Sarah Grill

On the fiction side, I’m actively seeking upmarket fiction, psychological thrillers and suspense, and contemporary YA. Regardless of the genre, most of my favorite books—Gone Girl, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Never Let Me Go come to mind—have a gut-punch plot twist that leaves me flipping the pages in search of answers. I love well-crafted family relationships with twisted secrets that propel the plot forward, and I’m always a fan of multi-generational sagas and multiple narrators with distinctive voices whose differing perspectives let me see the story in a new light. I love books that play with format in a way that elevates the plot without being distracting, from shifting timelines to epistolary novels to transcripts. I don’t shy away from darker themes and a little edge, so please send me your Gothics, ghost stories, and anything ripped from the headlines of true crime. If Tana French or Megan Abbott would blurb it, I want to read it. I’m also fascinated by contained settings—whether that’s a college campus, a small town, a secret society, or an isolated cabin in the woods—and atmospheric novels with a strong sense of place.

On the lighter side, I’m always looking for diverse rom-coms that accurately portray the millennial experience of dating and love, and shine light and joy on love stories we haven’t seen before. Give me a wry, observant heroine who often finds herself a fish out of water and regularly makes me laugh out loud. I particularly love anything with a Hollywood/pop culture angle and a good slow burn enemies-to-lovers story. I’m also looking for more sharp, surprising humor in fiction overall; Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here was a recent read that blew me away with its perfect balance of wit and heart.

In YA, I’m actively looking for contemporary voice-driven projects that feel authentic to how today’s teenagers experience the world. I grew up on John Green and Sarah Dessen, so my dream YA features fully-dimensional, sharply funny characters facing emotional reckonings, first love, and maybe a little heartbreak. I love an academic setting, winks to Midwestern culture, and road trips with unlikely passengers. Right now, I’m especially eager to find a Jewish love story that doesn’t center on the Holocaust, and a really great John Hughes retelling.

In non-fiction, I’m looking for thoughtful, well-researched narrative nonfiction that sheds light on larger cultural issues and makes me rethink the world around me. I’m particularly interested in powerful investigative crime nonfiction with a literary edge, historical or contemporary, that encapsulates not just the crime but its societal impact. I’d also love to see wilderness and adventure stories, pop culture, and pop science/psychology.

I’m not the right person for: science fiction, fantasy, traditional romance, political or international thrillers, police procedurals, or essay collections (I’ve tried!!).

In general, I’m looking for beautifully written, propulsive, voice-driven fiction and nonfiction that introduces me to an entirely new world and spirits me away.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to sarah.grill@stmartins.com

At this time, I am only accepting agented submissions.