Diana Finch is a veteran independent agent with over three decades in publishing whose list is anchored in narrative nonfiction, science, environment, and current-affairs journalism — with a secondary appetite for literary and crime fiction that carries real intellectual weight.
In brief
The sales record tells a clear story: Diana Finch's core business is serious narrative nonfiction — environmental science, labor economics, education policy, and investigative journalism — placed with prestigious imprints including FSG, Norton, Columbia University Press, Oxford University Press, Beacon Press, and The New Press.
Jonathan Slaght's OWLS OF THE EASTERN ICE won the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction, making it the single strongest proof of commercial and critical muscle on the list; this is the benchmark for the caliber of nonfiction Finch pursues.
Finch runs a globally oriented agency: they chair the AAR International Committee, attend the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs, and have placed rights in over a dozen countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America — a meaningful advantage for authors whose work has international reach.
While fiction is listed as a wish, the confirmed sales record is almost entirely nonfiction; writers querying with novels should treat this as a selective, high-bar opportunity rather than a primary slot on Finch's list.
Finch's client roster shows long-term relationships: Eric Simons and Jonathan Slaght appear in both older and newer deal records, signaling that Finch builds career-long partnerships rather than one-book transactions.
Lately
Finch has publicly articulated enthusiasm for environmental writing that extends beyond traditional nature writing into science, business, and even YA fantasy — signaling a desire for work that connects ecological themes to economics and daily life, not just landscapes.
What Diana is looking for
This is Finch's deepest groove. They want science and environmental writing that goes beyond nature appreciation — books tackling climate, ecology, conservation, and the business and policy dimensions of environmental crises. The confirmed sales of OWLS OF THE EASTERN ICE (FSG), THE SNAKEMEN (Norton), OCEAN AT THE EDGE (Columbia), and FIXATION (Island Press) show the range: accessible science journalism, fieldwork-driven narrative, and sustainability-minded lifestyle and consumer issues all fit.
Finch has a strong and consistent track record placing books that interrogate economic inequality, labor rights, education policy, and the hollowing-out of public institutions. The ideal pitch explains something urgent about how money, power, and policy shape everyday life — from macro global forces down to individual debt and wages. Fresh economic ideas that cut through jargon are especially welcome.
Finch is drawn to memoirs built around genuinely difficult passages — physical journeys, displacement, political danger, personal transformation. The best candidates combine vivid scene-making with wider cultural or political resonance. Work by journalists or figures with deep on-the-ground experience (as seen in Azadeh Moaveni's Iran-set memoirs) is particularly strong.
Finch explicitly identifies journalists writing about current events as a core enthusiasm. This includes investigative reporting, long-form journalism expanded into book form, and nonfiction that holds corporations or governments accountable. Authors with a strong reporting platform or beat expertise are well positioned.
Finch wants sports stories across all sports — and this openness extends to both narrative nonfiction and fiction. The wish is for writing that uses sport as a lens onto character, culture, or society, not just play-by-play accounts. Client Eric Simons's THE SECRET LIVES OF SPORTS FANS is a useful stylistic reference point.
Finch has a specific and voiced appetite here: crime fiction with the gritty, character-driven authority of classic hard-boiled or procedural writing, updated for contemporary settings and sensibilities. The pitch should foreground voice and world-building, not just plot mechanics. This is an area where Finch's sales record is thin, so treat it as an opening rather than a proven slot.
Finch will consider literary fiction, particularly novels that track a character through a pivotal life turning point. Confirmed fiction sales are rare in the recent record, so this is a high-bar, selective category. Work that blends intellectual seriousness with strong storytelling — the kind of novel a reader and a policy-minded journalist would both admire — has the best chance.
Finch has flagged openness to YA, specifically citing fantasy with environmental themes as an area of interest. This is not a core category in the confirmed sales record, so it should be treated as selective — the concept would need to be exceptional and the environmental dimension substantive, not decorative.
Not the right fit
On Diana's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Diana
Lead with the book's argument or core narrative drive in the first paragraph — Finch's list skews toward books with a clear and urgent real-world thesis, so bury the 'what it's about' and foreground 'why it matters now'.
For nonfiction, include a proposal or at minimum a detailed description; a sample chapter and chapter outline are explicitly welcomed alongside the query.
Emphasize any platform, beat expertise, or on-the-ground access you have — Finch's most successful clients are working journalists, scientists, and subject-matter insiders, not first-time generalists.
If your book has international rights potential, mention it: Finch chairs the AAR International Committee and has placed rights in over a dozen countries, so global story reach is a genuine competitive advantage in their eyes.
For fiction, foreground character and voice over plot summary — Finch's stated interest is in fiction that illuminates a life turning point, and the crime fiction wish is specifically for work with the authority of a master stylist, so lead with the writing.
Do not call — phone inquiries are explicitly declined. Use only the online form or postal submission.
If your nonfiction connects environmental themes to economics, consumer behavior, or policy, make that dual angle visible early: Finch has stated this intersection is a specific enthusiasm, and the sales record bears it out.