Shannon Hassan

Hello! I have been an agent at Marsal Lyon Literary for over a decade. I represent upmarket adult fiction, middle grade fiction, and young adult fiction and have New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors on my list. I look for contemporary and historical stories with a fresh voice and a big hook, and am especially interested in underrepresented voices.

Currently on my wish list:

MIDDLE GRADE and YOUNG ADULT:

• Contemporary stories with humor and heart.
• Historical stories that inspire or bring untold stories to light.
• Adventure stories with humor and heart.
• Magical realism or speculative twists—prefer grounded, real-world settings.
• Stories of resilience.
• Thrillers and mysteries.

ADULT:

• “Book Club” reads that hit the sweet spot between literary and commercial.
• Historical fiction that inspires or brings untold stories to light.
• Strong female characters.
• Stories about the power of art/music/writing/creativity.
• Stories of the American West that are female-centric and/or play with the genre.
• Unique narrators, in the vein of REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES or THE ISLAND OF THE MISSING TREES.
• Thriller/suspense that is not espionage-based.

NOT looking for genre romance, high fantasy or sci-fi.

Here’s a sample of books that I have represented:

Middle Grade: INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS, the best-selling series by Dusti Bowling (Union Square), THE MYSTERY OF LOCKED ROOMS, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series by Lindsay Currie (Sourcebooks), OPERATION: HAPPY, a historical novel by Jenni Walsh (HarperCollins), and THE RULE OF THREE, a magical realism novel by Heather Murphy Capps (Lerner).

Young Adult: IN 27 DAYS, a speculative novel by Alison Gervais (HarperCollins) soon to be a TV series from SONY’s Affirm Films, DIE YOUNG WITH ME (Simon & Schuster), an ALA award-winner by Rob Rufus, THOSE WHY PREY, a thriller by Jennifer Moffett (Atheneum), and LIKE SPILLED WATER, a novel about contemporary China by Jennie Liu (Lerner).

Adult: UNSINKABLE, a USA TODAY bestselling historical/women’s novel by Jenni L.  Walsh (Harper Muse), THE MESMERIST, a historical suspense novel by Caroline Woods (Doubleday), HORSES OF FIRE; DAUGHTERS OF BRONZE, a historical epic by A.D. Rhine (Dutton), and the DARK PARADISE mystery series by Debra Bokur (Kensington).

Feel free to give me a try!

Submission Guidelines

Please query Shannon using this Query Manager Form

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