Emily Sylvan Kim is the founding president of Prospect Agency and a career-builder's agent who hunts for high-concept commercial fiction across adult, YA, and middle grade — with a particular appetite for women's fiction, romance in all its flavors, and historical narratives that break new ground.
In brief
Kim founded Prospect Agency in 2005 and serves as its president, giving her two decades of deal-making relationships across major publishers — unusually deep institutional leverage for her clients.
Her stated priority is clear: she wants commercial women's fiction and romance, adult or YA, above almost everything else right now — writers in those lanes should query with confidence.
She explicitly welcomes diverse and own-voices narratives and lists dark academia and dystopian alongside historical fiction, signaling taste that skews literary-adjacent even within commercial categories.
Submission rules are strict: no re-submissions under any circumstances, no multiple manuscripts at once, and submitting to more than one Prospect agent simultaneously voids your query entirely.
Kim is also a founding member of the literary production company et al Creative, suggesting her ambitions for her clients extend beyond traditional publishing into broader media.
Lately
Kim publicly identified her single biggest want as the next great commercial women's fiction or romance novel — adult or YA — signaling this is her active, top-priority acquisition lane right now.
What Emily is looking for
This is her loudest, most explicit ask. She wants commercial women's fiction and adult romance — including contemporary romance, romantic comedy, romantasy, contemporary inspirational romance, and historical romance. She is looking for something with strong voice, real emotional stakes, and the kind of premise that stops a reader mid-scroll. High-concept execution is rewarded here.
She has sustained interest in high-concept YA broadly, with specific enthusiasm for YA historical fiction. Stories that blend accessible voice with genuine ambition — whether in setting, theme, or structure — are exactly what she is after. Diverse and own-voices perspectives are actively welcomed.
High-concept literary commercial fiction sits squarely on her list — work that has genuine literary merit but doesn't sacrifice readability or plot momentum. Dark academia, dystopian, and historical fiction (adult) all fall under this umbrella for her. The key requirement is that the premise is instantly compelling and the writing earns its ambition.
She welcomes middle grade adventure and contemporary, though it receives less emphasis in her current public statements than her adult and YA romance/women's fiction priorities. Strong character development and voice are table stakes here, as they are across her entire list.
Historical mysteries appear on her genre list, suggesting openness to the category, but she does not single it out as a top priority. A query here should work especially hard on premise and voice to stand out.
Picture book texts are accepted — she requests the full manuscript rather than sample chapters. Illustrators are also welcome and should include a link to their online portfolio. Importantly, she does NOT separately flag picture book writers as a priority, so this is a selective, case-by-case consideration rather than an active wish.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Emily
Send everything in a single document — query letter (with your name, date, contact info, and project description), synopsis, and the first three chapters or first 30 pages. Picture book authors should send the complete manuscript as a PDF.
The query letter itself should be concise and professional: include only relevant credentials (prior publications, writing education), and if you are a previously published author, add a brief career summary and your goals going forward.
Do NOT submit to more than one Prospect Agency agent simultaneously — doing so automatically voids your submission. Pick Kim and only Kim if she is your target.
Do NOT submit more than one project at a time. Multiple manuscripts in a single query will invalidate the entire submission.
Lead with what makes your premise high-concept and commercial. Kim evaluates character development, plot, voice, and above all the quality of the writing — so the sample pages must be fully polished before you send.
If your project is women's fiction or romance (adult or YA), make that crystal clear in the first sentence of your query. This is her loudest, most active ask, and you want her to know immediately that you are in her sweet spot.
For diverse and own-voices narratives, identify that context in your query — she explicitly welcomes it and it is relevant framing, not box-ticking.
Accepted file formats:.doc,.pdf,.html/.htm,.rtf, and.txt. Confirm these are still current before submitting.
Prospect does not accept revisions or re-submissions under any circumstances — make sure your work is truly ready before you send it, because you will not get a second chance with this agency.