Laurie McLean is a founding partner at Fuse Literary whose two-decade PR career sharpened a commercial instinct she now applies to genre fiction across the full age spectrum—from middle grade through adult—with a particular passion for speculative fiction, YA, and romance.
In brief
Laurie is currently CLOSED to unsolicited queries as of May 31, 2026; she reopens only in May and November each year for a narrow slice of sub-genres, so timing your submission to those windows is essential.
Her active client roster is heavy with speculative fiction—epic fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk, cyberpunk, and science fiction—making her stated enthusiasm for those categories credible and well-supported by actual representation deals.
She has a documented track record with New York Times and international bestselling authors (Julie Kagawa in YA/middle grade; Brian D. Anderson in epic fantasy), signaling real commercial reach with major publishers.
Several of her clients appear repeatedly across categories—romance, mystery, and kid lit especially—suggesting she builds long-term author relationships rather than one-book stands.
Her background is explicitly anti-nonfiction and anti-literary fiction; she is a committed genre-fiction specialist, and writers in those excluded lanes should not query her under any circumstances.
Lately
Her agency page carries an urgent scam warning: an impersonator is contacting writers using a gmail address (not her official address) and offering fake representation deals, then charging thousands for sham developmental editing. Her real email is laurie@fuseliterary.com. Writers should be alert and never pay money for editing as part of a representation offer.
What Laurie is looking for
Romance is one of the categories Laurie explicitly prioritizes during her open windows, spanning both YA and adult. She favors romance with genre elements—paranormal, fantasy, or suspense threads woven in—over pure contemporary. Her long-standing client Linda Wisdom, a prolific romance novelist with over 100 published titles, signals deep familiarity with the commercial romance space.
Fantasy is arguably her strongest category by volume of representation. She is drawn to epic and world-building-heavy fantasy, urban fantasy, and steampunk. She wants sweeping, immersive worlds with strong forward momentum—think franchise-ready scope. Works by her clients Brian D. Anderson (epic fantasy) and Pip Ballantine (steampunk/fantasy) illustrate the register she gravitates toward.
She is drawn to science fiction with cinematic, high-concept energy—the kind of story that feels like it belongs on a massive screen. Space opera, cyberpunk, and speculative fiction with big ideas all fit her taste. She wants SF that asks genuine questions about humanity while delivering entertainment. Cyberpunk SF author Kimberly Unger is among her current clients.
She represents middle-grade fiction—including award-winning clients in this space—but her client list is near-full, so she is selective. Works with adventure, mystery, or speculative elements tend to match her taste profile. Award-winning MG authors Melissa D. Savage and Penny Warner are among her current clients.
YA is core to her identity as an agent—Julie Kagawa, one of her flagship clients, is a NYT-bestselling YA and MG author. She is interested in YA fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Diversity, multicultural narratives, and Afrofuturist or Latinx voices are explicitly part of what she is looking for.
She represents mystery and thriller across age groups, including historical mystery and romance (Heather Redmond/Hiestand) and kid-lit mystery (Penny Warner). Literary noir and psychological suspense appeal to her. She is not looking for traditional procedurals or cozy-only mysteries; she wants edge and atmosphere.
She explicitly lists psychological and supernatural horror as a represented genre and names Gothic horror as a favorite sub-genre. Stephen King is a touchstone she cites by name, signaling she wants horror with literary craft and genuine dread—not shock value or gratuitous content.
Listed as a represented genre on her current agency page—a niche but real signal. Given her taste for genre mashups (steampunk, urban fantasy, speculative fiction), weird westerns fit her appetite for genre-bending work. She explicitly distinguishes this from traditional westerns, which she does not represent.
Not the right fit
On Laurie's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Laurie
She is only open in May and November—do not submit outside those windows unless she has personally requested your work at a conference or online pitch event.
If she solicited your work at an event (including online pitch events), include the event name in the subject line of your email or your submission will be automatically rejected.
When submitting by email after a solicitation, paste the first 10 pages and a 1–2 page synopsis directly in the body of the email—do not attach them as separate documents.
Her client list is near-full, so her seasonal windows cover only a narrow range of sub-genres. Confirm which categories she is accepting during the specific window you plan to submit in—this changes.
Lead with your genre and sub-genre immediately and precisely. She is a dedicated genre-fiction specialist; vague or literary-leaning pitches will not land with her.
Franchise potential and world-building scope are genuine selling points for speculative fiction pitches. If your story has series potential or a universe-level concept, say so up front.
Diversity, multicultural perspectives, Afrofuturism, and Latinx narratives are explicitly part of what she is building on her list—if your work fits this, name it clearly in your query.
Do not query her for nonfiction, literary fiction, women's fiction, picture books, or graphic novels—these are hard exclusions, not soft ones.
Verify the live submission form status before submitting, even if you believe it is an open month—her form was observed closed as recently as May 31, 2026.
Be alert to scammers impersonating her. Her only legitimate contact address is laurie@fuseliterary.com. Any offer from a gmail or other non-official address is fraudulent.