Lee O'Brien is a Denver-based agent at Looking Glass Literary & Media who hunts for emotionally charged, high-concept commercial fiction across MG, YA, and adult — with a particular hunger for fantasy, horror, thrillers, and queer romcoms.
In brief
O'Brien's touchstone list skews heavily queer, dark, and genre-bending — think necromancers, villain POVs, and sapphic horror — which signals a taste for books that refuse easy category labels.
Horror and thrillers are explicitly flagged as top priorities in O'Brien's most recent public update (February 2025), making this a strong moment to query in those categories.
The wishlist's repeated emphasis on queer and diverse voices — BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodiverse, and fat-positive representation — is not performative filler: nearly every named touchstone title features marginalized protagonists, suggesting O'Brien actively advocates for these books on submission.
Science fiction is technically on the table but functions as a near-closed category in practice; O'Brien's own framing makes clear that only projects blurring the line into fantasy (magic systems, bone magic, necromancy) have a realistic shot.
O'Brien welcomes surprises and explicitly invites queries from writers who sense a good fit even if their project doesn't map neatly onto the stated wish list — a genuine green light for experimental or hybrid projects.
Lately
O'Brien announced a full return to open queries, reaffirming a particular enthusiasm for horror and thrillers while noting availability across MG, YA, and adult in a wide range of genres.
What Lee is looking for
O'Brien wants fantasy across all age groups and across the tonal spectrum — from vast, world-built secondary-world epics to quieter, grounded stories where magic is more texture than spectacle. Contemporary fantasy that makes the real world feel mythic is especially welcome. Within fantasy, two sub-interests stand out: any story centered on a villain's perspective or moral complexity, and fantasies where a compelling romantic arc drives the plot forward. The touchstone list (Gideon the Ninth, The Atlas Six, Cemetery Boys, A Dark and Hollow Star) reveals a consistent preference for dark atmospheres, queer leads, and prose with personality.
Horror is flagged as a top priority in O'Brien's most recent public update. In YA, the focus is on queer and diverse horror — both stories that reclaim or subvert classic horror tropes through a new lens and those that are simply a thrilling, scary read (bonus points for doing both). In MG, the target is atmospheric, creepy books written to be read by flashlight — the kind that unsettle without traumatizing — with diverse casts particularly welcome. Named touchstones suggest a taste for literary dread over gore.
Also flagged as a top priority in the February 2025 update. In YA, O'Brien wants mysteries and thrillers that keep the tension coiled tight — whodunits, locked-room setups with a shrinking cast of suspects, and psychological thrillers all qualify. In adult, the sweet spot is psychological thrillers, domestic suspense, and mystery-driven narratives that make it impossible to put the book down. Social thrillers loaded with twists and class-critique 'eat the rich' stories are a named enthusiasm. The Whispering Dark and Ace of Spades from the touchstone list signal appetite for literary voice layered into the tension.
O'Brien wants romcoms with real chemistry and leads whose love story feels genuinely earned — fun, propulsive, and emotionally resonant. Queer romcoms occupy a special place on this list, and queer romance more broadly is a stated enthusiasm. Classic tropes (slow burns, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, love triangles) are all welcome when executed with spark. The touchstone Let's Talk About Love signals an interest in ace and queer rep within the romance space.
O'Brien technically represents select sci-fi but frames this as a near-closed category. The only realistic path in is a project that feels overwhelmingly like fantasy — heavy on magic systems, character-driven strangeness, and atmosphere — with sci-fi as a thin structural backdrop rather than the genre's soul. Hard sci-fi, military SF, space opera, and anything primarily set in space are described as a very hard sell. Query only if the project is genuinely closer to dark fantasy than to science fiction.
Not the right fit
On Lee's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Lee
Send your query to leesubmissions@lookingglasslit.com — O'Brien has a dedicated submission address separate from the agency's general inbox.
Horror and thrillers are O'Brien's loudest current priority (reaffirmed February 2025) — if your book lives in either space, say so clearly and early in your query letter.
The touchstone list is saturated with queer leads and diverse casts; if your manuscript features underrepresented identities, mention this in the query — it is genuinely meaningful to O'Brien, not a checkbox.
For fantasy queries, signal the emotional and tonal register up front: is it dark and atmospheric, romantically driven, villain-centric? These distinctions matter more to O'Brien than the world-building mechanics.
If your book blurs genre lines or is hard to categorize, lean into that — O'Brien explicitly states an openness to being surprised and often connects with books they didn't know to ask for. Frame the hybrid nature as a strength.
Do not query with sci-fi unless your project would plausibly be shelved as dark fantasy by a bookseller; O'Brien's framing makes clear that the genre label alone is nearly disqualifying.
Always check the live submission form for the current status and any updated formatting guidelines before sending — query windows can open and close without notice.