Andrea Somberg is a veteran Harvey Klinger agent with 24+ years of experience whose deal record reveals a genuine breadth across adult literary/upmarket fiction, MG/YA, and nonfiction — with a sharp eye for culturally specific stories, BIPOC voices, and commercial crossover projects that earn major accolades.
In brief
Andrea Somberg's confirmed deal record spans adult literary fiction, YA, MG, memoir, and cozy mysteries — the breadth is real, not just stated aspiration. The most recent high-profile sale, a Golden Girls cozy mystery, signals comfort with licensed/branded commercial fiction alongside more literary fare.
Client work has earned NYT and USA Today bestseller status, GMA and Target Book Club picks, a Nebula Award, an ALA Alex Award, a Libby Award, and nominations for the Edgar, Lambda, Governor General's, and Center for Fiction First Novel Prize — this is a deal-maker with genuine award-circuit muscle.
Film/TV rights are an active priority: projects have been optioned by HBO Max, 20th Century Fox, Imagine Entertainment, and Warner Brothers — a meaningful differentiator for writers whose work has screen potential.
Andrea actively teaches on middle grade, nonfiction, memoir, mystery/thrillers, and fantasy/SF — a signal of genuine subject-matter depth, not just category breadth.
The stated emphasis on BIPOC and underrepresented authors is consistent with the client roster, where culturally specific novels (e.g., Dava Shastri's Last Day, The Other Lata) appear alongside mainstream commercial titles.
Lately
Death on the Lanai — a Golden Girls cozy mystery by NYT bestselling author Rachel Ekstrom Courage — was featured in Parade Magazine, marking a high-visibility commercial debut for the project.
What Andrea is looking for
Andrea is actively looking for book-club-ready literary and upmarket novels that grapple with present-day challenges, cultural heritage, and intergenerational family dynamics. Stories that spark conversation and carry emotional weight are especially welcome. The confirmed sale of Dava Shastri's Last Day (a Publishers Lunch Buzz Book and Center for Fiction First Novel Prize longlister) is a strong real-world example of the register Andrea targets here.
Andrea wants narrative nonfiction that contributes something genuinely new to ongoing cultural conversations — works that reframe how readers see the world rather than simply report on it. Social criticism, popular science, idea-driven books, and memoir all fall within scope, provided the writing is propulsive and the argument is fresh. Dizzy: A Memoir is a recent confirmed example.
Andrea is particularly drawn to novels with a speculative edge or a lean toward horror across all age categories. Magical realism for adult, YA, or MG audiences is a named priority. The confirmed sale of The Spellshop demonstrates that cozy-speculative crossovers are very much in scope. Stories that blend real-world grounding with fantastical or uncanny elements — rather than pure secondary-world fantasy — seem to resonate most.
Andrea seeks YA psychological thrillers, emotionally devastating literary YA, and novels from BIPOC or underrepresented authors. Love Is an Algorithm (named one of Australia's best new books) shows the range extends to contemporary with big commercial potential. The ask is a resonant narrative voice above all else.
MG mystery, MG with a speculative or horror edge, funny MG, and illustrated or early-chapter-book projects are all named priorities. Andrea is especially open to MG that will make readers cry — emotionally ambitious middle grade is a clear sweet spot. Illustrated and humor-driven MG from author-illustrators or illustrated projects are also welcomed.
Commercial mysteries and thrillers for adults are part of the portfolio, with cozy mysteries — as evidenced by the high-profile Death on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery — representing the most recent confirmed sale. Licensed/branded mysteries are clearly not off the table. The Edgar Award nomination in the client record confirms the genre runs deep.
Beyond narrative nonfiction, Andrea's stated scope includes parenting, lifestyle, pop culture, humor, and health titles. Pay As You Go and Parent Like a Millionaire from the confirmed list illustrate this practical/commercial nonfiction strand. These are welcome but appear less emphasized than narrative or literary nonfiction.
Andrea explicitly and repeatedly prioritizes projects from BIPOC and underrepresented authors across all formats and age groups — adult, YA, and MG alike. This is not a separate genre but a lens applied across the entire list. Writers from underrepresented backgrounds should feel especially encouraged to query regardless of whether their project fits a neat category box.
Not the right fit
On Andrea's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Andrea
Send a query letter plus the opening five pages of your manuscript to andrea@harveyklinger.com — this is the confirmed submission format, so follow it precisely: no attachments beyond what's asked, no full chapters uninvited.
Verify the live submission page before querying; status was confirmed open in April 2026 but can change.
Lead your query with a clear statement of category, word count, and comparable titles — Andrea represents a genuinely wide range, so specificity about where your book sits helps enormously.
If you are a BIPOC or underrepresented author, Andrea's wishlist explicitly and repeatedly names this as a priority — mention it in your query if it applies to you.
Andrea responds to voice above all else in fiction. Your opening five pages are doing real work here — make sure they showcase the narrative voice that defines the book, not just plot setup.
Film/TV potential is something Andrea actively pursues. If your project has obvious screen adaptability, it is worth a brief, factual mention — but don't oversell it.
If your project is MG, make clear in the query whether it is illustrated, funny, mystery-driven, or emotionally resonant — these are all named sub-priorities and distinguishing them will help your query land.
Beware of scam emails: the legitimate domain is @harveyklinger.com only. Any request for money from someone claiming to be this agency is fraudulent.