Melanie Figueroa is a Root Literary agent with ten years of industry experience who champions voice-driven, high-concept fiction across middle grade, young adult, and adult—with a particular appetite for genre-inflected book club fiction, speculative stories, and horror at every age level.
In brief
The deal record skews toward adult upmarket and commercial fiction (William Morrow, Grand Central, Atria, Vintage) and children's/MG (Philomel, JIMMY Patterson, Viking Children's, FSG), signaling real relationships at both ends of the publishing spectrum — Figueroa is genuinely bicoastal in category, not just aspirationally so.
Horror and speculative fiction are not sidelines: they appear in the wishlist at every age level (MG, YA, adult), and the adult deal record includes titles with gothic, magical-realist, and atmospheric thriller DNA — this is a core taste, not a trend chase.
Multiple children's imprint deals (Viking Children's twice, JIMMY Patterson, Philomel, FSG Children's) suggest unusually strong children's-publishing relationships for an agent whose adult profile is equally prominent.
Figueroa explicitly welcomes queries from LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC writers and responds to every query — a meaningful logistical and values signal for underrepresented authors.
The wishlist's emphasis on accessible worldbuilding and 'relationships you can follow without a family tree' is a consistent, recurring filter: high-concept and emotionally legible beats intricate and lore-heavy every time.
Lately
Figueroa announced participation in a charity auction benefiting queer liberation in early 2026, offering query and first-chapter critiques as prizes — a signal of both their values and their active engagement with the writing community.
I'm an agent now, and I can't be everything to the agency anymore — we've hired several new people since I started. It's been really gratifying being a part of building that infrastructure.
People ask me if they can use a film or TV show as a comp, and honestly, yeah — I've seen that done many times and I think it works. If all of your comps are films and TV shows, that's probably not ideal because it doesn't demonstrate market awareness on the book side. But sometimes there's just a movie that so many people have seen, or if they haven't seen it they've heard of it, and it's the perfect match. Just be careful about going too niche — if it's only well known in certain circles, you risk the editor not knowing what you're talking about.
Having a larger market awareness is really important — being able to point to recent books you've read that you know are performing well, knowing what's working in a given category. That applies both to querying and to anyone working in publishing.
So much of what an agent does is sell things — being able to distill the essence of a story into a log line, an elevator pitch. When you get on the phone with an editor you need to pitch the book in a sentence or two, so if your query already does that cleanly, that's exactly what we're looking for.
A mentor told me early on that I wasn't an editor — I was an agent. That moment really stuck with me and confirmed the direction I needed to go. The agent role is much more about relationships, selling, and working closely with people across every part of the business.
When I joined Root Literary they were less than a year old, but Holly Root had something like twelve to fifteen years of agenting experience before founding the agency, and Molly O'Neill came from the editorial side where she had acquired major bestsellers. So even though the agency was new, the experience behind it was really deep.
What Melanie is looking for
This is Figueroa's commercial sweet spot. They want sharp, voice-led writing with a hooky premise and at least one foot in genre — speculative threads, mystery, romance, or historical texture woven through an otherwise literary or commercial story. Particularly drawn to narratives anchored in a specific historical moment, multi-generational timelines that interrogate memory and cultural legacy, and high-pressure settings (academic, artistic, or competitive environments) where power, intimacy, and ambition collide. Also strongly interested in literary-leaning thrillers and mysteries with literary ambitions, and coming-of-age stories with distinctive prose.
Figueroa represents a deliberately wide band of adult speculative fiction. In fantasy, the priority is accessible worldbuilding — sweeping romances, dark fantasy, cozies, epics, and mythology-rooted stories where emotional relationships are navigable without a glossary. In sci-fi, the preference is grounded and character-first; jargon-heavy hard SF is not the target. Magical realism and fabulism that crossover to general literary readers are equally welcome. Horror is a genuine priority across ALL subgenres — psychological, supernatural, folk, body, gothic, sci-fi, cozy — with extra enthusiasm for structurally inventive projects that incorporate epistolary or other unconventional formats.
Figueroa's YA taste runs toward the dark, high-stakes, and genre-forward. They want speculative settings with smart, accessible magic systems, horror, mysteries and thrillers, romance, and selective literary fiction. A sense of humor is valued. Characters who are morally complex, a little mean, or vicious are especially welcome — this is not a safe-choices wishlist. Strong, distinctive voice is non-negotiable.
Figueroa looks for timeless, transportive MG with a strong sense of place and imaginative reach. Animal or spirit characters, explorations of history and culture, fantastical settings, and horror or mystery threads are all explicitly welcome. The deal record (multiple MG titles at major imprints) confirms this is an actively worked category, not just aspirational. The emphasis on 'timeless and immersive' suggests Figueroa favors MG that feels enduring rather than trend-driven.
Figueroa is actively seeking commercial and upmarket romance — smart, voice-driven love stories that center the deeply human desire for connection and acceptance. The full romance wishlist was truncated in available sources, but the deal record and genre specialties list confirm romance and romantasy as genuine current interests. Life-affirming emotional resonance appears to be the through-line.
Not the right fit
On Melanie's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Melanie
Lead your query letter with the element that makes your book emotionally distinctive — Figueroa's stated preferences and deal record both emphasize voice and emotional undercurrent as first-order concerns, ahead of plot mechanics.
If your book blends literary or commercial fiction with a genre element, name the blend explicitly and confidently. Figueroa actively seeks this hybrid positioning; don't downplay or apologize for the genre thread.
For horror submissions at any age level, flag your subgenre and — if your structure is inventive or uses epistolary elements — call that out early. It's a named priority.
For adult speculative fiction, demonstrate that your worldbuilding is accessible: one or two sentences showing how relationships and emotional stakes are legible without deep lore immersion will resonate directly with Figueroa's stated taste.
LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC writers are explicitly welcomed, and Figueroa responds to all queries — there is no opaque filtering to worry about, but standard professional query etiquette still applies.
For MG, anchor your pitch in the emotional journey and sense of place or world rather than leading with concept alone — 'timeless and transportive' is the bar Figueroa sets for themselves.
For YA, don't sand down morally complex or even unlikable protagonists for the pitch; Figueroa's stated preference for characters who are 'a little mean or vicious' means that edge can be a selling point rather than a liability.
Verify the submission form is still open immediately before querying — status was confirmed open in mid-April 2026 but can change.