Mina Hamedi

Mina Hamedi grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and is of Turkish/Iranian descent. She received a B.A. from NYU’s Gallatin School and an M.F.A. in Nonfiction from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Mina began her career in publishing at David Black Literary Agency, working with Gary Morris and Heather Jackson and then moving on to Writers House. She joined Janklow & Nesbit in 2018, where she supports co-founder Lynn Nesbit and her various authors including Andre Aciman, Robert Caro, Jeffrey Eugenides, Ronan Farrow, Andrew Sean Greer, Anand Giridharadas, Pico Iyer, and Maaza Mengiste, as well as the estates of Joan Didion, Shirley Hazzard, Charles Portis, Anne Rice, and Tom Wolfe.

Mina represents adult literary fiction and nonfiction. She is interested in stories from around the world—particularly her native Turkey and Iran, though this is not a requirement! She loves fiction with Gothic-inspired atmospheres, intergenerational tales, family secrets, and deep excavations into relationships, motivations, and obsessions. She is looking for fiction with genre elements such as horror, mystery, speculative. She does not represent sci-fi or fantasy. Mina is drawn to nonfiction that tackles big ideas with a fiercely personal bent and a strong voice; writers who are working not only to uncover the undercurrents of our world but also to change them. She also seeks voices in translation and writers from underrepresented backgrounds.

As a writer herself, Mina understands the complex and vulnerable process of writing and publishing one’s work. Her clients are journalists, activists, artists, attorneys, sex workers, booksellers, forest restoration advocates, and HIV pharmacists, and it is her aim to support the entirety of their careers. Some of her clients include Ruth Madievsky, Maria Kuznetsova, Sarah-Jane Collins, Mona Eltahawy, Myriam Gurba, Alana Saab, Tree Abraham, Jordan LaHaye Fontenot, Naomi Falk, and Allan Martin Nava Sosa.

She lives in New York with her husband and two Turkish street cats, Saffron and Lemon. She is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents (AALA) and the co-chair of the Governance Committee.

Her wishlist includes (but is not limited to):

• Narrative nonfiction about pop culture, essay collections, memoirs or hidden histories like TRICK MIRROR, MINOR FEELINGS, THE BOOK OF UNCONFORMITIES, FUN HOME, PRIESTDADDY, THE EMPATHY EXAMS, BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME, THE RIGHT STUFF, IN COLD BLOOD, STAY TRUE, THE LIAR’S CLUB, SAY NOTHING
• Literary and commercial fiction/linked story collections with focus on friendships, sisterhood, family, traditions, mythology, and horror like GOODBYE VITAMIN, SEVERANCE, AFTERPARTIES, HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD, CIRCE, MEXICAN GOTHIC, A LITTLE LIFE, THE IDIOT, WE THE ANIMALS, THE VEGETARIAN, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, NEVER LET ME GO

In general:

• Strong POC characters
• Distinct sense of place/setting (if outside the US, a plus)
• Intergenerational, family stories
• Engagement in contemporary social issues
• Coming-of-age
• The uncanny, twisted, or unsettling
• The empathetic or hopeful
• Stories that make us feel something, that change us in a way
• Genre elements such as speculative, horror, mystery
• Big ideas, and big concepts: think layered stories, high stakes like PACHINKO or TRUST
• Retellings of Eastern/Middle Eastern myths and legends/stories

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to mhamedi@janklow.com

Please send me your query and the first ten pages of your manuscript.

If I am interested, I will reach out!