Katie Grimm is a Curtis Brown literary agent with a gravitational pull toward the dark, strange, and emotionally resonant — hunting for adult literary and upmarket fiction, narrative nonfiction, and children's fiction that makes readers feel something they can't shake.
In brief
Grimm's wishlist skews toward books that sit at the intersection of literary quality and genre energy — think upmarket fiction with speculative edges, or children's fantasy with genuine emotional heft, rather than pure commercial genre fare.
Their named comp titles reveal a consistent pattern: character-driven, voice-forward books with a wry or dark undertone (Nightbitch, Eileen, Fleishman Is in Trouble) — if your adult literary novel doesn't have a strong, distinctive narrator, it's probably not a match.
The breadth of their listed comps — from middle grade classics like Pax and The War That Saved My Life to dense literary adult fiction like Hamnet and Severance — signals that Grimm genuinely works across age categories, not just adult; children's fiction is a real priority, not a side interest.
Recurring thematic obsessions across the wishlist: queerness, motherhood's contradictions, insular communities, ecological grief, and the uncanny — books that thread at least one of these through a strong plot will land closer to the top of the pile.
Nonfiction is a genuine category for Grimm, not an afterthought — they want work that marries personal narrative with systemic investigation, pointing to a taste for journalism-adjacent literary nonfiction rather than pure memoir or straight reportage.
Lately
Grimm's current wishlist foregrounds children's fantasy as a priority — specifically middle grade that creates wonder and builds empathy, and YA that deploys genre tropes in emotionally meaningful ways. This is a more specific and emphatic articulation of the children's category than older profiles suggested.
What Katie is looking for
Grimm's core territory. They want fiction with a singular voice and strong emotional stakes — contemporary, historical, speculative, and mysterious all qualify, but the writing itself has to crackle. Unusual structures and unconventional forms are genuinely welcomed when they serve the story. Dark humor, tragicomedy, and morally complex characters are recurring attractions. Books that spark conversations rather than simply entertain are the goal.
Grimm is drawn to speculative fiction that keeps one foot in literary tradition — upmarket in voice and ambition even when the premise is fantastical. Magical realism, literary horror, and feminist horror all fit here. The spec element should deepen the human story rather than replace it.
Grimm wants nonfiction that blends the personal and the investigative — books where individual stories become a lens for examining larger systemic or cultural questions. Voice matters enormously; lyrical and humorous registers are both welcome. History, cultural criticism, science, journalism, and pop culture are all fair territory. Deeply researched work with a distinctive perspective is the sweet spot.
Grimm is actively hunting for middle grade that feels like a future classic — the kind of book a child returns to for life. All types of fantasy are of particular interest, especially work that builds wonder and guides readers through complicated emotional terrain. The benchmark is high: books that sit alongside the canon of beloved MG rather than merely competent market-ready fare.
Literary and speculative YA that plays with genre tropes in emotionally resonant, inventive ways. Grimm wants YA that is doing something fresh with form or convention, not simply checking boxes. Voice, queerness, and a willingness to go to dark or strange places are all signals of a good fit.
Not the right fit
On Katie's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Katie
Include a query letter and your first chapter or first 30 pages — Grimm specifies that if you have a prologue, you may include both the prologue and the first chapter; for alternating-POV books, include a chapter from each perspective.
Lead your query with the emotional core and voice of the book, not just plot mechanics — Grimm consistently signals that voice and feeling come first.
If your book touches any of their named thematic obsessions (queerness, ecological grief, motherhood, insular communities, fairy tales, the sea, cults, twins, witches, the Reformation), flag it organically in your query — these are genuine interest areas, not filler.
Comp directly to their wishlist titles where honest: a comp to Nightbitch, Eileen, or Severance signals you understand exactly what register Grimm is hunting for in adult fiction; a comp to Pax or The Last Cuentista signals the right MG tone.
For nonfiction, make explicit how the personal narrative thread connects to the larger systemic or cultural question the book investigates — that blended structure is the sweet spot Grimm describes.
Avoid framing a literary spec or dark-humor novel as genre first — lead with voice and literary quality, then the genre element.
Confirm the form is still open immediately before submitting; status can change and the observed open date may not reflect the current moment.