Hillary Fazzari

About Me:

Hi! I’m an agent at the Bradford Literary Agency!  Right now, I‘m most on the look out for:

→ Snappy, highly commercial fiction for kids and adults with sticky hooks and storylines that feel like they’re doing something fun, new, and BIGGER with their genre. For more on the age bands and genres I represent, see the sections below.

→ Upmarket/literary work with similarly high concept premises, especially in areas that explore family/culture/history à la THE JOY LUCK CLUB.

→ Adult Nonfiction in areas of History, Archaeology, Pop Culture, and Literature.

What I’m looking for overall:

I acquire both fiction and nonfiction, and what I acquire in each area is quite different, so feel free to skip to the portion(s) of this page that are relevant to you!

For nonfiction, I acquire primarily narrative nonfiction, specifically in areas of history, archaeology, literature, and pop culture; I do not typically represent memoir but am interested in books like AS YOU WISH: INCONCEIVABLE TALES FROM THE MAKING OF PRINCESS BRIDE, which function as memoir/pop culture hybrids.  I’m also very interested in working with history/archaeology influencers, academics (my own PhD is in history!), and podcasters looking to publish full length books.

In nonfiction, I gravitate toward both commercial and more academic-leaning work and have a particular love for ancient and medieval history (from anywhere in the world); explorations of power, politics, and propaganda; feminism; and more.

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For fiction, I acquire MG, YA (including crossover), and New Adult in all genres, and Adult work in select genres. I tend to gravitate toward stories with tones/vibes similar to books I loved as a kid but with new, fresh, different premises.  And I’d love to see more work from BIPOC and queer authors and am always a good try for high concept stories that can be described as “glitz-y”, “throw-back vibes with forward-looking concepts”, or “bonkers fun”!

Stories with strong romantic elements are one of the best ways to get my attention, and I’d love to see more projects that center Black joy and/or diaspora, immigrant, and refugee experiences.

I’m a huge fan of K-dramas, C-dramas, J-dramas, etc. and am eager to see stories in any genre or area I represent that contain similar vibes!

Overall in fiction, though, the biggest thing I look for is a protagonist who controls the direction of the story (as opposed to one who responds to the action), so essentially I look for protagonists with big agendas, important goals, and/or a drive that pushes the narrative forward.  And I look for big relationships, excellent co-characters, and fun premises that feel like something you’d want to read in one go.

What I’m not much looking for at the moment:

In nonfiction, I’m not actively looking for memoirs unless they function as hybrids between pop culture and memoir, history and memoir, etc., and I do not rep nonfiction outside of areas that touch on history, archaeology, literature, and pop culture at the moment.

In fiction, I’m not currently looking for stories that are mostly character-driven, quiet, or introspective. Upmarket adult work can be an exception but will need a timely hook. I’m also usually not the best fit for stories where:

• Animals die;
• There’s little hope or everything is dark and painful for the characters;
• Characters become assassins without motivation or because of the will of others;
• Characters’ only motivators are anger/revenge (unless this is an empowering, fun revenge book);
• Elf or fae books reminiscent of ACOTAR;
• Cancer or terminal illness stories; or
• “Issues-styled” books (e.g., teen pregnancy, overcoming smoking, etc.), though I *do* want stories that include mental health rep and am actively looking for books that feature protagonists with chronic illnesses/neurodivergence.

For MG & YA fiction:

I’m open to all genres of MG and YA, including graphic novels, though at this point I’m only able to consider graphic novel projects that have an illustrator attached.

For MG, my taste leans commercial, though I will very happily consider more literary-leaning work if it has strong hooks.  I especially like stories that center messy or loveable characters with personality galore.  And right now I’m most focused on high concept, easily accessible, shorter or snappier MG that can appeal to reluctant readers but still maintain a robust storyline:  things like TAPPER TWINS, FunJungle, etc.

Some perennial favorite MG titles I don’t represent that are emblematic of my taste are:

• Anything by Rick Riordan or that fits Rick Riordan Presents!
• Stuart Gibbs’ Space Case and FunJungle series
• The Chronicles of Egg and The Tapper Twins series by Geoff Rodkey
• The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer
• Minion, and Sidekicked by John D. Anderson
• The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry
• Half Upon a Time by James Riley
• The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
• Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews
• The Fourth Stall series by Chris Rylander
• A Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom series by Christopher Healy
• Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Some elements that may draw me into a MG submission are:

• Stories comparable tones/vibes similar to the books listed above but with new, unrelated premises
• Squad goal friendships;
• Humor imbedded in well-built worlds that feel *real*, like you could really step into them (be they contemporary, SFF, etc.);
• Shorter books (250 pages or less) with a snappy plot that still feels complete;
• Books that target reluctant readers in terms of high concept, fun, accessible premises; and
• Books that play with format in a way that’s accessible:  e.g., contains illustrations and/or an alternate format like DIARY OF A WIMPY KID or TAPPER TWINS.

For YA, I’m looking exclusively for commercial titles. I like big, fun concepts, throw-back vibes to the stuff I loved reading as a teen, and trope-y rom-coms, hyper fun contemporary, adventure, and mystery books, and SFF that feel like they’re evolving the genres further than they’ve been before.  Overall, the hookier the concept the better, and I’m especially looking for highly accessible vibes, stories that are fun to read (be they dark or not), and stories featuring highly memorable protagonists.

