Lauren Scovel is a Boston-based agent at Laura Gross Literary Agency who champions underrepresented voices in literary and upmarket fiction, stranger-than-fiction narrative nonfiction, and contemporary middle grade and YA — with a particular appetite for the off-beat, the speculative, and the millennial-inflected.
In brief
Scovel's submission form was confirmed closed as of May 7, 2026 — verify the live form before preparing any query materials.
Her taste is shaped by a bookseller's instinct: she favors voice-driven, slightly uncanny literary fiction and nonfiction that reads stranger than it should be true, not genre-forward commercial work.
The wishlist titles she cites — Severance, Our Wives Under the Sea, Idlewild — signal a consistent pull toward literary fiction with an eerie or speculative undertow, suggesting her 'a little speculative' qualifier is doing real work; pure realism may be a harder sell than it looks.
For children's books, her enthusiasm is explicitly channeled toward LGBTQIA+ and/or STEM content in MG and YA — pitches without one of those angles should be especially strong on all other counts.
Her background in independent bookselling is evident in her stated love of books that feel timely and distinctive; pitches that can articulate a clear, specific readership are likely to resonate.
Lately
Scovel announced that her query wishlist was featured in the 2025 annual agent roundup issue of a major writing craft publication — she shared the news alongside a photo of her dog, Phoebe, apparently unbothered by the concept of employment.
What Lauren is looking for
Scovel is drawn to adult fiction that sits at the intersection of literary and upmarket — work aimed at a millennial readership that carries some off-beat or quietly speculative quality. Think less genre fantasy, more novels where the strangeness is embedded in the domestic or the emotional. She wants a propulsive plot and a distinctive voice; pure quiet realism without that edge is a harder pitch. Her touchstone titles cluster around literary fiction with dread or uncanniness woven through character-driven stories.
Scovel wants narrative nonfiction where the story itself is almost too strange to believe, told by an author who brings genuine expertise and intellectual curiosity alongside genuinely beautiful prose. This is not the place for a straight memoir or a polemic — the work should blend reported depth with literary craft. She gravitates toward writers whose voice is inseparable from their subject matter.
Scovel seeks contemporary children's and YA projects with a timely premise, a cast that reflects real-world diversity, and a plot that moves. She is especially interested — her own emphasis — in projects centered on LGBTQIA+ themes and/or STEM subject matter. Pitches that lack either of those angles need to be exceptional on every other dimension to stand out on her list.
Scovel explicitly lists 'upmarket speculative' and 'speculative literary' as fiction categories she represents. This is distinct from genre science fiction or fantasy — she is after work in which speculative elements serve literary ends: estrangement, allegory, surrealism. Think of the register of her touchstone authors (Helen Phillips, Carmen Maria Machado) rather than plot-driven genre fare.
Beyond narrative nonfiction, Scovel represents nonfiction with a cultural-criticism or journalistic lens — feminism and women's issues, LGBTQ topics, pop culture analysis, and current events. The same standards apply: strong writing and a perspective that feels essential rather than redundant.
Not the right fit
On Lauren's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Lauren
Her form was closed as of May 7, 2026 — check the live submissions page on the Laura Gross Literary Agency website before doing anything else.
When she is open, address her by name in your query and demonstrate you have read her specific wishlist; her bookseller background suggests she responds well to writers who know their own readership.
For adult fiction, make the speculative or off-beat quality of your book explicit early — do not bury the strangeness. She is not looking for straight realism, and a query that undersells its own uncanniness is leaving her most interested trigger unfired.
For narrative nonfiction, lead with the 'stranger than fiction' hook: the improbable true fact, the counterintuitive discovery, the narrative tension. Then demonstrate your reporting credentials.
For MG or YA, state the LGBTQIA+ or STEM angle in your opening paragraph if it applies — she named those as special interests. If your project has neither, make the timeliness and diversity of the cast unmistakably clear.
Her favorite films and TV shows (Hereditary, Yellowjackets, Fleabag, Eternal Sunshine, Sinners) reinforce the pattern: she is drawn to work with emotional intensity, dark undercurrents, and sharp wit. A query that captures tone matters as much as plot summary.
Do not query mysteries, thrillers, genre sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, women's fiction, standalone memoir, or picture books — she has explicitly excluded all of these.