Leah Moss

Leah Moss is an associate literary agent at Steven Literary. A lifelong bookworm, she had participated in several publishing internships/fellowships prior to joining Steven Literary, and has worked in libraries for several years. As a new agent, she is eager to find unique, spellbinding stories that will captivate the reader.

Across the board, I am looking for:

• Stories from marginalized writers. I’m particularly interested in uplifting BIPOC voices, but I also really want to see work from LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, and other marginalized writers as well.

• Lush, spellbinding storytelling. I love prose that is lyrical, beautiful, and can really evoke the senses. If your writing can draw me into your world and make me want to stay there, I want to read it. Strange the Dreamer, Caraval, and Kingdom of the Wicked are great examples of stories that completely sucked me in.

• High-stakes conflict. I love it when stories have a sense of urgency, as they keep me on the edge of my seat flipping pages. Even if there isn’t something huge at stake, I’d still love to see a core driving force that keeps the story steadily moving forward throughout.

• Unique, out-of-the-box content! I love being surprised by new concepts and ideas.

• Stories featuring self love and acceptance. 

In YA, I am looking for: ​​​

• Retellings of traditional fairytales, mythology, folklore, and fables, as well as classics like Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera. I’m a big fan of retellings that have vastly different settings, explore side characters, or completely recontextualize the original story. 

• Stories that fit trendy aesthetics. Give me cottagecore, dark academia, fairycore, piratecore, balletcore, and princesscore, please! (Bonus points if the story goes further than just aesthetic vibes and offers a more nuanced, critical take.)

• Faeries. I love faerie stories like The Cruel Prince and These Hollow Vows and want to see more of them in the YA space. 

• Stories with tough/taboo subjects and themes. 

• Stories told from the POV of the villain. I love Breaking Bad and find it so interesting how it was framed in a way that made me root for and empathize with Walter White throughout the show, despite the fact that he’s objectively a terrible person.

• Stories that show a character’s journey to the dark side, like in Give the Dark my Love. 

• Morally grey characters.

• Mystery stories across all genres. As long as the mystery is properly developed and set in a place with concrete and understandable worldbuilding, I’d look at a good mystery in any genre, from contemporary (like One of Us is Lying) to sci-fi (This Splintered Silence.)

• Stories about cults

• Lesser explored fantasy/paranormal beings. As much as I love faeries, vampires, werewolves, and witches, I’d love to see other beings get their time in the spotlight. If your story features elves, angels, mermaids, selkies, goblins, or any other lesser-seen creature, I’d love to see it.

• Cute romcoms!

In Adult Fiction, I am looking for:

• Books with YA crossover appeal. I’m mainly a kidlit reader, so I’m very selective with the adult titles I pick up. Stories with protagonists in their late teens/mid-early twenties appeal to me the most. If it could be categorized as “New Adult,” I’m interested.

• Stories set at college. I’d love to see stories set at smaller campuses or community colleges in addition to larger schools.

• Swoonworthy romances and rom-coms! Bonus points if they’re nerdy!

• “Late bloomer” protagonists! Show me a protagonist who doesn’t have their first kiss until their 20s, or who still lives with their parents in their 20s. Coming of age doesn’t have to just be a YA trope. 

• Fantasy. As with the other categories, I am always looking for fantasy stories with lush worldbuilding and interesting magic systems. The Binding by Bridget Collins and The Wolf and the Woodsman are perfect examples of what I’d hope to find in an adult fantasy manuscript. 

• Romantasy! <3

In Picture/Board Books, I am looking for:

• Stories about self-love/acceptance for young Black children. I especially love stories that explore natural hair, like Stella’s Stellar Hair, Magic Like That, and Hair Love. 

• Stories that teach kids about topics like mental health and neurodiversity.

• An introduction to fantasy tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons.

• Alphabet books with unique concepts like P is for Pterodactyl or M is for Melanin.

• Fun, wacky, and borderline absurd stories like Creepy Pair of Underwear, I Want My Hat Back, and Have You Ever Seen a Flower?

• Stories about space, like 7 Little Planets and Moon’s First Friend. Bonus points if it explores the topic in a fun and innovative way, like Stella’s Stellar Hair.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit your query and first 10 pages via my querymanager link.

Guidelines & Details