Ariana Philips

Ariana Philips joined the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2011 as an intern and has since become a literary agent and partner, representing an award-winning and diverse list of authors and illustrators across adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction. In addition to her work as an agent, Ariana serves as the agency’s Royalties Manager and oversees audio and permissions rights. She is an active member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), where she serves as Co-Chair of the Royalties Committee.

Passionate about discovering new talent, Ariana works closely with her clients to shape and develop standout manuscripts and proposals. As an advocate, strategist, and long-term publishing advisor, she is committed to helping authors build lasting careers and navigate an ever-evolving publishing landscape.

Ariana holds a B.A. in English, with a minor in Communications and Media, from Iona University.

In adult fiction, Ariana is drawn to general and commercial fiction with compelling storytelling and emotional depth, particularly novels exploring complex family and friendship dynamics, upmarket women’s fiction, and immersive historical fiction. She’s also interested in high-concept romance, smart rom-coms, twisty mysteries, dark, atmospheric thrillers, grounded speculative fiction, gothic fiction, and fresh retellings of mythology and folklore. Above all, she is looking for voice-driven, emotionally rich stories with memorable characters, a strong sense of place, and a propulsive plot.

In nonfiction, she is interested in narrative nonfiction with a strong research or journalistic foundation, as well as select prescriptive nonfiction from authors with a compelling platform. In particular, books that offer a fresh perspective on familiar subjects, popular history and science, true crime, social issues, literary memoir, food writing, and cookbooks.

In young readers, Ariana’s seeking contemporary YA with an irresistible hook. In middle grade, she’s looking for high-concept adventures, mysteries, and magic. She is also selectively looking for picture books with upmarket concepts, humor, and a clever execution. Ariana welcomes text-only picture book submissions and is also interested in working with illustrators and author-illustrators. She is drawn to artists who have a distinctive narrative style, expressive characters, artwork that conveys movement, emotion, and strong visual storytelling.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to aphilips@jvnla.com

You may visit www.jvnla.com to submit your query. If you’re emailing your query directly, please put Query + Title in the subject line.

Please note that while we do review all queries, due to the volume we receive daily, we can only respond if we are interested in seeing more material. If you have not heard back within 6-8 weeks, it is safe to consider the response a pass.

Guidelines & Details