Amelia Appel is a Triada US agent with wide-ranging commercial and literary instincts, hunting for voice-driven adult fiction (especially mystery, horror, and upmarket women's fiction), smart YA, and non-fiction that teaches you something new while keeping you entertained.
In brief
Her stated wishlist is unusually broad — she openly wants everything from graphic novels to horror to YA rom-coms — but her strongest, most repeated emphases are voice, setting, and protagonists who are compelled to change.
She is not at a large agency, but she came up at two of the most prestigious literary agencies in the business (Writers House and McIntosh & Otis), which signals sophisticated taste and strong industry relationships for a newer agent.
Her wishlist explicitly carves out conditions on multiple categories: no cop protagonists in thrillers, no space operas in sci-fi, no romance novels (but rom-coms are fine), no memoir, no marriage/children-centric women's fiction — this level of specificity is a real gift for querying writers.
A February 2025 public post confirmed she had just reopened to queries and received 1,000 submissions in two weeks, suggesting she is selective even when open — polish your query carefully.
As of May 28, 2025, her submission form is closed. This is the authoritative signal. Verify the live form before submitting.
Lately
🚨SCAM ALERT🚨: I’ve heard from multiple writers that someone pretending to be me has been asking for their material (usually through an “editor” referral). This is a scam. I am currently closed to queries and encourage you to exercise caution when receiving these kinds of emails from ANYONE.
After reopening to queries, she publicly noted she had received one thousand submissions in just two weeks — expressing both astonishment and genuine excitement at the volume, and signaling she was actively looking to take on new projects.
What Amelia is looking for
Voice is paramount here — she wants prose that sounds like no one else and carries the reader into complex webs of relationship and character. A compelling setting or a witty, distinct narrator raises the appeal further. Think intimate, character-driven stories rather than sprawling epics.
She has a real fondness for classic whodunits with a structural puzzle at the center. Close-quarter settings — a country house, a ship, a small town with a tight social world — earn extra enthusiasm. The emphasis is on fair-play plotting and a satisfying reveal, not just crime atmosphere.
She wants horror that is genuinely frightening, not just dark in tone. Literary horror, feminist horror, psychological horror, and ghost stories all fit. The scarier the better is her stated bar — do not pull punches. Hauntings and paranormal work also fall under this umbrella.
She is after twisty, suspenseful plots with real momentum. One firm gate: no cop or law-enforcement protagonists. Psychological suspense, psychological thrillers, and literary thrillers all qualify. The emphasis is on civilian or unexpected perspectives navigating danger.
She welcomes commercial and upmarket women's fiction with one meaningful condition: she prefers stories not centered on marriage or having children. Dark female friendships, female-driven family drama, and stories about women's ambitions or identities outside domestic life are more her speed.
She is open to a wide range of SF — speculative, grounded, feminist, fun — but not space operas. Alternate history and upmarket speculative fiction are both in bounds. The closer the story is to human-scale stakes (even in a high-concept setting), the better her fit.
She gravitates toward fantasy grounded in reality — contemporary fantasy, romantasy (explicitly listed as a current interest), fairytale and classic retellings (especially with BIPOC characters), and magical realism. Dark academia and dark fantasy also fit. Pure epic high fantasy is not her stated priority.
She is specifically interested in projects where the visual medium is load-bearing — where the story could not be told as effectively in prose alone. Both adult graphic novels and children's graphic novels are listed as interests.
She wants YA that balances light and dark, and where the protagonist is genuinely forced to grow — not just changed by circumstance but compelled to reckon with who they are. Smart YA rom-coms where the romance is a thread rather than the whole story are welcomed. She also has a strong interest in YA centered on non-romantic relationships (friendships, family bonds) and gives bonus consideration to stories with a sports element. Fantasy YA, commercial YA, contemporary YA, and humor-forward YA all fit.
Her non-fiction taste is tied to information delivered engagingly — she is drawn to projects that teach readers something genuinely new without being dry. Her core areas are creative non-fiction, humor, sports, how-to, pop culture, pop psychology, and true crime. She is not seeking memoir. Narrative non-fiction and illustrated non-fiction are also listed interests.
She distinguishes clearly between romance novels (not seeking) and rom-coms (open). Rom-coms with a smart, witty voice and a story that goes beyond the central relationship are a good fit. This applies to both adult and YA.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Amelia
She is closed as of May 28, 2025 — check the live submission form before doing anything else. She has reopened before (she did so earlier in 2025), so monitor her announcements.
When she was last open, she received 1,000 queries in two weeks. Your query letter must work fast: hook her in the first paragraph with voice and concept together.
Lead with what makes your protagonist's voice or your setting genuinely distinctive — she explicitly names both as deciding factors across multiple categories.
Respect her gates: if your thriller has a detective or police protagonist, or your sci-fi is space-opera scale, do not query her. She is specific enough about what she doesn't want that ignoring this will hurt you.
For non-fiction, frame your pitch around the new information or insight readers will gain, not just the topic — she responds to the 'why does this matter now' angle.
YA writers: if your story has a sports element, say so early. She has flagged it as a genuine bonus more than once.
If your women's fiction is about identity, ambition, friendship, or anything beyond marriage and motherhood as the central tension, make that explicit in the query — it directly addresses her stated preference.
For horror, do not soften your pitch. She has specifically said 'the scarier the better' — lean into the most frightening elements of your concept rather than hedging.
Classic retellings that center BIPOC characters appear explicitly in her wishlist — if yours qualifies, that framing belongs in the query.