Some perennial favorite YA titles I don’t represent that are emblematic of my taste are:

• Embassy Row and Heist Society series by Ally Carter
• Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
• Charlotte Holmes series by Brittany Cavallaro
• A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
• The False Prince series by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
• Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
• Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira
• Now a Major Motion Picture by Cory McCarthy
• Somewhere Only We Know and The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo
• How Not to Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkin

Some elements that may draw me into a YA submission are:

• Stories with tones/vibes comparable to the titles above but with new, unrelated premises;
• Small but very ensemble-feeling casts and big relationships/friendships;
• Settings outside the U.S. tied to big idea, high concept premises;
• Throw-back vibes but an updated premise that exceeds where the genre has been before;
• Anything super fun or super glitzy or mash-up-y;
• Fast-paced, truly YA series (like Gallagher Girls) with new, unrelated-to-Gallagher Girls premises;
• A fun mystery with lots of relationship depth and humor (would love an updated Trixie Belden-esque project!!); and
• Romances/rom-coms that take the genre forward into someplace it hasn’t yet been.

For New Adult fiction:

For New Adult, I’m looking for commercial titles, and I define “New Adult” as books with a YA-ish tone, protagonists aged ≈19-23, and room for spice — think upper college aged protagonists and new grads experiencing the adult world for the first time.

Overall, I’m looking most for high concept, fun projects that can branch out this emerging category with material that has tones comparable to Ally Carter, Stephanie Tromly, Jenny Han but with storylines meant for a New Adult audience.  I‘m also much more looking for contemporary adventure, fun mystery, evolved romance, and interesting (new-feeling!) thriller here than fantasy or romantasy, which would need to approach itself from lenses other than ACOTAR or similarly current big titles.

Some things that may draw me into a submission are:

• Vibes similar to my favorite YA books but with new, unrelated premises and storylines meant for a marginally older audience;
• Memorable, lovable protagonists with a huge amount of heart;
• Things that surprise me and feel like they’re evolving this category into something fun and accessible;
• Stories that involve elements of fandom/pop culture (i.e., a main character who’s involved in a fandom and/or stories that contain pop culture/fandom references. I’m not specifically looking for work that might *create* a fandom—I’m more looking for projects that explore how fandoms exist and what this means); and
• Stories that involve managing fame/fortune as an emerging adult.

For Adult fiction:

For Adult material, I consider both commercial and upmarket/literary work and am open to unsolicited queries in the following areas:

• Rom-coms and rom-com adjacent material (including relevant genre mashups and especially material that feels like it’s evolving the genre ahead!);
• Horrormance and Dark Romance (big concept, not too gruesome, and I like consent!);
• Romantasy and other mashups of SFF/romance (and, again, I’m looking for things that largely evolve the genre(s) and don’t feel like the premises of other books);
• Speculative historical and/or gothic works with a strong appeal to women’s fiction audiences; and
• High concept, upmarket work that explores family/culture/history à la THE JOY LUCK CLUB.

I tend to gravitate toward stories from diverse voices and appreciate stories that break the mold as opposed to replicating what came before it, though I do love nods to fandoms a lot here too and am interested in seeing tropes in commercial work used in ways that, again, feel fresh or new!

Some elements that may draw me in for Adult fiction are:

• Deeply Gen-Z or Millennial voices, essentially material that feels like a natural extension of New Adult and is meant for audiences in their twenties to early thirties;
• Robust stories that feature the tone/style of YA books but with adult characters;
• Big concept stories with sticky hooks and tons of fun;
• Nonwestern settings and/or worldbuilding; and
• Deeply intriguing explorations of culture/family.

For Adult nonfiction:

In Adult nonfiction, I am always on the look out for narrative-styled material that celebrates the daring, historical exploits of women or that dissects power/politics/identity through a critical lens.

I also enjoy history of all kinds and am very interested in working with academics who are at a point in their careers where they could benefit from having an agent.  Pop culture is a perennial interest of mine, as are nonfiction books about literature, archeology, folklore, folk traditions, and more.  And I’d love to see work that bridges the gap between academic and commercial, along with work that is more purely commercial in nature.

Some elements that may draw me into nonfiction proposals are:

• Material that creates hybrid areas of work, such as AS YOU WISH: INCONCEIVABLE TALES FROM THE MAKING OF PRINCESS BRIDE;
• Explorations of Ancient and Medieval history/culture from around the world;
• Nonwestern history;
• Feminist scholarship underpinning a project;
• Modern hooks, ancient topics (for instance “the pop culture of Ancient Rome”  — things that can make history accessible to non-historians);
• Lesser known topics;
• Works meant for more academic audiences;
• Transitions of academic pieces into full-length books;
• Explorations of power/politics/propaganda;
• Intersectionality; and
• History or literature podcasters/influencers looking to produce books.

Submission Guidelines

I only accept queries through QueryManager.  You can reach my QueryManager page from here: https://bradfordlit.com/submission-guidelines

For Fiction:

Guidelines & Details