Agents & Editors

Matt Belford

Literary Agent at The Rights Factory

Matt Belford is an agent at The Rights Factory, with more than a decade of experience in publishing. Once upon a time, he he thought he wanted to be a writer, but he’s since learned the error of his ways and is thrilled to instead be working with authors to help bring their ideas to life. He is primarily looking for nonfiction projects but is open to science fiction & fantasy, as well as graphic novels; he wants to laugh and cry with your characters. Matt is looking for under-represented voices.

Looking for:

Nonfiction
Graphic Novels

Science Fiction
Fantasy

Katie Ferriello

Agent with Mansion Street Literary Management

Katie Ferriello is the newest literary agent to join the Mansion Street Literary Management team. Her focus is on romance/romantasy (adult and new adult) as well as children’s fiction (picture books through young adult). She particularly loves fantastical worldbuilding, emotive characters, and strong voices. Having worked as both an English teacher and a realtor, Katie has strong editorial and negotiation skills to help authors throughout their careers.

Note: to prevent ethical conflicts of interest Katie does not represent members of the League's Utah KidLit chapter. Chapter members, please pitch to Katie's colleague Michelle Witte instead.

Looking for:

Picture books
Middle grade (fantasy/sci-fi, adventure, coming of age, contemporary, mystery, time-travel)

Young adult (fantasy, mystery, dystopian, paranormal, thriller, contemporary).
Romance/Romantasy (adult and NA)
Fantasy

Ronald Gerber

President, Lowenstein Associates

Ronald Gerber is President at Lowenstein Associates, where he has been a literary agent since 2019. His clients include Daniel Kenitz, whose debut thriller The Perfect Home was published by Scribner in 2025, and Lorissa Rinehart, author of feminist biographies First to the Front (2023) and Winning the Earthquake (2025) with St. Martin’s Press. Ronald is always on the lookout on cinematic stories with strong hooks and relatable characters. He resides in Queens, New York.

Looking for:

Thriller/mystery/crime
Literary fiction
Book club fiction
Romance
Romantic comedy
Historical fiction
Grounded sci-fi

True crime
Memoir
Biography
Narrative nonfiction
History
Pop culture books
Contemporary middle grade.

Callie Hansen

Senior Acquisitions Manager for Shadow Mountain Publishing

Callie Hansen is Senior Acquisitions Manager for Shadow Mountain Publishing with a background in marketing and a lifelong passion for storytelling. A writer and avid reader with a soft spot for children’s and young adult literature, she thrives on discovering and shaping stories that captivate readers of all ages. When she’s not immersed in the publishing world, Callie plans Disney vacations for herself and others.

Looking for:

Young Adult Romance
Young Adult Fantasy
Middle Grade Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Middle Grade Fiction
Adult Contemporary Romance

Adult Historical Fiction
Adult General Fiction
Cookbooks
Inspirational/Christian Non-Fiction

Middle Grade animal stories like Stella or Warriors or classics like Black Beauty and Charlotte's Web.
Romance in all YA, something clean that teens will love. Some recent romance books (Adult and YA) I've loved recently are The Rom-Commers, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Wandering Wild, and Dungeons and Drama. Bonus points if your novel involves a treasure hunt.
In Adult Historical and General fiction, we're always interested in WWII stories. Give me more books like Beneath a Scarlet Sky and Hidden Yellow Stars.
For General fiction, I'd love to read books like The Favorites or Remarkably Bright Creatures.
If you have a cookbook, send it our way! We are always looking for potential cookbooks.
BIPOC authors and stories that reflect diverse perspectives.

Angie Hodapp

Director of Literary Development, Nelson Literary Agency

Angie Hodapp is the Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency. A graduate of the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver, she has worked in professional writing, editing, and education for more than twenty years. A frequent presenter at writing conferences and events, and the author of Query Craft and Do You Need a Literary Agent, she loves helping writers improve their craft and learn about the ever-changing world of publishing.

Looking for:

Action/Adventure
Chick Lit
Commercial
Contemporary
Crime/Detective/Police
Family Saga
Fantasy
Historical

Horror
LGBTQ+
Literary
Magical Realism
Multicultural
Mystery
New Adult
Romance

Science Fiction
Suspense
Thriller
Upmarket
Women’s Fiction
Young Adult
Young Adult Fantasy

C.R. Langille

Timber Ghost Press

C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with her mom, a tradition that would eventually lead a queer, transgender woman to find her voice as an award-winning horror author. Langille is the founder of Timber Ghost Press, holds an MFA: Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, and serves as the DEI Chair for the League of Utah Writers, where she was also named Editor of the Year in 2024.

Looking for:

Novels/novellas that fall into the following horror categories (We are currently not seeking single-author collections or novelettes this time around):

Hauntings
Possession
Cosmic Horror
Weird Horror
Sci-Fi/Horror

Old West/Horror
Wilderness Horror
Survival Horror
Strange/Liminal Spaces

Lisa Mangum

Managing Editor of Shadow Mountain Publishing

Lisa Mangum has worked in publishing for more than twenty-five years. She has been the managing editor for Shadow Mountain since 2014 and has worked with several award-winning and New York Times best-selling authors.

Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels, several short stories and novellas, and a nonfiction book about the craft of writing based on the TV show Supernatural. Her most recent book, Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published.: A Master Class for Fiction Writers, was awarded Utah’s Best of State award for nonfiction in 2024.

Looking for:

Shadow Mountain Publishing is passionate about clean content and empowering values. We publish general fiction and nonfiction for all ages. We are primarily looking for the following genres, though the list may change depending on our needs.

Fiction:

Empathy-building middle grade novels (both contemporary and fantasy)
Contemporary Romance
Young Adult Romance

Young Adult Contemporary
Multicultural
Historical Fiction

We are NOT interested in the following genres:

Previously self-published projects
Children’s picture books
Poetry

Science fiction
Business and finance
Family histories/personal journals

Bernadette Marie Soehner

CEO, 5 Prince Publishing

Bernadette Marie Soehner is an internationally #1 bestselling author of sixty titles written under Bernadette Marie. The owner of 5 Prince Publishing, Bernadette enjoys sharing her knowledge of writing and publishing with those who aspire to be part of the literary community. Along with her daily CEO duties, Bernadette is also a developmental editor and an industry educator. Currently, she is acquiring works of romance--contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, holiday, and series.

Looking for:

Currently acquiring titles in the romance genre ONLY. These include:

Contemporary
50+
LBGTQ+
Paranormal
Time Travel

Fantasy (Romantasy)
Rock Star Romance
Cozy Mystery
Romantic Suspense
Holiday Romance.

We welcome heat levels from sweet and clean all the way to sizzling hot. All stories must follow those yummy romantic tropes, come in under 95k words, and MUST HAVE a HEA.

We do not accept submissions which have previously been published.

Michelle Witte

Literary Agent, Mansion Street Literary Management

Michelle is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of kids books, from illustrated board and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Michelle is always on the lookout for fascinating stories that are well told. Though she travels whenever possible, she mostly splits her time between Utah and New York.

Looking for:

Children's fiction and nonfiction for all age groups, including:

Board books
Picture books
Chapter books and early readers

Middle grade
Young adult
Graphic novels (chapter book, MG, and YA)

Particularly interested in working with author-illustrators for board/picture books and children's graphic novels.

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