Our Agents
Our Agents
Laura Rennert has been with the agency since 1998. She specializes in all categories of children's books, from picture books to young adult. On the adult side, she represents literary-commercial fiction, thrillers, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, speculative fiction, and select historical fiction. Her sweet spot in the market is literary voice and commercial conception. The common threads in the diverse range of projects Laura represents are an original, unexpected point of view, a fresh literary voice, a strong commercial hook—and conflicted characters who win your heart (sometimes against your will).
Laura would love to find:
Fantasy, spec fiction, alternate history, and horror; fresh, original, unexpected reimaginings, especially those from less represented traditions or those that play with or reinvent classic or familiar tropes in unexpected ways. Bonus points for fantasy and spec fiction that explore real world issues, with inventive, multi-faceted world building, like SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN, THE MERCY MAKERS, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, DARKER BY FOUR, and the SCHOLOMANCE trilogy.
Retellings in all categories that feel like they’re reinventing the underlying tradition, myth, work to which they allude, (especially 19th century British Lit, Shakespeare, Dante, fairy tales, Asian mythologies). Some examples are Madeline Miller and Mary Renault’s takes on Greco-Roman mythology, Maggie Stiefvater’s THE SCORPIO RACES, Naomi Novik’s SPINNING SILVER. Wildly original reimagining of ‘classics’ in all different traditions (she loves mythology, folklore, fairy tales) in which the story feels like one only the author could tell it. For so many personal reasons, this author is the right person to tell this story.
Gothic suspense or thrillers in the vein of MEXICAN GOTHIC, focused on other regions and histories. She’d love one set in Japan.
Romantasy that is more romantic fantasy than fantasy romance
High concept Rom-Coms that have both a captivating romance and a successful, intriguing idea that drives the story.
Sexy historical romance in the vein of the TV show Bridgerton
Modern literary or dark academia mystery like A.S. Byatt’s POSSESSION.
Thrillers and mysteries with dynamic, unexpected characters; immersive, vivid world building; and rich psychological insights and authenticity like Tana French’s IN THE WOODS; Barry Eisler’s John Rain and Livia Lone series; Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn; and Attica Locke’s THE CUTTING SEASON. She loves thrillers and mysteries based on this principle from Michael Connelly: “The best crime novels are not about how a detective works on a case; they are about how a case works on a detective.”
Having lived in Japan on and off for four years, she would love to find a novel having anything to do with Japan or Japanese culture—in any category–like TOKYO EVER AFTER, by Emiko Jean, and FAULT LINES, by Emily Etani.
Laura has a Ph.D. in English Literature and was a faculty member in the English departments of the University of Virginia, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, and Santa Clara University.
Please note: Laura does not accept queries through email. She is closed to picture book queries at this time, with the exception of referrals.
RECENT DEALS
M.J. Hastings's debut FIRSTBORN, the first book in a romantasy trilogy, set in a world under martial law where siblings are conscripted based on birth order, in which a young woman learns on the eve of her military academy's deadly final trial that her little sister will be kidnapped and sold to magical enemies, forcing her to get close to a traitor-born enemy—and choose between her sister's life and her own. Sold in a major deal, at auction, to Sourcebooks.
NYT-bestselling author of the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery series Claudia Gray's THE WATSONS, pitched as a continuation and completion of Jane Austen's novel fragment THE WATSONS, in which a young woman raised to privilege and fortune is sent back to her impoverished family, sharpening the conflict between the need to marry for money and the desire to marry for love. Sold in a good deal to Vintage/PRH.
Author of the USA Today-bestselling KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES series Shannon Messenger's untitled tenth installment in the series, continuing the epic journey of the girl with hidden memories and powers, revealing her destiny and answers to the mysteries that have kept readers guessing since book one. Sold in a six-figure deal to Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.
Edgar Award-winning author of OR ELSE Joe Hart's I BECOME HER, a cat-and-mouse thriller exploring marriage, gender roles, and the darker aspects of relationship power dynamics, about a young woman whose husband falls overboard during their lavish honeymoon cruise, and only she knows it was her fault—but when he survives with no memory of that fateful night, she is forced to confront both his past and who she is slowly becoming. Sold in an exclusive submission to Thomas & Mercer/Amazon.
K.M. Fajardo's LOCAL HEAVENS, the author's debut, pitched as THE GREAT GATSBY meets SEA OF TRANQUILITY, a queer cyberpunk reimagining set in New York City, 2075, in which Filipino-American Nick Carraway has just moved to the heart of the fractured New Americas, where he meets alluring billionaire Jay Gatsby and becomes entangled in the dark affairs of the city's glamorous elite while investigating the secret of Gatsby's identity. Sold to Kathryn Budig at Bindery Books.
Shannon Messenger’s NYT and USA Today Bestselling series KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES to Warner Bros Pictures, with Emma Watts attached to produce.
THINGS I LOVE:
19th-century Brit Lit
Hidden worlds
Secret knowledge
Chihuahuas
Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea
I’m a genre gal—I love thrillers and works of fantasy, horror, and spec fiction that grapple with real social-political issues. Bonus points if the protagonist is flawed, vulnerable-tough, and morally ambiguous.
REPRESENTATIVE TITLES
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel… is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
— Ursula K. Le Guin
AWARD WINNERS
& BESTSELLERS
