60 comments on “13 Agents Seeking Southern Fiction NOW”

1. Thanks for the tip!

   Denise

2. I was born and reared in the south and write southern fiction exclusively. Thanks for posting these agencies.

3. Thanks for the post, Chuck. There's nothing quite like Southern fiction (as there is no other music quite the same as country music!). Will have to get out of the rocking chair and get going!

4. I've shared this with my peeps. There are a couple of Southern writers I know who'd be stoked to to have this info. Thanks!

5. I queried Jenny Bent this morning per this post, but I received an email back saying that she was closed to queries and that the query would be deleted unless it was a requested query--not sure mine based on this post would qualify.

   1. How very frustrating! I wish you the best with your querying process.

   2. Same here. A tad confusing but oh well!

   3. Connie, I went through the pages of all the agents at the The Bent Agency and none of them included an interest in Southern writings in their lists. Perhaps I misread, but it appears the agency, as a whole, is more interested in young adult and below.

6. Thanks Chuck!
   Assuming that "Southern Fiction" doesn't necessarily mean gothic or deep South Tom Franklin settings, I'll send "Katelyn's Killer" to a couple of the agents you named and let them decide if Annapolis Maryland (below the Mason-Dixon line!) is sufficiently South.

7. Great news. Thank you, Chuck. I write historical suspense set in the South or about Southerners who have travel far from home. Hope one of these agents will find my WIP appealing. I am a true G.R.I.T.S. (girl raise in the South). They say write what you know!

8. As a free lance editor, I am delighted to read this list of agents who are open to new writers. Thank you for providing the information that will give new avenues of publishing to many hopeful authors.

9. Thank you, Chuck, for this list. I am a Southerner but have never thought of my writing as "Southern." I'll have to look into whether or not it qualifies! Anyway, I always appreciate your "List of Agents Seeking...Right Now." Please keep them coming.

10. Thanks, Chuck. I'm not a Southern Writer but I appreciate knowing there are many agents seeking to fill sub-sub-genre niches.

11. . . . now I have to learn about Southern Fiction . . .

12. Thanks, Chuck. This is a very timely list for me as I've finished the final edits on my Southern novel with help from a freelance editor, and just today began checking for agents who might be interested in such a work.

13. Thanks for the list! It's always great to have insight into a special interest.

14. Love me some Southern fiction. Chuck, thank you for the list. Made my day.

15. Thanks for the list!!

16. Chuck, thank you for taking the time to compile these lists. Sincerely, Barbara

17. I always appreciate knowing about opportunities, and expanding my horizons.

18. Thank you! I love it when someone says what they're looking for specifically.

19. Thank you for your generosity, Chuck, as well as sharing the list of southern fiction agents. My early writing was 'Ya-Ya' style. I don't believe southern fiction can be impersonated. You either 'git' it or you don't. Happy New Year! 🙂

    1. I write short stories inspired by my life as a child. I grew up in Arkansas, a bit west of Memphis, Tennessee where my family sharecropped, and I spent much of my youth in the cotton fields, either chopping or picking cotton, trapping mink and muskrats, commercial fishing on the St. Francis River and cutting wood. I know the Southern culture of the 50s/60s, and I have begun writing short stories that incorporate roughly 50% truth (settings primarily) and 50% fiction (characters and events) to give some feel of realism to my work. You are correct - either the authors get it or they do not get it. It is not difficult to tell the difference.

       Unfortunately for me, all of these agents appear to be looking for authors who write novels. One day, I will get lucky and my literary agent ship will come in.

20. Thank you for this information. It came at a perfect time for me. Be blessed! -Jody

21. Sharing this in Seekerville's Weekend Edition. http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com Thanks so much!

22. Thanks. These recommendations are timely as I've finally completed my Southern novel under the watchful eye of a stellar freelance editor. Time to query!

23. […] Sourced through Scoop.it from: writersinthestormblog.com […]

24. Thanks for this list and for the opportunity to win one of your books! Like some of the other posters, I am wondering how broad the definition of "southern fiction" can be...

25. Great timing as I am just wrapping up my Romantic Suspense set on the bayous of Louisiana.

    Thank you for the information!

26. Thanks for this list. I love your books. Have two on my desk right now!

27. Just revised my query with your help, Chuck. Thanks for that and for this list. My novel takes place in mid-seventies Georgia (of course, you knew that having read my query 🙂

28. Thanks for the list, Chuck.

29. Thanks for this information... growing up Southern makes for LOTS of stories!

30. Thanks for this - query letter is polished and ready to go!

31. Thank you for the info. I will be sending out my novel within the next few months. I am excited that there is still interest in Southern fiction.

