Ann Leslie Tuttle

I am actively seeking debut and established romance and women’s fiction writers.

For Romance, I’m open to all the subgenres but especially welcome romantic suspense (e.g. Navy SEALS, Special Ops and other elite military units), small-town romance, Inspirational (e.g. Amish), and romances featuring diverse characters and empowered-yet-vulnerable heroines.  I’m especially drawn in by voice and atmosphere and do love Southern Gothic settings or other settings where the location almost functions like another character and adds charm, glamour or an element of danger to the story, e.g. Middle East/Alaska.   In terms of the writing, I’m looking for stories that have well developed, engaging characters that are not cliched; stories with tight pacing; realistic plotting; a level of sensuality that is appropriate to the plotting without gratuitous swearing; and fully realized emotional conflicts.

For Women’s Fiction, I’m looking for Historical Fiction (late 19th century onward), Psychological Suspense and Commercial and Women’s Fiction.  I’d love to see more submissions featuring female friendships, the bonds between mothers and daughters, stories set in the Deep South and stories that employ a unique device to narrate the story.  For historical fiction, I especially want to see stories about women who have been overlooked or untold relationships.  In terms of writing, I’m looking for stand-out voices, stories that tackle new themes or handle a topic with an unexpected twist or in a fresh manner and characters that are compelling.

Submission Guidelines

Please see full guidelines at http://www.dystel.com.

Do send your query letter via email, and include the full query in the body of the email, not as an attachment.

Do include a writing sample of the first 25 pages of your manuscript (fiction) or your proposal with sample chapter (nonfiction) in the body of the email below your query letter.

Do be sure to query only one agent at this agency.  We will not review queries sent to more than one of us

Do resend your query email if you haven’t heard from us in 8 weeks, noting the date previously sent.

Don’t send attachments with a blank email or an incomplete query.

Don’t send materials in a shared file of download link.  We will not open these files.

Don’t send a query for a novel until the manuscript is complete, polished and ready for review.  We do not accept partial manuscripts for novels.  Nonfiction can be queried with a proposal.

Don’t pitch projects or follow up on queries via social media.  Pitches made via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. will not be considered except as part of a planned pitch event.

Guidelines & Details