Max Sinsheimer is the founder of Sinsheimer Literary and a former Oxford University Press editor who represents exclusively adult nonfiction, with a particular emphasis on food and culture, popular science, history, and social and environmental issues.
In brief
Max Sinsheimer is a nonfiction-only agent — no fiction, no children's books, full stop. Every deal on record is adult nonfiction.
The sales record reveals a consistent through-line: books that sit at the intersection of food, science, or social advocacy and a crossover trade/academic audience — a direct extension of the Oxford University Press editorial identity Sinsheimer built before launching the agency.
Sinsheimer has a demonstrated relationship with university and mission-driven presses (Basic Books, MIT Press, Chelsea Green, Nation Books, Abrams Press, Tuttle Publishing, Skyhorse, Adams Media/Simon & Schuster), suggesting a comfort selling to non-Big-Five imprints that others overlook.
A recent public signal flags a new appetite for investigative nonfiction and gonzo journalism — categories not prominently featured in the original wishlist, meaning writers in that vein have a fresh, underexploited lane to pitch.
Sinsheimer explicitly asks for a full proposal PDF attached to the query email, including a detailed table of contents and a sample chapter — skipping these will likely sink an otherwise strong pitch.
Lately
I'm interested in investigative nonfiction; Cobalt Red is an example from a geopolitical and human rights lens. And anything with an element of gonzo journalism. #mswl
I'd like more "light" crime narratives about swindlers/forgers/thieves, where the purpose is really to bring readers deep into a fascinating subculture. Examples include The Feather Thief, In Vino Duplicitas, and The Absinthe Forger (which I repped). #mswl
A nonfiction Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, following the making of one iconic game or the growing pains of one industry-shaking studio. #MSWL
Sinsheimer named a recent high-profile book on cobalt mining and geopolitical human rights as the kind of work they want more of — specifically calling out investigative nonfiction through a human rights lens and anything carrying a gonzo journalism sensibility as active interests.
With non-fiction, your authority matters as much as the writing. Non-fiction queries should have a thesis — a 'why it matters' message. Fiction queries tend to focus more on describing what happens, whereas non-fiction needs to make a case for why the book is important. Non-fiction queries also need a book proposal to accompany the query letter, whereas fiction usually just needs the letter. One exception: most memoir is sold on the basis of a complete manuscript and gets treated more like fiction.
The hook is the hardest part. It needs to tell me the core concept as concisely and compellingly as possible. If an author just goes straight into describing their book without a hook, it tells me they aren't sure what makes the book interesting to readers — and that makes me worry they don't know their audience, or worse, that they have a Field of Dreams fantasy that if you just write it, readers will come. You really have to know your audience.
Two of the most important questions your query letter and proposal need to answer are 'why this book' and 'why now.' A lot of authors confuse a market gap with evidence of need. Just because a topic hasn't been written about in a book yet doesn't mean it needs to be. Some things people just don't want to read about. You have to pair evidence of need with proof of a receptive audience.
A query letter is just an appetizer — the book proposal is the entree. You don't need to cover everything in the query letter. No more than two paragraphs on the book description. If you say enough to get the agent interested, they will read the full overview, chapter outline, and all the meat and potatoes in the proposal.
Platform is really just your access to readers' attention, and that access is built both on your direct following — newsletter subscribers, podcast listeners, people who've attended your talks — and your indirect potential following through helpful connections. I want to work with authors who are professionals. I don't mean professional authors; most of mine have day jobs — they're academics, journalists, chefs. I just mean they know what is expected of them from agents and editors.
There are two broad types of target audiences: people whose problem you are solving, and people who have a passion for your subject or a closely adjacent subject. A good way to think about the second group is to imagine you're at a cocktail party — whose eyes would light up if you described your book to them? Not the ones who would politely listen, but the ones who already know something about the topic and are just jazzed to discuss it.
What Max is looking for
This is the core of Sinsheimer's identity, rooted in years overseeing food and drink reference works at a major academic press. The sweet spot is serious, idea-driven food writing rather than recipe collections — think food studies, food policy, or richly reported food travelogues. A recent sale of a sake travelogue built around visits to ancient Japanese breweries signals strong enthusiasm for place-specific food narratives with cultural depth. Personality-driven or restaurant-centric cookbooks are explicitly unwelcome; cookbooks with a very clear, differentiated sales hook (such as a team-authored health-focused title) can be considered, but the bar is high.
Sinsheimer actively wants more science submissions and has flagged this as a growth area. The preference is for science writing that weaves in personal narrative — a purely data-driven or textbook-style approach is less likely to land. Health and medicine with a strong scientific frame fit here, as does anything touching fasting, metabolism, or nutrition science.
Sinsheimer embraces difficult, even bleak subject matter — gun violence, climate displacement, human rights — but expects the author to leave the reader with something to hold onto rather than despair alone. A recent public post added investigative nonfiction and gonzo journalism to this lane, citing a well-known book about cobalt mining and geopolitical human rights as the kind of rigorous, on-the-ground reporting that excites them. This represents a freshly articulated appetite worth exploiting.
History is consistently listed as a sought genre. Given Sinsheimer's academic press background, histories with a scholarly foundation that can be repositioned for a trade audience are especially attractive. Narrative history with strong reporting chops aligns with the broader investigative nonfiction interest.
Sinsheimer explicitly welcomes scholarly works they believe can reach a broader trade readership — a direct legacy of the Oxford University Press years. Authors with academic credentials who can write accessibly for general audiences are encouraged to query. This is a meaningful differentiator: most trade agents shy away from academic authors, and Sinsheimer actively courts them.
Climate, sustainability, and environmental policy fit comfortably within Sinsheimer's social-issues lane. The Miami sea-level-rise sale is the clearest signal here — local or place-specific environmental crises told with narrative urgency are a good match.
Health books work when they carry a strong scientific foundation or a clear public-health advocacy argument — not when they are lifestyle-driven or personality-forward. A team-authored anti-inflammatory nutrition book with credentialed contributors cleared the bar; a solo wellness influencer's cookbook almost certainly would not.
Not the right fit
On Max's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Max
Send directly to Sinsheimer's email address with 'QUERY' and the book's title in the subject line — this specific format is required.
Attach the full proposal as a PDF; Sinsheimer reads across devices and a PDF ensures compatibility. A proposal without a detailed table of contents and a sample chapter is incomplete by their stated standards.
Write a traditional query letter in the body of the email: who you are (including publishing history, but debut authors are explicitly welcome), and a clear overview of the book.
If you haven't heard back in three weeks, resend the query and note that it's a follow-up — Sinsheimer has built this expectation into their process, so a single nudge is appropriate and expected.
Lead your pitch with the book's core argument or narrative spine, not credentials. The sales record shows Sinsheimer responds to ideas and angles, including from first-time authors.
If your book has a crossover academic audience, say so explicitly — this is a genuine differentiator for Sinsheimer and a point of pride, not a liability.
For social-issues or investigative books, make clear in the query what hopeful or constructive thread the reader is left with — Sinsheimer has stated this is a requirement, not a preference.
Cookbooks should not be queried unless there is a sharp, articulable sales hook that goes beyond the author's platform or restaurant affiliation.