Lily Dolin is an associate agent at Sterling Lord Literistic who hunts for voice-driven literary and upmarket fiction—particularly stories about strange women in strange circumstances—alongside high-concept thrillers, select rom-coms, and tightly focused narrative nonfiction with a feminist edge.
In brief
Dolin is a newer agent building her list aggressively after five years on the publishing side at a major talent agency—she arrived at Sterling Lord in 2025 with real industry infrastructure behind her from day one.
Her stated taste and her personal reading list align unusually well: she doesn't just say she wants dark, offbeat literary fiction—her named favorites (Mona Awad, Halle Butler, Eliza Clark, Ling Ma) form a coherent, identifiable aesthetic: deadpan dread, women behaving badly, capitalism critique with a black-comedy veneer.
Her agency page confirms her client roster already includes New York Times and USA Today bestsellers plus Dylan Thomas Prize finalists—remarkable for a newly launched list and a strong signal she is connected to publishers who can move commercial and literary titles.
Despite listing YA on her agency page, her personal wishlist and taste fingerprints skew heavily adult; YA queries are welcome but adult literary/upmarket fiction is clearly the center of gravity.
Her nonfiction appetite is deliberately narrow—expert-driven, deeply researched, feminist-angled narrative work—so nonfiction writers should ensure their proposal demonstrates strong authorial platform and a clear societal argument, not just a compelling subject.
Lately
Dolin joined Sterling Lord Literistic in 2025 following five years on the publishing side at a major talent agency. She described herself as actively building her fiction and nonfiction list and noted that her nonfiction appetite is deliberately small and extra-selective, prioritizing expert-driven narratives and deeply researched proposals over general submissions.
What Lily is looking for
This is Dolin's core. She gravitates toward novels with unmistakable voices, propulsive plots, and an edge—dark or offbeat humor, women in off-kilter circumstances, messy family dynamics (especially mother-daughter), and a willingness to unsettle the reader. She grew up near Salem, MA, and has an explicit soft spot for narratives that fold in speculative or gothic atmosphere without tipping into genre fantasy. Book-club-friendly stories with commercial hooks are welcome here, not just pure literary fiction. Think: deadpan dread, capitalism critique, female interiority taken to an extreme.
She explicitly calls out thrillers with unique twists and a genuine surprise. Her touchstone here is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides—psychological, plot-engineered, with a literary register. Pure procedural crime or spy fiction is not what she's after; she wants the kind of thriller that earns shelf space next to literary fiction but delivers on suspense and a knockout twist.
Not hard sci-fi or high fantasy—she's after speculative elements woven into otherwise grounded, literary stories. Gothic atmosphere, magical realism, cli-fi, and elevated weird fiction all live here. The Salem upbringing is a real biographical signal: she responds to stories where the uncanny feels earned and unnerving rather than escapist.
She is selective here and the qualifier matters: she wants rom-coms with a genuinely distinctive setup, not a formulaic one. LGBTQ+ rom-coms are specifically noted as a favorite sub-genre. The voice-and-hook bar is the same as her literary fiction—generic meet-cutes won't cut it.
Her agency page includes YA explicitly in her representation scope, with upmarket YA and YA thrillers called out as favorite sub-genres. Her wishlist and personal reading skew adult, so YA writers should ensure their project has a strong hook and voice that would appeal to a reader whose taste runs to Mona Awad and Eliza Clark rather than conventional YA.
Her nonfiction list is intentionally small and she is extra selective as a result. She wants one of two things: narrative nonfiction in which an author immerses herself (and the reader) in a phenomenon, community, or industry—the kind of total-access deep dive that feels novelistic; or memoir that anchors a personal story to a larger societal or historical argument. Food writing is an explicit passion. Untold history and true crime with a feminist angle are the other sweet spots. A strong authorial platform and a fully developed proposal are non-negotiable at this selectivity level.
Not the right fit
On Lily's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Lily
Put 'Query' (exactly) in the subject line — she specifies this and it is likely used to filter submissions.
Lead your query letter with the hook and the strangeness: Dolin is drawn to the off-kilter and the unexpected, so a bland, safe pitch will undersell her taste. Surface the dark humor, the unusual premise, or the speculative edge in the first sentence.
Her personal reading list is unusually specific and coherent — if your book shares DNA with Mona Awad, Halle Butler, Eliza Clark, or Ling Ma, say so explicitly and briefly explain why. Vague comp claims won't land; precise ones will.
For nonfiction, demonstrate your platform, the depth of your research, and your argument's feminist angle up front — her bar here is high and she is explicitly selective. A proposal without a clear societal or cultural argument is unlikely to move her.
She came from the business side of publishing before becoming an agent — frame your query with commercial awareness. Mentioning book-club appeal, a clear readership, or a market positioning is not crass here; it's exactly the register she thinks in.
Avoid pitching anything adjacent to her explicit exclusions — this includes any romance with paranormal elements (vampires, fairies, werewolves) or any thriller centered on spy agencies. Even if the overlap is minor, flag it as peripheral rather than central.
She does not respond to queries she is passing on, so no response means no. Allow adequate time before drawing conclusions.