Heather Jackson is a former powerhouse trade editor turned agent whose boutique New York firm hunts for commercial fiction and nonfiction that connects widely with readers — books that inform, entertain, and shift the cultural conversation.
In brief
Jackson spent more than two decades as a trade editor before launching her agency in 2016, meaning she brings editorial-level manuscript instincts to the agenting side — a meaningful edge for writers who want developmental partnership.
Her editorial past is heavily weighted toward prescriptive nonfiction (health, wellness, psychology, self-help), and that legacy still shapes the agency's nonfiction spine — writers with platform-driven, expert-led books are stepping into her wheelhouse.
On the fiction side, her stated wishes lean toward women's book-club fiction, multigenerational sagas, and historical thrillers — suggesting she is actively trying to diversify the list rather than simply adding to an already-deep fiction catalog.
The agency has a second agent, Irene Kaster, with her own distinct wishlist that skews toward class commentary, rural settings, romance, and art-heist narratives — writers should verify which agent fits their project before querying.
Jackson explicitly wants a 'reliable narrator who isn't a psychopath' — a pointed signal that she is tired of the unreliable-narrator thriller trend and is looking for something fresher in domestic suspense.
Lately
Jackson's current agency page has added politics and current affairs to the nonfiction slate — a notable expansion beyond the health-and-wellness core she is known for — and now explicitly names personal finance as a represented category.
What Heather is looking for
Jackson's single most-emphasized fiction category right now. She wants propulsive, emotionally resonant stories populated by vivid, flawed-but-grounded characters — and she is specifically tired of the unreliable-narrator convention. A protagonist who is intriguing and complicated without being a psychopath or a 'hot mess' is exactly what she is chasing.
She calls these out as 'juicy generational sagas that surprise' — the emphasis on surprise suggests she wants genuine structural or tonal invention, not a formulaic three-generation template. Multiple timelines, layered narrators, and cross-cultural family dynamics all resonate with her stated taste.
Historical crime and thriller fiction sits at the top of her current fiction wishlist. She gravitates toward the 1800s-and-later window. Genre mash-ups within historical settings are particularly welcome.
Stories that illuminate a topical or societal issue through narrative — fiction that unites rather than divides, and that can shift or ignite a cultural conversation. This includes BIPOC-centered stories and classic retellings reimagined through a BIPOC lens.
Jackson actively solicits unexpected genre combinations and high-concept premises — including a 'great triplets thriller' she has called out by name, and broadly any premise that defies easy category. If the pitch doesn't fit a single shelf, that can be a feature, not a bug, when querying her.
This is where her editorial career lived, and it remains the agency's strongest nonfiction vertical. She wants expert-driven, platform-backed books that bring fresh, practical ideas to everyday readers. Pop psychology, mind-body-spirit, personal finance with a wellness angle, and relationship science all fit. The bar is originality — new ideas, not rehashed advice.
She has a deep appetite for deeply reported, brilliantly written narratives that take readers into subcultures or corners of the world they didn't know they wanted to visit. Big-idea 'think' books and groundbreaking popular science sit squarely in this lane. Politics and current affairs are now explicitly listed on her agency page, an addition that signals she is expanding beyond health/wellness nonfiction.
Memoir is a listed specialty, but the framing on her current page subordinates it to narrative nonfiction and prescriptive nonfiction — suggesting she wants memoirists who are also platforms or who have a journalistic or 'big idea' dimension to their story, rather than purely personal narrative.
Associate agent Irene Kaster is specifically seeking romance with a fresh voice and a distinct writing style — layered rom-coms with cultural components and outdoor or rural settings are especially welcome on her list. Query Irene directly for romance projects; Jackson's own focus is primarily outside genre romance.
Kaster has a distinct wish for fiction with razor-sharp observations on class, as well as stories set in the rural Midwest or mountain towns — a niche that is genuinely underrepresented in commercial fiction submissions and where a strong voice could stand out immediately on her list.
Not the right fit
On Heather's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Heather
Send a query letter only — the agency does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. A polished, concise query is the required entry point.
Jackson responds only to projects she wants to pursue further, so the query must immediately convey the concept, market positioning, and why this book belongs on her list.
If your project is fiction, address the narrator's reliability and emotional texture head-on — she has explicitly flagged fatigue with the psychopath/unreliable narrator trope, so demonstrate early that your protagonist is complex without being that.
For nonfiction, lead with your credentials and platform. Her editorial background is deeply expert-driven; she will want to know why *you* are the person to write this book.
Identify which agent — Jackson or Kaster — is the right fit for your project and address your query accordingly. Their wishlists are distinct; a mismatch signals that you haven't done your homework.
If your fiction falls into the high-concept or genre mash-up space, name the mashup clearly in the first paragraph. She has signaled openness to genre hybrids, but only if the concept is immediately legible.
Check the agency's submissions page immediately before querying to confirm the window is still open and to retrieve the exact submission email and any updated guidelines — details can change.