Lauren Bajek

I represent adult fiction, usually with speculative elements. I’m drawn to projects and authors who have potential to thrive on either side of the genre divide, and I am particularly seeking SFF that can appeal to mainstream readers, and mainstream fiction, mysteries, and romances with speculative or surreal elements. I also represent select adult nonfiction projects. I do not represent YA or children’s fiction.

Fiction

I’m looking for books with strong genre elements (SF, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance) that are also accessible to readers who are less familiar with those genres. I like to work on books that are fun, smart, weird, and rooted in a strong theme, commentary, or big idea.

I’m not very interested in violence, so I often bounce off books that involve life-or-death stakes, kidnapped loved ones, or gladiators, and I don’t like being asked to enjoy murders or assassinations. On the flip side, I often enjoy plots driven by puzzles, exploration, discovery, and gossip. I love books with a strong grounding in fact– niche expertise, specific history, clearly drawn subcultures. I’m not strict about genre boundaries– I love genre-mashing, genre-blending, and any book where it feels like reality is squishy.

Catering to specific MSWL elements is always tricky, because the more specific the ask is, the more picky I’m going to be. But here are a few things that always make me take a closer look:

• Nonhuman intelligences that really feel nonhuman.
• Queer and trans fiction, especially fiction that “queers” things other than sexuality.
• Butches! Where are the butches?
• Collective action, community organizing, and indirect resistance.
• A new angle on fertility, pregnancy, and parenthood– but no forced-birth, infertility angst, kidnapping, or child harm, please!
• A surreal, speculative take on reality TV.
• A truly fresh, theme-driven take on werewolves.

I am a tough audience for a lot of classic epic fantasy narratives– I rarely enjoy military elements, thieves or assassins, chosen ones or demigods, or D&D style “races” (though I do have a soft spot for orcs and goblins). I rarely enjoy novels where the main speculative element has to do with sleep, dreams, or memories. It’s fine to query me with these, just know that it will likely not be a fit.

Please do not send me books with graphic, on-page child harm or books with an evil baby plot. If you think your project may be on the line, please just mention it at the top of the query.

I always appreciate seeing more work from BIPOC authors, queer and trans authors, disabled authors, working-class and poor authors, non-US authors, and authors from other marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Nonfiction

I am open to select craft/DIY books as well as science and nature nonfiction, especially touching on ecosystems and plant/animal intelligence.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to querylauren@lizadawson.com

I ask for a query letter and first three chapters (or 25 pages) pasted into the body of an email. I respond to every query sent to my official inbox, so feel free to nudge after a month or two. Please check the agency website to see whether I am open to unsolicited queries.