Leah Moss is an associate agent at Steven Literary with a library background and kidlit heart, hunting lush-prose YA fantasy and retellings, romantasy, and marginalized-voice stories across age categories.
In brief
Leah Moss comes to agenting from a library and publishing-internship background, which skews their taste toward the kind of immersive, reader-championed storytelling that circulates heavily in library collections — expect a bias toward accessible yet literary prose.
The wishlist is strongly YA-centric; adult fiction is welcomed but openly described as selective, with New Adult-adjacent stories (late teens to mid-twenties protagonists) being the real sweet spot.
No confirmed sales record is available to analyze, so the wishlist is the primary taste signal — unusually detailed and specific, making it easier than average to self-select in or out before querying.
Leah Moss is an openly values-driven agent: BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodivergent writers are a stated priority, not a footnote — writers from those communities should lean into that explicitly in their query.
The named touchstone titles skew toward commercially successful YA fantasy (The Cruel Prince, Strange the Dreamer, Caraval) — writers should pitch into that commercial-lyrical lane rather than the experimental or literary-fiction end of the spectrum.
Lately
Leah Moss's public wishlist emphasizes an eagerness to build a list as a new agent, with particular enthusiasm for lush, immersive storytelling and a strong priority on amplifying voices from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodivergent writers across all categories.
What Leah is looking for
This is the clear center of Leah Moss's wishlist. They want retellings of fairy tales, mythology, folklore, fables, and beloved classics — but only retellings that do something genuinely fresh: wildly different settings, perspectives from side characters, or a complete reimagining of the source material's meaning. Faerie stories are an explicit obsession. Lesser-used fantasy creatures (elves, angels, mermaids, selkies, goblins) are actively invited as a counterweight to vampire/witch saturation. Lush, sensory prose is non-negotiable across all fantasy.
Leah Moss welcomes mystery across all YA genres — contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy — as long as the mystery is properly scaffolded and the world it occupies is clearly built. The mystery thread must be developed with care, not treated as a superficial overlay.
Cute, fun romantic comedies in the YA space are actively wanted. Stories featuring morally grey characters, villain POVs, or tough/taboo themes are also welcome — Leah Moss is drawn to narratives that create genuine moral complexity and make readers root for characters they probably shouldn't.
Stories built around identifiable aesthetic worlds — cottagecore, dark academia, fairycore, piratecore, balletcore, princesscore — are explicitly invited. However, Leah Moss rewards manuscripts that go beyond surface aesthetics to offer a nuanced or critical lens on the world being evoked.
Romantasy is a named enthusiasm. Adult fantasy is also welcome, provided it features immersive worldbuilding and inventive magic systems. The sweet spot is protagonists in their late teens to mid-twenties — work that could be shelved as New Adult. Stories set at college campuses, including smaller and community colleges, are a specific interest. Lush prose touchstones apply here as much as in YA.
Swoon-worthy adult romances and rom-coms are welcome, with a particular fondness for nerdy protagonists and 'late bloomer' narratives — characters who hit traditional coming-of-age milestones (first kiss, leaving home) in their twenties rather than their teens.
Leah Moss is interested in picture and board books centering self-love and acceptance. The available wishlist text is incomplete for this category — query with caution and verify current preferences before submitting.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Leah
Lead your query letter with your own identity if you are a marginalized writer — Leah Moss has made BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodivergent voices a stated top priority, and burying this information does you a disservice.
Open with a sentence that demonstrates your prose voice, not just your plot summary. Leah Moss's named touchstones (Strange the Dreamer, Caraval, The Cruel Prince) all have distinctive, immersive voices — let your query letter signal that yours does too.
If your YA retelling is built around a lesser-known source, briefly explain what you're retelling and what you've done to transform it. Leah Moss rewards retellings that do something genuinely different with the material.
For adult submissions, make clear in the first paragraph that your protagonist falls in the late-teens-to-mid-twenties range. Leah Moss is selective with adult fiction, and this framing immediately signals you're in their lane.
If your manuscript has a clear aesthetic identity (dark academia, fairycore, etc.), name it — but pair it with one sentence about what the story says beneath the aesthetic, since Leah Moss has explicitly asked for work that goes deeper than vibes.
For villain POV or morally grey manuscripts, briefly explain how you've constructed reader empathy for a difficult character — Leah Moss referenced Breaking Bad's Walter White arc as a model, which is a very specific structural signal about what they find compelling.
Confirm the submission form is open before querying — no verified open/closed status is currently on record for Leah Moss.