Hillary Jacobson is a CAA literary agent whose decade-long track record in upmarket and commercial fiction — with a particular gift for "complicated women" stories — makes her one of the field's most versatile mid-career dealmakers for adult and YA fiction alike.
In brief
Jacobson's deal record skews toward women-centered literary-commercial fiction at major imprints — William Morrow, Soho Press, Mariner, Delacorte — signaling strong editorial relationships across both Big Five and independent houses.
Her best-known projects (MY DARK VANESSA, MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW, THE CLUB) reveal a consistent appetite for psychologically intense, morally complex narratives — a pattern her stated 'complicated women' brand fully supports.
Sasha Peyton Smith appears twice in her confirmed sales (THE WITCH HAVEN and THE ROSE BARGAIN), marking a meaningful repeat-client relationship in YA historical fantasy.
Despite representing primarily adult fiction, her YA sales are notable and concentrated in high-concept, elevated genre work — she is not a peripheral YA agent.
Her stated wishlist is unusually long and specific, dense with comp titles; treat it as a genuine roadmap — she has named more reference points than most agents, which rewards writers who match their pitch to her stated aesthetics.
Lately
Jacobson publicly describes her personal brand as 'complicated women' — a characterization she says she has been told by others and wholeheartedly endorses as accurate to her taste.
What Hillary is looking for
The core of Jacobson's list. She wants emotionally provocative, culturally resonant fiction — especially stories centered on women navigating complicated inner lives. Priority goes to work that shifts the reader's perspective or sparks a genuine emotional response. Diverse voices and settings outside the US are explicitly welcomed.
Jacobson gravitates toward the dark and unsettling — she specifically describes enjoying being made to feel off-balance. Her ideal suspense novel marries a compelling mystery with characters the reader genuinely comes to know. She is open to work that tips into horror. Literary suspense — both serious/topical and playful/satirical — is equally welcome.
Sweeping multigenerational narratives with a strong, distinctive hook. She wants emotional scope paired with a premise compelling enough to stand on its own. Diverse perspectives are a particular priority here.
Jacobson favors speculative work rooted in a world recognizably like ours, with a single twist or light fantastic element rather than full world-building. She is open to this category extending into horror territory.
She is looking for romantic fiction with genuine wit and emotional depth — elevated enough to sit beside her literary titles but with a satisfying romantic core. Epic love stories are a stated priority across the list.
Smart, emotionally moving stories leavened with a sense of play or wonder. Stories centered on food, creativity, or community are a particular soft spot. She references J. Ryan Stradal's body of work as a touchstone for tone.
An explicit wish-list item: fiction (or narrative nonfiction) whose world revolves around literature, painting, film, or music. This can overlap with any of her other categories.
Fiction that immerses the reader in a glittering, aspirational world — either as pure escapism or as a vehicle for sharp social critique. These two modes are both welcome; she does not require one at the expense of the other.
Jacobson's YA appetite is real and proven — her confirmed sales include multiple YA titles. She gravitates toward high-concept contemporary, grounded speculative or fantasy with historical elements, and elevated social settings. Own-voices work is a stated priority. Stories set outside the US are especially welcomed.
She takes select memoir and narrative nonfiction, with a strong preference for work that reads with the momentum and structure of tightly plotted fiction. Suspense-inflected memoir is a particular sweet spot.
Listed as a category she is building toward, but her confirmed deal record is concentrated in adult and YA fiction. Query with strong material, but understand this is the thinnest part of her current list.
Not the right fit
On Hillary's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Hillary
Send your pitch and the first ten pages pasted directly into the body of the email — no attachments for the initial query.
Her stated response time is approximately one month, and she says she responds to every query; a non-response after six weeks is a reasonable nudge point.
Her email is hillary.jacobson@caa.com; a previous agency address still forwards, but use the CAA address directly.
Lead your pitch with what makes your protagonist 'complicated' — her self-described brand is a genuine filter, not marketing language. Nail this and you've already passed a key test.
Comp strategically: she has published one of the longest, most specific comp lists of any active agent. If your book genuinely resembles a title she named, say so explicitly and explain why — she has demonstrated she pays attention to precise tonal and thematic alignment.
If your story features diverse perspectives, is set outside the US, or qualifies as own-voices, flag it clearly — she has called these out as active priorities, not afterthoughts.
For speculative or horror-adjacent work, anchor your pitch in the emotional and character stakes rather than the genre mechanics; her taste runs toward the literary end of genre, not the plot-machinery end.
Verify that she is currently open to new queries before submitting — her status was unconfirmed as of the most recent observation.