Lauren Bajek is a New York-based agent at Liza Dawson Associates who specializes in adult speculative and genre fiction designed to cross over to mainstream readers, with a particular appetite for smart, weird, theme-driven work that blurs genre lines.
In brief
Bajek's stated focus is adult SFFH, mystery, romance, and mainstream fiction with speculative or surreal edges — they do not work with YA or children's fiction under any circumstances.
Their wishlist is unusually specific about what they dislike: life-or-death stakes, assassins, vampires, mermaids, dream/memory/AI/time-travel mechanics, and epic secondary-world fantasy are all low-probability fits; writers should honestly assess their manuscript against this list before querying.
The nonfiction side of their list is deliberately tiny — science and nature writing touching on ecosystems or non-human intelligence is welcomed, but Bajek explicitly signals they take on very few projects here.
A recurring thread across their taste signals is fascination with non-human perspectives, queer and trans experience (especially outside tidy categories), and collective or community-driven plots — writers hitting two or more of these notes at once are pitching to a receptive reader.
Bajek's recent enthusiasm for speculative mysteries set in non-Western settings (Singapore, in one flagged example) and their love of classic fair-play mystery construction (Christie, Sayers, Marsh) suggest a strong opening for culturally specific cozy-adjacent speculative mysteries.
Lately
I'm starting to see a lot of queries in my inbox that I suspect were edited with an AI "assistant" or "beta reader." It's incredibly depressing, because these are real books that now feel fake. But this is actually downstream of a larger craft problem I've been noticing for years.
Bajek publicly expressed enthusiasm for the second book in Meihan Booey's speculative mystery series set in Singapore, describing the series as belonging to the 'cozy paranormal / myths minding their own business' space alongside the Emily Wilde books — and saying they'd happily read a hundred more of them.
What Lauren is looking for
Bajek's core focus: adult fiction with strong SF, fantasy, horror, mystery, or romance genre machinery that remains accessible to readers who don't usually seek those genres out. The ideal book is fun, intellectually grounded, and built around a genuine theme or big idea — not just a genre delivery vehicle. Genre-mashing and reality-bending are enthusiastically welcomed. Puzzles, exploration, discovery, community dynamics, and gossip-driven plots tend to land better than violence or combat.
Bajek specifically calls out nonhuman intelligences that feel genuinely alien or other — not just humans in monster suits. Equally prioritized: queer and trans fiction that resists tidy categorization, butch characters done with care, and stories about collective action, community organizing, or indirect resistance. These aren't themes they'd tolerate — they're the things that make them take a closer look.
Bajek cites Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh as touchstones and is actively looking for genre fiction that captures that classical fair-play mystery pleasure. A recent public note enthused about a speculative mystery series set in Singapore as exemplifying the 'cozy paranormal / myths minding their own business' space they love. Culturally specific, research-rich settings are a particular draw.
Bajek is drawn to historical settings they haven't seen before, or settings that feel newly resonant with the present moment. The emphasis is on depth of research and specificity — niche expertise, clearly rendered subcultures, and a grounding in fact. This applies across genres; a historical speculative novel or historical mystery with these qualities would be especially competitive.
Bajek explicitly flags a desire for a truly new take on werewolves — but only if it's theme-driven and genuinely fresh. This is a narrow gate: a conventional werewolf story is unlikely to succeed, but an inventive, idea-led one could stand out precisely because Bajek is actively looking for it.
Bajek calls out a 'surreal, speculative take on reality TV' as something that always earns a closer look. The key qualifier is genuinely speculative or surreal — a straight satire without fantastical elements probably won't hit the mark.
Bajek is interested in fresh takes on fertility, pregnancy, and parenthood, but with hard exclusions: no forced-birth narratives, no infertility-angst plots, no kidnapping, no child harm. The qualifier 'new angle' is doing real work here — a familiar treatment of these themes is not what they're seeking.
Bajek maintains a very small nonfiction list and is selective about what they take on. The sweet spot is science or nature writing that engages with ecosystems or non-human intelligence, or projects where 'hard' and 'soft' sciences interrelate in interesting ways. Strong proposals that don't fit this description are welcome but long shots by Bajek's own admission.
Not the right fit
On Lauren's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Lauren
Send a query letter plus the first three chapters or 25 pages — whichever is shorter — pasted directly into the body of the email (no attachments for the sample pages).
The submission address dedicated to Bajek's queries is separate from the general agency inbox; use the address specified on their wishlist profile to make sure it reaches them directly.
Liza Dawson Associates operates a 'one at a time' policy: if you have an outstanding query with any other agent at the agency, wait for a response before querying Bajek. Similarly, query only one project per submission.
Bajek targets a six-week response time and responds to all queries that fall within their represented genres — a nudge after six weeks is explicitly welcomed.
If your manuscript touches on any of the hard-excluded content (graphic child harm, evil baby plots, borderline material), Bajek asks that you flag it at the top of the query rather than hoping it won't be noticed.
Lead your query with the genre and the big idea or central theme — Bajek explicitly values books built around strong themes or commentary, so naming yours up front signals you're writing the kind of book they want.
If your book is research-rich or rooted in a specific subculture or niche expertise, say so early; Bajek has a stated love for books grounded in fact, and this is a genuine differentiator in their inbox.
Given their public enthusiasm for non-Western speculative mysteries and culturally specific settings, writers with manuscripts set outside the Anglo-American default should highlight that context — it's a genuine draw, not a liability.
Check the agency website immediately before submitting to confirm Bajek is currently open to unsolicited queries; their profile instructs writers to do this, and windows can shift.