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After much experience as a librarian and writer, Leslie Zampetti became a literary agent. Her award-winning and well-reviewed clients write fiction and select nonfiction for children and adults. She prioritizes stories by underrepresented voices, especially disabled writers. You can find Leslie on social media @literarylesliez or at https://www.openbooklit.com.
Examples of books she currently represents:
Evie Walters Takes the Wheel; Summer Solstice Wish; How to Dance
Leslie is looking for:
Mystery: Diverse detectives; settings that function as a character; a mystery the reader can solve (but might not).
Romance: Underrepresented main characters and love interests; upmarket voice and tropes. Everyone deserves love in their life!
Book club/ Literary: Upmarket/literary fiction with complexity and commercial appeal in equal measure.
Historical Fiction: Again, settings that function as a character; underrepresented time periods and places; focus on the sovereignty and history of cultures and communities, such as the Hawai'ian people.
Narrative nonfiction: For children, stories about science and/or art that hit the sweet spot in the Venn diagram between children, parents, & teachers. For adults, stories of the remote wilderness, the natural world (think My Octopus Teacher or Blackfish), and true crime that focuses on the victims and social impact.
Picture books: Sly, dry humor; themes of resilience, compassion, and forgiveness; difficult, complex, or sophisticated subjects approached in a way suited to the youngest readers. (Leslie is especially selective with picture books, due to the size of her list.)
Verse novels: Verse novels for MG/YA/Adult or novels-in-stories.
Leslie is not looking for:
Though she reads widely, Leslie's not a good fit for political thrillers, high fantasy, inspirational or Christian fiction, stories that use violence against women as the primary narrative hook, or hard sci-fi.
Learn more at www.openbooklit.com/home
After much experience as a librarian and writer, Leslie Zampetti became a literary agent. Her award-winning and well-reviewed clients write fiction and select nonfiction for children and adults. She prioritizes stories by underrepresented voices, especially disabled writers. You can find Leslie on social media @literarylesliez or at https://www.openbooklit.com.
Examples of books she currently represents:
Evie Walters Takes the Wheel; Summer Solstice Wish; How to Dance
Leslie is looking for:
Mystery: Diverse detectives; settings that function as a character; a mystery the reader can solve (but might not).
Romance: Underrepresented main characters and love interests; upmarket voice and tropes. Everyone deserves love in their life!
Book club/ Literary: Upmarket/literary fiction with complexity and commercial appeal in equal measure.
Historical Fiction: Again, settings that function as a character; underrepresented time periods and places; focus on the sovereignty and history of cultures and communities, such as the Hawai'ian people.
Narrative nonfiction: For children, stories about science and/or art that hit the sweet spot in the Venn diagram between children, parents, & teachers. For adults, stories of the remote wilderness, the natural world (think My Octopus Teacher or Blackfish), and true crime that focuses on the victims and social impact.
Picture books: Sly, dry humor; themes of resilience, compassion, and forgiveness; difficult, complex, or sophisticated subjects approached in a way suited to the youngest readers. (Leslie is especially selective with picture books, due to the size of her list.)
Verse novels: Verse novels for MG/YA/Adult or novels-in-stories.
Leslie is not looking for:
Though she reads widely, Leslie's not a good fit for political thrillers, high fantasy, inspirational or Christian fiction, stories that use violence against women as the primary narrative hook, or hard sci-fi.
Learn more at www.openbooklit.com/home