32. I was born in the south, but grew up in the north. I always thought I had the best of both worlds, but according to my friends in Ga I was a transplanted Yankee. My novels are set in SC, NC, Texas, PA, and New York. And if I don't start writing faster, I'm going to be a one-book wonder.
    Thank you, Chuck, for all your writing posts. They have been a tremendous help.

33. Thanks, Chuck, for pulling this list together. The timing couldn't be better! I just completed my novel set in Mississippi in 1918. I hope one of these fine agents might be interested. In fact, Carly Watters and Laura Bradford were already on my list. So enjoy all the great insight and hints.

34. Thanks for the list. All I need now is a good definition for Southern fiction.

35. Thanks Chuck, as always, for your query alerts. I eat grits and liver-mush, occasionally shout out 'y'all', and expect a peck on the cheek and not a bowl of white powdery substance when I say 'gimme some sugar.' And I live in Florida so I guess my manuscript passes for Southern Fiction.

36. Shucks, Chuck. I usually like this ratio of women to men, but I wonder if there is room for a Southern rascal with a good heart? It's a mystery for me!

37. Thanks for the list!! Born, raised, and have lived in Savannah my whole life. Currently self-editing my first, just completed, novel manuscript set in Savannah. I plan to self-publish, but now, thanks to your list, I'm contemplating finding an agent toward traditional publishing first. BTW... I detest clowns, and love the idea behind your book "When Clowns Attack." I've tried warning people of the danger of clowns, maybe with your help, they'll now listen!! Best regards....

38. Thanks, Chuck! I really needed this list. You've made life easier for me. I can't seem to write anything BUT southern. Write what you know, they say....

39. Great list! Thank you, Chuck.

40. Thanks for a great list of agents. Let's see--author was executive editor of Southern Living Magazine, novel opens with a Texan on sabbatical in Switzerland but is based on a girl/woman's struggles with the lifetime influence of the Southern Baptist church and set in real locations in Wichita Falls, Austin, Tyler, and Waco, Texas, Mobile, Alabama and Tulsa, OK. I think my literary novel "What's Meant to Be" just might qualify as southern. So, perhaps I should submit..

41. Hi Chuck,

    Thanks for this great list!

42. Thanks for the great list! I have shared it on all my social media. And OMG, you've got some fun looking books 🙂

43. Southern fiction is often totally unique, and I personally appreciate your acknowledging this and identifying some agents who feel the same way. Thank you, Chuck!

44. Thanks for the list! Hoping to see a list on NA agents in the near future.

45. Thanks for the list of agents and agencies. I have a cozy mystery with a southern theme that I think will work for several of these agents. Would not have known about them without your article.

46. BTW, I sent a query and pages to Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency and was politely, but firmly, told they are NOT accepting submissions. So please update this post accordingly so no one else embarrasses themselves by sending an unsolicited manuscript to an agent who will not want it and won't even look at it.

47. Way to go, Chuck! Thank you for the list. I too am Southern born and raised and can tell you there's nothin' better.

48. Nice list. I appreciate the time taken to help out others.

49. Being from the South, Southern Fiction is my natural voice coming out on paper. I'm very excited to see so many agents asking for it. We are quite interesting down here.

50. Southern as cornbread and milk. Thanks for great article!

51. Very helpful - and thank you so much for the list. I haven't written a book (yet!- right now I'm narrating audiobooks) but certainly like to help my talented writer friends who might be liking for homes for their manuscripts and will pass your info along. We're all in this together.
    Best wishes.

52. Thank you for this list! Having been raised in the South, I've been turning over a couple of plots in my head...just have to finish the YA I'm working on now first. So many ideas but only so much time ; )

53. Thank you for this list. Born and raised in the Deep South, I am a Southern fiction writer working on a romantic-suspense novel set in Louisiana. My previous novel was a coming of age story set in Georgia and is available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook (250,000+ downloads on Kindle with 4.3/5 stars and 995 reviews). Thanks again, Chuck!

54. I really needed this. Thanks.

55. Thank you, thank you for pulling this list together. In part b/c of this article I submitted to Carly Watters -- and I've now signed with her.

56. Thanks Chuck-All 3 of my books are southern based. The two brothers have to grow up during the Civil War and serve in the Confederacy as well so this listing is greatly appreciated