Bethany Jett is a commercially minded agent at MacGregor & Luedeke Collaborative who champions upmarket and women's fiction, Christian-inflected stories, and nonfiction with strong platform—all filtered through a sharp editorial eye and a decade-plus of industry instincts.
In brief
Her stated genre breadth is wide, but her agency page distills her core lanes clearly: commercial fiction, children's, gift books, cookbooks, and Christian nonfiction — writers should target these buckets first.
She brings an author's perspective to agenting — she is herself a multi-award-winning writer with an MFA in Communication, which means she engages editorially before a manuscript goes on submission.
Her public activity signals an active, deal-making desk: she has been simultaneously managing manuscripts in editorial, under contract, and in contract negotiation — a sign she is genuinely working, not just collecting queries.
Her childhood reading list skews toward heart-driven, character-centered storytelling (Marshall's Christy, Konigsburg, Cleary) — a useful signal that emotional resonance and a strong protagonist matter more to her than high-concept plot mechanics alone.
She co-launched Amplify Writers in 2022 before joining MacGregor & Luedeke Collaborative, suggesting she is still building her client list and has genuine capacity for new voices.
Lately
On a recent Tuesday she described a day that included managing submission correspondence, editorial work on a manuscript heading to publishers, reviewing edits on a contracted book, negotiating contract terms with an editor, and a yet-to-be-announced development she was excited about — a snapshot of a fully active, multi-project desk.
What Bethany is looking for
This is her clearest home territory. She gravitates toward fiction with a female protagonist and broad reader appeal — book-club-ready stories that balance emotional depth with commercial hooks. Subgenres she has specifically flagged include domestic suspense, psychological thriller, Southern fiction, Southern Gothic, family saga, and historical fiction. She is drawn to upmarket work that has genuine literary ambition without sacrificing accessibility.
Romance in its many flavors is a clear priority: she has listed romcom, Regency romance, historical romance, Christian romance, Christian romantic suspense, small-town romance, slow-burn romance, sweet romance, and time-travel romance. The breadth signals genuine enthusiasm rather than a token inclusion. Inspirational/Christian romance sits alongside mainstream romance as an equally welcome lane.
Domestic thriller, psychological thriller, psychological suspense, cozy mystery, and crime and thriller all appear on her list. She wants the full tonal range — from cozy to dark. Writers in this space should lead with the emotional or domestic core of their story, as that appears to be the lens through which she reads the genre.
She has a specific appetite for magical realism and what she calls 'fantasy grounded in reality' — not epic or high fantasy, but literary or commercial fiction that incorporates speculative elements organically. Fairytale retellings and dark academia also appear. Gothic fiction rounds out this cluster. Writers with a clearly grounded, real-world emotional stakes alongside fantastical elements are a better fit than those writing more traditional genre fantasy.
Her agency page places Christian nonfiction as a named priority lane. This encompasses Bible studies, Christian living, and inspirational or gift books. Her own background as a person of faith and her familiarity with the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) market make this a genuine area of expertise, not a sideline.
She welcomes cookbooks, crafts and DIY, lifestyle, self-help, and relationship/family nonfiction. Gift books and illustrated nonfiction also appear. Platform will matter here — practical nonfiction lives or dies on the author's ability to reach an audience, and her background in author positioning and branding suggests she will scrutinize this closely.
Her agency page lists children's as a genre she handles, but no granular subgenre breakdown is provided. Given that her wishlist is dominated by adult fiction and nonfiction, children's appears to be a selective lane rather than a core focus. Queries in this space should be exceptionally strong and clearly articulate their market.
She has specifically flagged #OwnVoices, BIPOC narratives, and Asian diaspora stories as welcome across her fiction list. This is not a standalone genre but a lens that applies across categories — particularly women's fiction, upmarket literary fiction, and book-club fiction. Writers from underrepresented communities whose work fits her other priority genres should feel encouraged to query.
Not the right fit
On Bethany's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Bethany
Her form is the only accepted submission path — she has explicitly stated she does not take email queries; go straight to her website to find the current form.
Lead with your commercial hook and your book's market position before describing the plot — she has a background in author branding and responds to writers who understand where their book lives in the marketplace.
If your manuscript has a faith dimension (Christian romance, inspirational fiction, Christian nonfiction), name it clearly and early; she has dedicated infrastructure for the CBA market and won't see it as a liability.
Her childhood reading list is heavy on emotionally resonant, character-led stories. If your protagonist carries the book, make that clear in the first lines of your pitch — the emotional journey should be foregrounded over plot mechanics.
She is also an author with an MFA in Communication, which means she reads editorially. A clean, well-structured query letter signals that you understand craft; sloppiness will register more sharply with her than with a non-author agent.
If your work is own voices, BIPOC, or Asian diaspora, she has specifically flagged these as welcome — mention the perspective organically if it shapes the story, as it may increase her interest.
Dark academia, Southern Gothic, and cozy mystery are among the more specific sub-genre tags she has used — if your book fits one of those labels precisely, use the label; she has self-selected into that vocabulary.
Verify her current submission guidelines on her agency website before querying, as specifics (pages requested, synopsis requirements) may have been updated since any secondary listing was compiled.