Elisa Saphier is a MacGregor & Luedeke Literary agent whose radar is tuned to character-driven literary fiction, psychological thrillers, queer romance, and marginalized-voice narratives across adult, YA, and middle grade — with a pronounced preference for standalone books that challenge systemic power.
In brief
Elisa Saphier is CLOSED as of July 2024 and has publicly signaled a hoped-for reopening no earlier than late 2026 — do not query until the submission form confirms otherwise.
Their wishlist skews heavily literary: psychological thriller, queer romance, literary fiction, and memoir are the headline categories, and they explicitly note they are seeking more genre manuscripts to balance a currently literary-heavy list.
Elisa is the self-described outlier at MacGregor & Luedeke — an agency known for Christian and conservative titles — so do not query faith-affirming or politically conservative projects to this agent.
Standalones are strongly preferred over series across all age categories; pitching a series without acknowledging standalone potential is likely to hurt a submission.
Elisa asks writers to keep checking back on their wishlist page, which they maintain as a live document, and follows up on social media — watching those channels is the best way to catch a reopening.
Lately
And my standard conference pitch-taking shirt with a quote from Margaret Atwood to remind authors that they’re doing something that matters:”A word after a word after a word is power.”
Elisa has stated their wishlist page is maintained as a living document and is actively kept current — writers are encouraged to check back periodically rather than relying on cached summaries elsewhere.
What Elisa is looking for
Character-driven work that interrogates identity, self-discovery, and systems of oppression — race, class, gender, and trauma especially. Elisa gravitates toward books that spark genuine conversation and reflect the harder truths of the world, including suburban malaise, dark academia settings, and stories centered on marginalized characters where the marginalization is context rather than the sole subject.
The literary end of the crime spectrum — atmospheric, character-heavy, psychologically complex. Elisa explicitly names this as a priority and is interested in BIPOC-authored crime and thriller fiction. Hard-boiled procedurals or espionage thrillers are not the target; emotional and literary texture matter as much as plot.
Queer romance is a stated top interest. Elisa is especially drawn to friends-to-lovers and forced-proximity dynamics, though these are preferences rather than requirements. Power-imbalance relationships and insta-love are explicit deal-breakers. Happy endings are welcome — Elisa has no objection to them — but emotional depth is non-negotiable.
Personal narratives with genuine literary craft. Elisa's broader interest in identity, marginalized experience, and challenging the status quo carries directly into memoir. No sub-genre of memoir is named as off-limits except religion-affirming narratives.
YA centered on found family, queer coming-of-age, and emerging identity awareness. Amateur theater as a setting or backdrop appears as a recurring interest across all age categories, suggesting a real personal affinity. Standalone is strongly preferred.
True-to-life MG fiction that grapples with questions of self and belonging. The same values — authentic voice, meaningful stakes, non-preachy social awareness — apply here. Upper middle grade is the floor; anything younger is outside scope. Amateur theater is again flagged as a welcome element.
Elisa is not actively seeking science fiction or fantasy but will read a query in this space if the premise is compelling. The gate is firm: only 'SFF lite' — work where speculative elements are light touches, not the structural core. High fantasy, vampires, aliens, shapeshifters, and zombies are explicitly excluded. A grounded, realistic story with a thread of magic or low-key strangeness has the best chance.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Elisa
Do not query right now — Elisa is closed and has signaled late 2026 as the earliest likely reopening. Querying anyway will not be read.
Monitor Elisa's own wishlist page and social presence ( handle: @elisasaphier.social) for a reopening announcement; they have committed to posting updates there.
When submissions do reopen, send a query letter, synopsis, and first pages directly to elisa@macgregorliterary.com — no submission portal, just email.
Keep it informal: Elisa explicitly says they are not comfortable with formality and asks writers to address them simply as Elisa.
Lead with what makes your book a standalone — series potential is not a selling point here and may actively work against a query.
If your project is at the literary-genre intersection (e.g., a psychologically complex thriller or queer romance with real literary texture), flag that balance clearly — Elisa has stated a specific interest in genre work that can offset their currently literary-heavy list.
For SFF or magical-realism projects, be upfront about how light the speculative elements are; Elisa needs to see immediately that this is not high fantasy or creature-driven horror.
Do not query faith-based, conservative-themed, or religion-affirming projects to Elisa specifically — this is a firm mismatch regardless of the agency's broader list.