A former acquisitions and developmental editor with deep craft credentials, Jeanne De Vita hunts for un-putdownable commercial genre fiction — especially romance, romantasy, thriller, and horror — and actively champions debut, indie, and underrepresented voices.
In brief
Jeanne's editorial background (10+ years in acquisitions and developmental editing, plus college-level craft instruction and an MFA from Notre Dame) makes them unusually well-equipped to work with writers at all stages — a genuine differentiator among agents who came up purely through agency ranks.
Romance and romantasy are the clearest priorities: the agency page devotes more real estate to those two categories than all others combined, and Jeanne explicitly carves out a separate definition of romantasy to set expectations precisely — a rare signal of deep genre investment.
Jeanne is firmly anti-AI: any use of AI in writing, query letters, social media images, or covers is an automatic decline. This is a non-negotiable gate that writers must clear before querying.
YA is fully closed to Jeanne — the agency page and the wishlist both confirm this without exception. Writers with YA manuscripts should route to a different agent at Martin Literary Management.
The submission form is the only accepted query route; email queries are not accepted. Word count must fall between 60,000 and 120,000 words; previously published work is generally off the table unless the author has a substantial backlist.
Lately
Happy #MSWL day!! My wishlist is attached, but here is what I’m looking for: adult romantasy, horror, and thrillers with gorgeous voice, well-paced action, and characters that are flawed and real. Please use QueryTracker only to submit! manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/je...
Happy #MSWL day!! My wishlist is pinned, and here are a few books I LOVED: Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, Nine-Tailed by Jayci Lee, Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig.
In a February 2026 public post marking a community milestone, Jeanne highlighted three active priorities — adult romantasy, horror, and thrillers — and emphasized wanting gorgeous voice, well-paced action, and characters that feel genuinely flawed and human. Jeanne also reiterated that the query form is the only accepted submission route.
What Jeanne is looking for
Jeanne describes romance as a personal happy place and welcomes every subgenre without restriction: contemporary small-town, holiday, space opera, monster, dark romance, dystopian, horror-romance, and more. All heat levels are welcome — from sweet/low-spice to explicit open-door. LGBTQIA+ romance is always wanted across every subgenre and heat level. Diverse cultural settings and traditions are explicitly encouraged.
Jeanne provides a standalone definition to set precise expectations: no-technology worlds with magic, monsters, or mythology are a top want, as is paranormal romance and urban fantasy with contemporary settings and modern technology. Fairy tale retellings, pirates, mermaids, orcs, and alien romance all fall within scope. The February 2026 public note called this out as an active priority alongside horror and thrillers.
Jeanne names thrillers a rival to romance as a personal comfort read. Strong ensemble casts, premise-driven pacing, and genuine suspense are the keys. Wanted subgenres include paranormal thriller, cozy mystery, psychological suspense, and domestic thriller. One firm requirement: research in law enforcement, legal, and medical contexts must be airtight before submitting.
Jeanne actively seeks horror with strong voice and real-feeling characters, per both the agency page and recent public signals. Gothic, paranormal, slasher, crime horror, ghost stories, zombies, and haunted-location narratives are all welcome. The one exclusion: demonic/possession stories are not a fit.
Interest is broad — space opera, LitRPG, soft sci-fi, steampunk, and similar subgenres are all on the table — but execution is the deciding factor. Jeanne wants readable voice, propulsive pacing, deep stakes, and characters readers can connect with. This category feels welcomed but not as urgently prioritized as romance and thriller.
Jeanne takes women's fiction only when it delivers real depth: a voice that commands attention, an immersive setting that lives on the page, and themes or experiences that illuminate something true. Compelling characters and a sense of place are essential. This is an 'impress me' category rather than an active search.
Jeanne is very selective with nonfiction overall. For memoir, the benchmark is character-driven narrative that reads like a novel — not a comprehensive life story. Comparable touchstones Jeanne has named are Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and Know My Name by Chanel Miller. Expert-authored nonfiction with strong market positioning is also considered, but the bar is high.
Not the right fit
On Jeanne's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Jeanne
Open with your title, genre, word count, and a single-sentence hook before any other information — Jeanne's guidelines make these the first required elements.
Include the first five pages of your manuscript in the submission form; this is mandatory, not optional.
Provide your legal name, email, and phone number; a pen name is welcome in addition to (not instead of) your legal name.
Briefly note any relevant publishing history or biographical context — especially if it establishes you as a genre superfan or an #OwnVoices author, both of which Jeanne explicitly values.
Include social media handles if you have them, but ensure no AI-generated images appear anywhere on those accounts before submitting — Jeanne will check.
Confirm your manuscript is a full-length novel between 60,000 and 120,000 words before querying; submissions outside that range are declined automatically with very rare exceptions.
Do NOT submit work that has been published elsewhere (self-published included) unless you have a substantial commercial backlist — this is a hard filter.
If your thriller or mystery involves legal, medical, or law enforcement elements, address your research rigor in the query; Jeanne explicitly flags weak research as a dealbreaker in those subgenres.
Demonstrate genuine genre enthusiasm — Jeanne's wishlist asks whether writer and agent could swap excited recommendations. A brief, specific mention of a genre book you love that relates to your manuscript can support this naturally without feeling forced.
Verify the live form status before submitting — query status was unverified as of April 2026.