Dan Conaway is a highly editorial Writers House agent with 17+ years of experience and a former Big Five editor's eye, hunting upmarket suspense, book-club literary fiction, and narrative nonfiction driven by ambitious themes and distinctive voice.
In brief
Dan Conaway's deal record skews heavily toward commercial-literary suspense and crime fiction — the sales list features Joseph Finder, Stacy Willingham, Matthew Quirk, and Allison Brennan, signaling a deep bench in the thriller/crime space that Dan's wishlist language somewhat undersells.
Repeat clients are a strong pattern here: Joseph Finder appears across multiple titles (Guilty Minds, Suspicion, The Fixer, The Oligarch's Daughter), Matthew Quirk across at least two (The Night Agent, The Method), Peter Carlin across two (the R.E.M. biography, the Bruce Springsteen biography, Tonight in Jungleland), Bruce Henderson across two, and Allison Brennan across multiple — loyalty and long-term collaboration are core to how Dan operates.
The nonfiction list is genuinely eclectic — American history, music biography, investigative journalism, political analysis — but music and Americana run as a consistent thread (Carlin's rock bios, Henderson's WWII history, Hale's Harlan County labor history).
Dan came up as an executive editor at Putnam and HarperCollins before agenting, and explicitly functions as an editorial agent — expect substantive manuscript work before going on submission.
The touchstone authors Dan names (S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha, Lou Berney, Laura Dave, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Liz Moore on fiction; Robert Kolker, Patrick Radden Keefe, Claire Dederer, David Grann on nonfiction) are a precise targeting tool: if your book sits in that neighborhood, lead with the comparison.
Lately
Dan's current wishlist foregrounds smart, voice-driven upmarket suspense alongside literary fiction, underscoring that commercial viability and literary quality are expected to coexist — not trade off against each other.
What Dan is looking for
This is where Dan's deal record is deepest. Dan wants suspense with literary ambition — books that can hold a book-club conversation while keeping readers up at night. Protagonists should be complicated, flawed, and rendered with both psychological nuance and narrative urgency. Strong sense of place and a propulsive plot are non-negotiable. Touchstone authors named: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha, Lou Berney, Laura Dave, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Michael Koryta.
Dan is drawn to contemporary literary fiction with a genuine emotional core — stories that explore distinctive settings or subcultures and reveal character with both nuance and urgency. Voice is paramount. The language of 'book-club fiction' signals commercial viability is expected alongside literary quality. Kevin Wilson and Liz Moore are named touchstones.
Dan wants nonfiction that tackles ambitious, timely, and conversation-starting subjects with a strong narrative engine. Investigative journalism and American history are well-represented on the list. Books should have both reportorial rigor and the readability of good prose. Touchstones: Robert Kolker, Patrick Radden Keefe, David Grann.
A clear passion area backed by multiple deals. Dan has sold at least three music-centered books for Peter Carlin alone, plus other pop-culture-adjacent nonfiction. Looking for deeply reported, gorgeously written work that brings a subculture or cultural moment to life — not hagiography, but real narrative.
Dan specifically calls out 'gorgeously-written memoir' as a target. The prose bar is high. Touchstones Claire Dederer and Ada Calhoun suggest an interest in memoir that grapples with identity, culture, and ambivalence rather than straightforward triumph narratives. Nonfiction submissions require a full proposal.
The backlist includes political nonfiction (Myth America, Woke Racism, Nine Nasty Words) and history with strong analytical frameworks. Dan looks for topical subjects that drive real public conversation. Proposals should demonstrate the author's platform and unique argumentative angle.
Not the right fit
On Dan's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Dan
Send your query in the body of the email — no attachments of any kind. Dan's instructions are explicit on this point.
Put the book's title and your name in the subject line exactly as instructed; a subject line that omits either will stand out for the wrong reasons.
For fiction: include a query letter, a brief synopsis, and the first chapter or first ten pages pasted into the email body.
For nonfiction: include a query letter, an author bio establishing your credentials and platform, and a full book proposal — a partial proposal is unlikely to move forward.
Lead with a comp author from Dan's named touchstone list if your book genuinely fits: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha, Lou Berney, Laura Dave, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Michael Koryta for fiction; Robert Kolker, Patrick Radden Keefe, Claire Dederer, David Grann for nonfiction. These names signal you've done your homework.
Dan explicitly values voice above almost everything else — your query letter should demonstrate the same distinctive voice as the manuscript, not read like a plot summary.
Sense of place and subculture specificity are recurring themes across Dan's wishlist and sales record. If your book has a vivid, unusual, or underexplored setting, foreground it early.
Dan describes being a highly editorial agent who works extensively before going to market. Signaling in your query that you welcome substantive editorial collaboration — not just a champion — will resonate.
If your suspense novel sits in literary or upmarket territory (book-club crossover), say so plainly; Dan is not looking for pure category genre thrillers, and the distinction matters here.
The music and Americana nonfiction track record is real and deep — if your nonfiction sits in that space, Dan is a stronger fit than the general wishlist language might suggest.