A Midwest-rooted D4EO agent who joined in spring 2025, Jess Gilbert hunts for commercial and literary adult fiction — especially romance, mystery, and SFF — plus select YA, with a clear soft spot for LGBTQ+ stories and underrepresented voices.
In brief
Gilbert is a newer agent (joined D4EO spring 2025), making her a strong target for debut authors willing to grow with a developing list — she explicitly welcomes both debut and established writers.
Her current agency page is deliberately broad — 'most genre fiction' — but her wishlist makes clear that adult romance (including romantasy and category romance), cozy-to-edgy mystery/suspense, and LGBTQ+ fiction are her core priorities.
YA is on the table but conditional — she will 'consider select YA,' so the bar is higher than for adult fiction; pitch YA only if it's exceptional.
Non-fiction is a near-certain pass; her page explicitly flags it as 'probably not the right fit.'
No confirmed sales record is available yet, so her wishlist and personal reading tastes (Anna Zaires, Maya Banks, Lucy Score — all commercial romance) are the best indicators of where her taste actually sits: she skews commercial and romance-forward even within her broader mandate.
Lately
Gilbert joined D4EO in spring 2025 and is actively building her list, welcoming both debut and established authors across commercial and literary fiction, most genre fiction, and select YA.
What Jess is looking for
This is Gilbert's clearest passion area. She wants the full spectrum — category romance, romantic comedy, romantasy, paranormal romance, time-travel romance, and slow-burn LGBTQ+ romance. Her personal reading (Lucy Score, Maya Banks, Anna Zaires) signals an appetite for emotionally intense, commercially accessible romance. Cozy, warm stories and steamy, high-tension ones both appear to be welcome.
She is actively seeking mystery and suspense that straddles the line between cozy and edgy — think amateur sleuth stories with genuine stakes, or cozy mysteries with a darker undercurrent. Pure thriller or hard-boiled crime is less clearly in her wheelhouse; the 'cozy-to-edgy' framing is the key qualifier.
She welcomes adult science fiction and fantasy, with a lean toward accessible, commercial entry points — light sci-fi, alternate history, apocalyptic/dystopian, and romantasy crossovers. Dense, hard SF or grimdark epic fantasy feel less aligned with her stated taste.
Accessible literary fiction and book-club-ready women's fiction are both on her radar. She responds to stories built around friendship, found family, and coming-of-age themes that can hold both commercial and literary appeal simultaneously.
LGBTQ+ stories appear throughout her wishlist across every category — YA, adult romance, contemporary, and SFF. This is a clear through-line rather than a niche interest. Own-voices and underrepresented perspectives are explicitly prioritized.
YA is in play but Gilbert's agency page specifies she will 'consider select YA' — language that signals a higher bar than for adult fiction. Her wishlist touchstones (Twilight, Six of Crows, Coraline) suggest she gravitates toward YA with a strong genre hook: dark fantasy, paranormal, or high-concept adventure. LGBTQ+ YA and diverse/own-voices YA also feature. Do not lead with a YA project unless it is exceptional and genre-driven.
Commercial MG is on her wishlist, with a preference for adventurous, accessible stories. Her listed touchstones skew toward quirky, high-concept MG with broad kid appeal.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Jess
Email your query letter plus the first ten pages of your manuscript directly to jess@d4eo.com — no attachments unless specified; paste pages in the body of the email to be safe.
Lead your query with the category and age category up front (e.g., 'Adult Romantasy,' 'LGBTQ YA Fantasy') — she covers a wide range and agents sort queries faster when the shelf placement is immediate.
If your book features LGBTQ+ characters, own-voices perspective, BIPOC protagonists, or underrepresented community themes, name that in your opening paragraph — these are explicit priorities, not afterthoughts.
For YA, set a high bar before querying: her agency page qualifies it as 'select YA,' meaning a strong genre hook (dark fantasy, paranormal, high-concept) or exceptional LGBTQ+/own-voices angle is necessary to stand out.
Do not query non-fiction under any circumstances — her page is unambiguous that it is outside her scope.
If your adult romance or mystery has a cozy-but-with-edge quality, lean into that in the pitch — that tonal balance is a specific thing she has named, not a generic preference.
She is a newer agent actively building her list, which generally means faster response times and more openness to debut authors than a fully booked senior agent — this is a genuine opportunity, especially for first-time writers with a strong project.
Confirm query status is still open at d4eo.com before submitting, as policies can change.