Linda Camacho is a Senior Literary Agent at Gallt & Zacker whose deal record reveals one of the industry's most prolific champions of Latine/diverse voices across YA, middle grade, and graphic novels — with a growing push into adult fiction, literary horror, and romance.
In brief
Her sales record skews heavily YA and MG, with graphic novels a clear secondary strength — she has placed works across middle grade and YA graphic novels with major imprints in multiple six-figure and auction deals, signaling genuine commercial muscle in that space.
Yamile Saied Méndez is her most represented client by volume (picture books, MG series, YA, adult romance, anthologies), making Méndez the clearest lens into what Linda finds most compelling: culturally specific, emotionally resonant stories centered on Latine characters and themes.
Her adult fiction output has grown noticeably in recent deals — adult mystery (Ann Dávila Cardinal's two-book deal at Sourcebooks), adult graphic novel, and adult women's fiction/romance — signaling that her stated interest in upmarket/book club adult fiction and literary horror is backed by actual sales momentum.
She has deep, repeat relationships with Scholastic (multiple imprints), HarperCollins (multiple imprints), Algonquin/Algonquin Young Readers, and Lee & Low/Tu Books, suggesting those are her strongest editorial networks.
Ann Dávila Cardinal is another notable repeat client across YA horror and adult mystery, confirming that horror — especially horror rooted in Caribbean and Latine mythology — is a genuine specialty, not just a talking point.
Lately
Her current agency page positions her as a Senior Literary Agent whose scope runs from picture books through adult fiction, with particular emphasis on romance, women's fiction, horror, fantasy, and realistic fiction — and a consistent through-line of diverse representation across ethnicity, disability, and sexuality.
What Linda is looking for
YA is the core of Linda's list — commercial, literary, and everything in between. Her recent deals span contemporary romance, historical fiction with fantasy elements, paranormal, and horror. She is especially drawn to culturally specific stories and diverse protagonists (ethnicity, disability, sexuality), and her track record shows particular strength in YA anchored in Latine, Indigenous (Cherokee), and Asian American experiences.
MG is equally central to her practice. She represents series (Horse Country), standalones, and anthologies across contemporary, fantasy, and issue-driven literary MG. Diverse protagonists and culturally specific settings are consistent through-lines. Her MG graphic novel sales are especially strong.
Graphic novels are a genuine specialty. Linda has closed multiple six-figure, multi-house auction deals for MG and YA graphic novels, placing work at First Second, HarperAlley, Random House Graphic, Knopf, and more. She represents writer-illustrators only — she does not take graphic novel writers who are not also the artist. Her graphic novel taste tracks with the rest of her list: diverse casts, big emotions, and genre range from fantasy to contemporary to horror. She has also sold at least one adult graphic novel.
Linda is actively growing her adult list. Her sales include adult romance (Adriana Herrera's multi-book deals with Carina Press and Harlequin), adult women's fiction/romance (Yamile Saied Méndez's TWICE A QUINCEANERA), adult speculative/literary fiction (Ann Dávila Cardinal's THE STORYTELLER'S DEATH), and adult mystery (OLD PUNKS NEVER DIE). She specifically names romance/women's fiction, upmarket/book club fiction, and literary horror as priority adult categories. Diverse protagonists and culturally specific settings feature across all of these deals.
Linda accepts picture books only from writer-illustrators who are creating both the text and art. She does not take picture book authors who are not also the illustrator. Her track record does include representing picture book authors whose books were illustrated by others, but her current wishlist explicitly restricts new picture book submissions to writer-illustrators. Her sales in the category skew toward culturally rich, character-driven stories.
Not the right fit
On Linda's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Linda
Confirm the submission form is open before querying — it was closed as of mid-2024 and Linda does not accept unsolicited queries outside the form.
Picture book and graphic novel submissions are strictly limited to writer-illustrators: do not query if you are only the writer and not also the artist.
Her list is defined by cultural specificity — Latine, Indigenous, and Asian American experiences appear throughout her top deals. A query that leads with a richly realized cultural setting and diverse protagonist will land in familiar territory for her.
Horror anchored in mythology or folklore (especially Caribbean, Latine, or Indigenous traditions) is a documented specialty. If your project fits, say so explicitly and early.
For adult fiction, name the sub-genre clearly (romance, women's fiction, upmarket, literary horror) — she is selective in adult and needs to know immediately where the book lives on shelf.
Her personal reading favorites reveal a taste for intense emotional stakes, dark undercurrents even in lighter books, and precise, literary prose — ghost her personal reading list as a proxy for the emotional register she responds to.
Auction wins and six-figure deals for graphic novels suggest she negotiates aggressively. If you are a writer-illustrator with sequential art samples, include or reference them prominently.
She has a career-long relationship with Scholastic across multiple imprints — if your book feels like a Scholastic title, that is a strength, not a liability.
Repeat clients dominate her list. She builds long-term author relationships. Frame your query as the start of a career, not a single book.