Maria Rogers

I represent a variety of nonfiction and literary fiction for adults and young readers. I was first drawn to publishing because I was unsure what area of interest I should pursue, and figured working with books would allow me to learn and grapple with a wide range of subjects. To that end, I’m looking for nonfiction projects that deeply engage with their subject matter, that avoid being purely reference material, but instead have an argument, an angle, or undermine conventional wisdom. Below are a some ideas of proposals and manuscripts I’d love to see in my inbox:

Adult Nonfiction:

• a history of labor unions
• cultural criticism and disability
• explorations of the prison-industrial complex
• LGBTQIA+ stories/histories that take place in the South/Midwest
• an investigation into homeownership in the US, Levittowns, McMansions, and/or Stripmalls
• examinations of Silicon Valley culture
• working class histories
• queer histories
• historical perspectives on sexuality and shame
• a book that breaks down political structures at the local level and ways to participate in community organizing
• sociologies of crafts
• a narrative non-fiction account of the Lucinda Williams, CD Wright, Frank Stanford scene
• narrative non-fiction on sexuality in the Middle Ages, or a fictional rendering of Wulf and Eadwacer
• cultural criticism and sex work

Children’s/YA:

• a book that takes place in the outdoors and doesn’t center white characters
• Children’s and YA fiction with non-Western mythical elements
• Children’s and YA stories involving puzzles and puzzle-solving
• Children’s and YA stories that incorporate language-learning
• YA stories that explore art history
• a book that demonstrates the poetry of math and science for kids

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to maria (at) thetobiasagency (dot) com

For fiction and nonfiction, please submit a query letter and a sample of up to 30 pages to maria (at) thetobiasagency (dot) com.