About this New Literary Agent Spotlight series: We love spotlighting and profiling new literary agents —such as Alexandra Levick of Writers House— because they are actively seeking new writers and constructing a client list.

Literary Agent Bio:  I earned my M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media from New York University and my B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from the University of Rochester. I am a former bookseller with training in both the children’s and adult markets and have experience working on the house side of publishing in publicity.

I started at Writers House as an intern for Brianne Johnson and was quickly pulled from the program to begin working for Senior Vice President, Merrilee Heifetz. Later, I covered senior agent, Stephen Barr’s paternity leave and began working as an assistant to senior agents Brianne Johnson and Rebecca Sherman. I have also worked as a bookseller in both the adult and children’s markets, as well as on the house side of the publishing business in publicity. In 2015, I graduated from New York University with my Masters of Science in Publishing: Digital and Print Media, with a specialization in Media Content Development.

No matter the genre or age-range, I crave a distinctive voice and strong thematic meaning behind the work—I want to run screaming to my friends and family about your book because there is so much to discuss. I love character-driven stories that revolve around BIG topics (discussing things like mortality or grief in a new and hopefully somewhat uplifting way is always an instant lightbulb!). One might say that I have a great affinity for what used to be known as ‘issue books,’ however, I would argue that I’d like to represent authors and stories that stand for more than just a good yarn; I’d like to represent authors that provoke conversations around important topics in our world today. And I don’t just want contemporary versions of these stories, either. Send me your fantasy, your sci-fi, your genre-bender!

What to Submit to Alexandra: Picture book author-illustrators, a wide range of middle grade and YA, and more speculative-leaning or genre-bent upmarket adult works. I’m committed to working with writers from diverse backgrounds and am looking to put forth an intersectional list of outstanding creators who will be able to provide both windows and mirrors into all kinds of experiences. I’m particularly looking for own-voices stories about historically underrepresented characters and cultures.

I think my interests, in general, can be best described by this quote from V.E. Schwab: I grew up wanting the world to be stranger than it was. Now, I think what I meant, what I mean, is that I also wanted the world to be more…I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more; that the world was bigger and stranger and more magical than the one I could see. (‘In Search of Doors’ Pembroke Tolkien Lecture 2018.)

So please, send your horizon-expanding work on over to me. I can’t wait to give it a read.

How to Query Alexandra: Thank you for thinking of me—seriously! I feel incredibly honored when writers select me to submit their work to.

Please send your personalized query letter along with your first ten pages (pasted into the body of the email, NO attachments) to me at alevick (at) writershouse.com. Bonus points if you can tell me a bit about the intention behind your work.”

Please note: I will only review one project at a time, though you’re more than welcome to mention other projects you’re working on.

– You may only query ONE agent within Writers House at any given time. If/when they pass, you may send a query to another Writers House agent. 

– I will be back to you within six weeks; if at such time you haven’t heard from me, please do feel free to check in.”

ATTEND A WRITERS CONFERENCE IN 2019/2020. Here are some writers conferences WQP staffers are either speaking at or wholeheartedly endorse:

• June 29, 2019: Writing Workshop of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• July 13, 2019: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Washington, D.C.)
• July 27, 2019: Colorado Writing Workshop (Denver, CO)
• August 9, 2019: Sacramento Writing Workshop (Sacramento, CA)
• August 10, 2019: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
• August 17, 2019: Toronto Writing Workshop (Toronto, Canada)
• Sept. 7, 2019: Boston Writing Workshop (Boston, MA)
• Oct. 25, 2019: Oklahoma Writing Workshop (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Oct. 26, 2019: Writers Conference of Dallas (Dallas, TX)
• Nov. 15, 2019: Writing Workshop of Austin (Austin, TX)
• Nov. 16, 2019: Houston Writing Workshop (Houston, TX)
• Nov. 23, 2019: Arizona Writing Workshop (Phoenix, AZ)
• Nov. 23, 2019: Philadelphia Writing Workshop (Philadelphia, PA)
• March 6, 2020: Alabama Writing Workshop (Birmingham, AL)
• March 7, 2020: Atlanta Writing Workshop (Atlanta, GA)
• March 7, 2020: Minnesota Writing Workshop (St. Paul, MN)
• March 28, 2020: Pittsburgh Writing Workshop (Pittsburgh, PA)
• March 28, 2020: Kansas City Writing Workshop (Kansas City, KS)
• April 25, 2020: Michigan Writing Workshop (outside Detroit MI)
• April 25, 2020: Seattle Writing Workshop (Seattle, WA)
• May 2, 2020: Writing Conference of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
• May 9, 2020: San Diego Writing Workshop (San Diego, CA)
• May 16, 2020: Cincinnati Writing Workshop (Cincinnati, OH)
  and click here for more 2019 / 2020 writers conference suggestions