A dual-role agent and translation rights manager at Greyhound Literary who blends deep scouting instincts with a pronounced taste for horror, fantasy, and emotionally intelligent fiction across the commercial-to-literary spectrum.
In brief
Maria Brannan operates in two capacities: she manages translation rights for Greyhound's wider client list alongside building her own author roster — a setup that gives her unusually broad market intelligence across territories.
Her stated priorities lean heavily into horror (especially feminist, folkloric, and genre-crossing variants) and fantasy (epic, cosy, and romantasy), but her named touchstones reveal equal enthusiasm for upmarket contemporary fiction, heartfelt literary novels, and high-concept crime — suggesting her list will be genuinely eclectic.
Her five-plus years scouting for international publishers across twelve-plus countries, including for Netflix's film/TV arm, means she thinks about adaptability and foreign rights value instinctively — a real practical asset for commercially ambitious authors.
She is explicit about wanting horror that engages with contemporary social crises — housing, female rage, religious tradition beyond Catholicism — signalling that concept-level originality matters as much as craft.
Her fantasy taste is notably character-first: she cites specific love-interest dynamics (a less powerful male lead, non-heteronormative pairings) as selling points, which is a rare and meaningful gate that writers should address directly in their pitch.
Lately
In her agency wishlist, Maria flagged a very specific gap she is eager to fill: a horror novel drawing on the housing crisis or the landlord-tenant power dynamic as its central terror. This level of specificity is rare and signals she has thought hard about where horror can speak to contemporary anxieties.
What Maria is looking for
This is Maria's most articulated priority. She wants horror with a genuine perspective: narratives rooted in female rage or women's lived experiences, folk or religious horror that ventures beyond the default Catholic framework, and historically or medievally set gothic fiction that approaches the genre from an unfamiliar cultural angle. Fairy-tale retellings (think Bluebeard or The Red Shoes) with horror DNA are expressly welcome, as are slasher premises built around a high-concept twist. She is especially vocal about wanting a housing-crisis or landlord-inspired horror novel — a very specific gap she is actively trying to fill. Horror that bleeds into other genres (thriller, romance, fantasy, sci-fi) is enthusiastically invited. Touchstone authors she names include Mona Awad, Ainslie Hogarth, Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Cassandra Khaw, and Isabel Cañas.
Maria wants fantasy that earns its world: epic stories need a richly inhabited setting and personal stakes woven through the larger plot. Cosy fantasy is equally welcome — she describes wanting the warmth and comfort of a Hallmark-style premise transplanted into a fantasy world, ideally with an animal companion or an endearing supporting character. For romantasy, she is explicitly seeking something that subverts the dominant conventions: stories where the female protagonist holds more power than her male love interest, non-heteronormative relationships, and genre mashups (she floats sports romantasy — dragon racing — as an example). She is not looking for standard hot-fae or shadow-daddy dynamics unless they bring something genuinely novel. Familiar quest narratives are welcome if the form or the cast of characters surprises her. Named author touchstones include Joe Abercrombie, Garth Nix, Tamora Pierce, Heather Fawcett, and Carissa Broadbent.
Maria is drawn to historical fiction with a speculative or fantastical layer — stories that use the past as a canvas for ideas rather than pure period recreation. She also wants contemporary upmarket novels that deploy a light speculative premise to interrogate human experience rather than build out a full secondary world. The emotional and philosophical stakes should feel real even when the conceit is fantastical. She also responds strongly to voice-led, relationship-focused contemporary fiction.
On the warmer end of the spectrum, Maria actively seeks fiction with deep humanity — stories that move readers through authentic connection rather than plot mechanics. She is looking for novels where character relationships carry the full emotional weight. Think quietly transformative rather than high-octane.
Maria enjoys thrillers built around a truly original hook — the kind of premise that is hard to shake once you have heard it — as well as twisty, atmospheric crime fiction with strong prose. The emphasis is on concept and execution over pure pace.
She is looking for sweeping love stories with emotional heft and rom-coms where both protagonists are genuinely irresistible — character chemistry is the non-negotiable. She references both classic and contemporary examples, suggesting she is open to a range of tones as long as the central relationship earns its resolution.
Maria is building a nonfiction strand focused on three areas: memoirs — professional or personal — that place the reader viscerally inside the author's experience; history that restores overlooked or underrepresented people and events to visibility; and nature or science writing that makes the subject feel urgent and alive. Proposals that combine strong voice with intellectual rigour and a clear sense of audience will stand out.
Maria appreciates expansive historical novels where character interiority drives the story as much as period detail, as well as retellings of classical myth and folklore. The bar is high: the writing and emotional architecture must justify the scope.
YA appears on her agency profile's category list. Her wishlist focuses primarily on adult and new adult/crossover fiction, so YA pitches should have a clear crossover sensibility or fall within her dominant genre interests (horror, fantasy) to be most relevant. Writers should confirm current YA appetite via the live submission form.
Not the right fit
On Maria's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Maria
Address the submission directly to Maria Brannan and make clear in the first line which category you are pitching — she spans horror, fantasy, literary, crime, and nonfiction, so disambiguation matters immediately.
For horror and fantasy pitches, name the specific subgenre angle upfront (e.g. folkloric horror, cosy fantasy, housing-crisis horror) and explain what makes the concept genuinely fresh — she is concept-driven and will want to see that you know what distinguishes your book.
If you are pitching romantasy or fantasy romance, proactively address how your approach departs from dominant market conventions — she has flagged hot-fae and shadow-daddy tropes as things she is sated on, so showing your awareness of that is a practical advantage.
For non-fiction, lead with the experiential or narrative hook rather than the argument or thesis — her stated nonfiction interests centre on immediacy and tangibility of personal experience.
Because she also manages translation rights across twelve-plus countries, mentioning if your book has strong international or adaptation appeal is genuinely relevant — she has the infrastructure to act on it.
Check the live submission form at Greyhound Literary for any updated guidelines, word-count requirements, or sample-page requests before sending — details can change between this profile's observation date and your query.