Elizabeth DeNoma is a deeply editorial, internationally-minded agent at Sebes & Bisseling who specializes in narrative nonfiction—popular science, history, psychology, cultural criticism, and the occasional extraordinary memoir—and very rarely takes on exceptional literary fiction.
In brief
DeNoma's wishlist is unusually precise: they want narrative nonfiction written by genuine experts whose personal authority in a field shapes the entire book—not just a journalist covering a topic, but a scientist, historian, or practitioner who commands the material from the inside.
The touchstone titles they cite span rigorous popular science (Why We Sleep, Behave, Entangled Life), sweeping cultural history (Sapiens, Salt, American Prometheus), and trauma-informed psychology (The Body Keeps the Score, Neurotribes)—which together map a consistent taste for big-idea books that are also deeply human narratives.
Fiction is not closed, but the bar is marked 'exceptional' and 'occasional'—treat it as a selective category requiring a fully polished, complete manuscript, not a work-in-progress.
DeNoma brings a rare combination of editorial depth, translation experience, and foreign-rights fluency to their author relationships—making them a strong partner for globally-oriented writers or those with international subject matter.
Queries without a full proposal (for nonfiction) or a complete edited manuscript (for fiction) will not be read; getting the submission package right is the first and most eliminatory filter.
Lately
DeNoma's current agency page was updated to clarify that fiction is accepted only occasionally and only when it is exceptional — and that fiction queries must include a complete, fully edited manuscript. This is a meaningful tightening from older wishlist language that did not emphasize these conditions.
What Elizabeth is looking for
Narrative-driven science writing grounded in genuine scientific expertise. DeNoma is drawn to work that reveals hidden or counterintuitive truths about the natural world, the human body, or ecological systems—told by writers who are themselves practitioners or researchers. Evolutionary biology, neuroscience, ecology, and medicine are all in scope. The writing must be as compelling as the science.
Sweeping works of intellectual history or cultural analysis that use a single subject—a commodity, a person, an idea, an era—as a lens onto much larger human questions. DeNoma is particularly interested in works covering the 1800s onward, with a special appetite for WWI and WWII history. The best pitches here will have a thesis that feels genuinely new, not a retelling of familiar ground.
Research-grounded explorations of how humans think, behave, and organize themselves—written accessibly enough for a general readership but with real disciplinary authority behind them. Work that bridges academic insight and popular storytelling is the sweet spot. Pop psychology that relies only on anecdote, without a deeper evidence base, is not what DeNoma is after.
DeNoma is explicit that memoir must be exceptional and must weave the author's personal story together with a distinct professional expertise—the life experience alone is not sufficient. Group memoirs and collective narratives that illuminate a wider human story are also of interest. Works that read purely as personal narrative without an outward-facing intellectual dimension are not a fit.
Deeply reported, narrative-driven journalism on social, political, or cultural subjects—work that reads as a book, not a long article. True crime must have a strong analytical or sociological dimension beyond the case itself. Straight current-affairs commentary without narrative architecture is less likely to land.
DeNoma takes on fiction only rarely and only when it is complete, fully edited, and of genuinely exceptional quality. There is no stated genre preference, which means the bar is purely qualitative—this is not a category to query into with a debut that is still being revised. Writers pitching fiction should make the case for why their work rises to the level of 'occasional exception' rather than assuming fiction queries are treated on equal footing with nonfiction.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Elizabeth
Send your query and full proposal to denoma@sebes.nl — this is the direct, confirmed submission address.
Nonfiction is the primary category: your submission must include a complete book proposal AND sample chapters. A query letter alone, or a proposal without sample chapters, will be set aside without consideration.
Fiction queries require a complete, fully edited manuscript — not a partial, not a synopsis-only pitch. Make the case explicitly for why your work is exceptional.
DeNoma's stated ideal is the expert-author: frame your query around your professional credentials and lived authority in the subject, not just your storytelling ability. Lead with who you are as an expert, then what the book argues.
Mirror the intellectual ambition of the touchstone titles when pitching: books like Sapiens, Behave, and American Prometheus signal that DeNoma wants work with a genuine thesis, not just interesting material. Name your book's central argument in the first paragraph.
If you have not received even an acknowledgment of receipt within a month, and have followed up once, the agency advises treating silence as a pass — do not send multiple follow-ups.
DeNoma represents global English-language authors and sells into North American publishers as well as global English-language rights — writers based outside the US are explicitly welcome.