Marlo Berliner is a Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency agent who built her career from the bookseller floor up, and now hunts for emotionally visceral MG, YA, adult suspense/thriller, and romance — with a particular soft spot for the dark, the gothic, and the puzzle-driven.
In brief
Her confirmed deal record skews heavily MG and YA, with all three known sales landing at major houses — two at Harper Children's and one at S&S/Denene Millner Books — signaling real editorial relationships with those imprints.
Despite a broad stated wishlist, her actual sales are exclusively children's/YA fiction; writers querying her adult categories (thriller, women's fiction, romance) should note that no confirmed adult deals appear in the public record yet.
She is herself a published YA author and former children's bookseller, which means she brings both craft instincts and market instincts to juvenile fiction — a meaningful edge for MG/YA clients.
Her favorite reads on her own shelf — a YA puzzle-mystery, a gothic survival novel, and a Victorian-era romantic mystery — sharply define her taste: clever plotting, atmospheric dread, and emotional resonance over issue-driven realism.
Queries sent by email or postal mail are explicitly ignored; the online submission form is the only accepted channel, and she commits to responding to all queries and requested manuscripts.
Lately
Her agency page lists three recent deals — two MG acquisitions at Harper Children's and a YA acquisition at S&S/Denene Millner Books — and names specific favorite reads that illuminate her taste: a puzzle-mystery YA, a gothic survival YA, and a Victorian-set romantic mystery for adults.
What Marlo is looking for
Berliner's confirmed deal record is anchored in MG, with two Harper Children's acquisitions proving her muscle here. She wants the full genre spectrum: adventure, fantasy, mystery, thriller, paranormal, horror, sci-fi, speculative, contemporary, and romance. Standout elements she gravitates toward include ghosts, witches, magic, gothic atmospherics, unreliable narrators, treasure hunts, and puzzle-driven plots. She is especially intrigued by concepts that transplant a popular adult IP or TV property into a younger-reader framework. Select MG nonfiction touching on pop culture, current events, or social commentary is also on the table.
YA is the other core of her list, with a confirmed acquisition at S&S/Denene Millner Books demonstrating cross-imprint reach. Same broad genre appetite as MG applies here — all genres welcomed, with particular enthusiasm for dark, gothic, and genre-blended work. She is open to upper YA/new adult crossover stories set in college. Contemporary YA is welcome, but she explicitly notes she is not the best fit when the central conflict revolves around rape/rape culture, drugs, or illness. Select YA nonfiction with pop-culture or social-commentary angles is considered. Underrepresented and #ownvoices authors are actively encouraged to query.
On the adult side, her stated emphasis lands on psychological suspense, supernatural suspense, and domestic thriller. No confirmed adult deals appear in the public record, but her personal reading taste — gothic atmospherics, dark elements — maps naturally onto this category. Political, true-crime, and military/espionage thrillers are explicitly excluded.
She welcomes all romance subgenres except inspirational and erotic. For historical romance, her stated preference is the Gilded Age and forward — note this is a more specific threshold than a general 'historical' welcome, so earlier-set historicals are not a fit. No confirmed adult romance deals are on record; her interest here is stated rather than demonstrated.
Seeks women's fiction, upmarket fiction, and book-club-oriented work described as having 'heft and heart.' This aligns with her broader preference for emotionally resonant stories over purely commercial or beach-read fare.
Picture books are welcomed primarily from author-illustrators; a portfolio link is required. Text-only submissions are considered only selectively. She gravitates toward character-driven PBs that are cute, funny, or heartwarming — twists on familiar characters or storylines, and unlikely-friendship stories. Query only one picture book at a time.
Not the right fit
On Marlo's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Marlo
Email and postal queries are explicitly rejected — only the agency's online submission form is accepted, so locate that form on the agency website before doing anything else.
Include your first 20 pages of a finished, polished manuscript alongside your query letter; unfinished work is not appropriate to submit.
For picture books: paste the entire manuscript text into the query and include a link to your illustration portfolio — and query only one PB title at a time.
Lead with genre, age category, and word count up front, then move quickly to the emotional core of the story; Berliner has stated that a visceral emotional reaction is what keeps her reading.
If your work is gothic, puzzle-driven, or atmospheric — or if you are an underrepresented author — make that clear early; these are among her highest-priority signals.
Avoid querying MG or YA contemporaries where the central conflict is primarily rape/rape culture, drugs, or illness; this is an explicit pass regardless of execution quality.
For adult historical romance, confirm your setting falls within the Gilded Age or later before querying — earlier periods are not a fit.
The auto-response from the form confirms receipt; she commits to responding to all queries, so no need for follow-up unless her stated six-week window has passed by a significant margin.