in the Kitch, forthcoming), and former fashion journalist turned commercial author Kyla Zhao (The Fraud Squad, May the Best Player Win) among others.

In both fiction and nonfiction, I’m drawn to savvy writing, propulsive storytelling, emotionally resonant narratives, and high concept projects with memorable hooks or fresh twists. I especially love books that grapple with social themes.

Fiction: Upmarket & book club fiction, psychological and literary thrillers, women’s fiction, updated rom coms, blockbuster or high concept commercial fiction, and historical fiction that takes us somewhere else or teaches us something new. I’m a huge fan of Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks, and I would love to find stories set outside of NYC that bring to life less published settings, especially California.

Examples: Who is Maud Dixon?; Lisa Jewell; Gillian Flynn; When No One is Watching; The Guest List; Sweetbitter; Everything I Never Told You; Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine; This is How it Always is; My Dark Vanessa; Britt Bennett; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; One to Watch; The Unsinkable Greta James; The Hating Game; Ready Player One; Snow Falling in Cedars; The Shadow of the Wind; The Power; The Farm by Joanne Ramos

Young Adult: Contemporary young adult that captures the unique stage of life of its readers, cinematic commercial storylines, thrillers, high concept and grounded YA Fantasy.

Examples: Speak; The Perks of Being a Wallflower; The Sun is Also a Star; One of Us is Lying; Love, Simon; The Raven Cycle; Elsewhere; Grown; John Green, Sarah Dessen; David Arnold; Leigh Bardugo

Nonfiction: I primarily represent platform-driven nonfiction from memoir and essay collections to self-help and cookbooks. I love both practical and narrative nonfiction, in particular books that cover pop culture, investigative journalism, cultural criticism, and culinary interests.

Examples: Bachelor Nation; Catch and Kill; Ghettoside; Wild; Kitchen Confidential; Know my Name; Dear Girls; So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed; Three Women; My Body

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to tia.ikemoto@caa.com

Please email me your query and first 10 pages of the manuscript pasted into the body of the email.