Sarah N. Fisk is a literary agent with The Tobias Literary Agency.

Sarah 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.

They love books that challenge societal norms, especially gender norms. They have a personal interest in stories featuring queer characters or characters with disability, neurodiversity, chronic illness, or mental health challenges. Great or complicated sibling relationships are their kryptonite. They also enjoy intriguing villains, mysteries woven into other genres, characters they can’t get out of their head, and smart heroines.

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 hard, genre horror
• Select Adult nonfiction

Particular Areas of Interest:

• 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
• great or complicated sibling relationships (think: siblings who will kill for each other or kill each other (or both!))
• authentic small town, southern, or midwestern settings
• intriguing villains
• 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

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

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.

Not for me:

• Hardcore genre horror (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
• Graphic Novels
• Portal fantasies unless it’s really unique
• Stories set in recent historical times (80s, 90s, aughts) need to have a solid reason for the time period for me
• Any adult genres not listed above (i.e. non-speculative books need to be genre romance. other adult genres that “have a romance” are not for me.)
• Disabled characters who serve solely as an able-bodied main character’s catalyst.
• 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

Rose Conway is a literary agent with Confluence Literary Agency.

Rose joins CLA as an expansion of her dedicated work to inform and empower authors in the dynamic industry landscape.

Her publishing career began with a fortuitous internship at Simon & Schuster U.K. There, she first learned about the role of a “Literary Agent” and directed her career to being the ultimate cheerleader, critic, confidante, and champion for creative writers. In 2021, she diverted to explore hybrid publishing as the editorial manager for a leading professional publisher, ensuring that creative writers could earn a living and have the flexibility to pursue their own projects. Two years later, witnessing authors navigate mounting obstacles in the publishing landscape with increasingly contradictory and inconsistent advice, Rose founded Foreword Literary Consulting, LLC as a trusted resource for strategic guidance.

As an Agent with Confluence Literary Agency, Rose channels her consulting expertise into author representation.

Her list focuses on stylistically subversive and thematically layered fiction: work that leads with artistry and allows deeper themes to emerge naturally. She seeks upmarket and smart commercial fiction with inventive structures, emotional depth, and distinctive voices. Think braided narratives, unexpected POVs, and prose that takes creative risks.

In building her list, Rose is interested in career-oriented writers and her goal is to help authors lay the foundation for sustainable career growth. Rose holds a Masters in Publishing from London College of Communication and a double Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Studies from Villanova University. She lives in Columbia, Maryland with her husband.