Kaitlyn Katsoupis is a horror-forward literary agent at Belcastro Agency who champions marginalized, Indigenous, and POC voices across adult and YA fiction, with a particular hunger for genre-blending horror, creature features, and culturally specific mythology.
In brief
Horror is her top priority — she has publicly said she wants more of it, and her wishlist skews heavily toward genre-blending, creature-driven, and culturally specific frightening fare rather than mainstream paranormal conventions.
She operates with strict identity-based parameters: her submissions are explicitly limited to marginalized, Indigenous, and POC authors — this is not a preference but a stated gatekeeping condition every querying writer must meet.
Her query windows are intensely compressed and high-volume: she received 568 queries during a single open week in May 2025, signaling that she opens rarely and closes fast — writers should monitor for windows and be ready to submit immediately.
Her literary taste skews toward the emotionally layered and thematically ambitious — personal favorites range from Cornelia Funke to Lois Lowry to Gayle Forman, suggesting she values rich interiority and meaningful stakes alongside genre entertainment.
Her submission form was confirmed closed as of November 2025; she has no publicly listed sales record to draw deal-based inferences from, so her stated wishlist is the primary targeting signal available.
Lately
After a one-week open query window, she noted she had received 568 submissions — a figure she shared with evident humor, underscoring both how quickly her inbox fills and how rarely she opens.
What Kaitlyn is looking for
This is her stated top priority. She actively wants more horror across both adult and YA, and strongly encourages genre hybrids — particularly humor-horror and sci-fi horror. Creature features are especially welcome, with a marked preference for animals or mythological beings drawn from cultures that rarely appear in Western horror publishing. She has explicitly called out a desire for Indigenous authors exploring lore from their own traditions. Tonal touchstones she has named include the work of Mike Flanagan, A24 films, Get Out, The Ritual, Talk to Me, Annabelle, Oculus, and Hide & Seek — expect her to want atmospheric dread, cultural specificity, and psychological weight rather than slasher conventions.
She describes herself as relatively open to fantasy, but the key constraint is originality — she is not interested in concepts that feel derivative of what has been saturating the market. Fae and faeries, werewolves, and elves are explicitly off the table. Genre-blending and culturally distinct world-building will differentiate a project; culturally specific fantasy adjacent to her horror interests would likely land well.
She is drawn to slice-of-life narratives and compressed-timeline stories (think single-day or single-week structures, in the vein of Gayle Forman's Just One Day / Just One Year). LGBTQ+ stories are welcome. She is not in the market for warm or cozy contemporary at this time — she wants impact and emotional weight. Hard passes: stories centered on sexual assault, drug abuse, or child/animal abuse as primary subject matter.
She appreciates gritty execution in this space and has called out dual-timeline structures and cold cases as particular draws. Speculative elements layered into thrillers are welcome. She is also open to comedic threads within the genre — not every thriller needs to be relentlessly dark. She has cited cult narratives and religion-adjacent paranormal premises (pointing to Midnight Mass as a reference) as resonant. Hard pass: cop procedurals or narratives built around heavy law enforcement perspectives.
She welcomes graphic novels broadly, with a particular affinity for queer stories, horror GNs, and slice-of-life material. She describes herself as relatively open within the format — the identity and voice filters (marginalized/POC/Indigenous authors) still apply.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Kaitlyn
She requires a query letter, a synopsis, AND the first five pages — all three must be submitted together; missing any element will likely disqualify your submission.
Her submission windows are rare and short: one recent window lasted just one week and generated nearly 600 queries. Follow her social accounts (she posts as @RedPenKaitlyn) and be ready to submit the moment she announces an opening.
The identity requirement is non-negotiable in her stated guidelines — she is seeking submissions from marginalized, Indigenous, and POC authors. If that is you, say so clearly and early in your query letter.
Lead with genre and tone in your query. Her horror wishlist has specific tonal markers (atmospheric, culturally grounded, psychologically driven) — name your creature or mythology's cultural origin upfront if applicable.
If you are writing horror, name your cultural or community influence directly. She has said she would 'love' an Indigenous author exploring their own tradition's lore — don't bury that specificity.
For contemporary pitches, make the emotional weight of the story immediately legible. She is not looking for cozy; the query should signal something is genuinely at stake.
Avoid pitching anything involving fae, werewolves, or elves even if the broader package is strong — these are flat exclusions, not negotiable thresholds.
For thrillers, if your manuscript has a dual timeline or a cold case structure, surface that in your first paragraph — these are explicit wish-list items that will help your query stand out.