Stephen Barr

I’ve been with Writers House for a little over sixteen years now, and while I’m not an actual house (couldn’t get the permits), I’m a pretty omnivorous agent, with both an adult list (mostly literary and commercial fiction, as well as journalistic non-fiction) and a children’s list (everything from picture books to young adult). At the moment, I’ve got a particular hankering for…

– adult fiction that rewards the reader line-by-line and handcuffs humor and tragedy to the same radiator, like Maggie Thrash’s Rainbow Black (other recent favorites include The Searcher, Five Decembers, Lonesome Dove, and The Night Watchman)

– bonkers high-concept novels with a speculative tilt (time loops and the like!)

– audacious, experimental mysteries, fantasies and psychological suspense

– intricate, heart-on-its-sleeve, voice-abundant YA like King Dork or Baby & Solo (bonus points for unrequited love stories!)

– fantastical or contemporary middle grade that takes on heavy themes with an optimistic, eccentric touch (like Eli Brown’s Oddity)

– sweet and/or silly and/or heartbreaking picture books from adventurous author/illustrators

– unexpected memoirs with itchy voices

– narrative non-fiction that tackles hard-to-tackle issues, like Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma

I’m also willing to be a sucker for…

– detective stories that bend reality

– ghost stories that blow reality to hell

– Secret Book X (I don’t know what Secret Book X is, but suffice it to say, I’m open to the occasional curveball).

And I have almost zero emotional baggage, so I’m ready to fall in love (with your book)!

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Also! Scattered around the relatively jokey answers in these old interviews is a bit more detail on my bookish affinities…

https://www.onlypicturebooks.com/2021/02/22/agent-interview-stephen-barr-writers-house/

https://childrenswritersworkshop.com/pages/profiles/faculty/interviews/2015/agent-barr.html

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/2013/07/7-questions-for-literary-agent-stephen.html

https://theliterarymom.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/interview-with-literary-agent-stephen-barr-of-writers-house/