Molly O'Neill is a Root Literary agent with 24 years of publishing experience — including a landmark editorial tenure acquiring the Divergent series — who now champions groundbreaking children's and YA books with vivid settings, inventive structures, and authentic voices.
In brief
O'Neill's editorial DNA is her greatest differentiator: she acquired the Divergent series at HarperCollins Children's Books, giving her a first-hand understanding of how a breakout debut becomes a global phenomenon — and what separates those from ordinary acquisitions.
Her client list skews heavily toward middle grade and YA, with particular depth in illustrated formats, graphic novels, and author-illustrators — a direct reflection of her role as founding chair of the AALA's Illustration Committee.
Award pedigree is real and varied: books she has agented have earned Newbery Honors, the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, National Book Award longlisting, Eisner nominations, and ALA Stonewall Honors, signaling she can sell both commercial and literary work.
She brings an unusual trifecta — editorial instincts, marketing/publicity experience, and tech startup leadership — which means she talks strategy and career arc, not just manuscript craft.
Her submission form was directly observed closed as of September 1, 2024; writers should verify the current status before querying.
Lately
O'Neill's agency bio was updated to reflect 24 years of industry experience, a deepened emphasis on her advocacy role for illustrators, and her appointment as founding chair of the AALA's newly formed Illustration Committee — a clear signal that illustrated formats and author-illustrators are a growing priority on her list.
What Molly is looking for
O'Neill actively seeks MG novels that feel canonical — the kind readers press on friends. She responds to confident storytelling, memorable settings that act as a character in their own right, resonant themes about what it means to be human, and structural ambition. She has a personal affinity for artsy or niche-world microcosms (dance, theater, and similar) when the stakes are high enough to hook readers with no connection to that world. Authentic explorations of faith as a thread within a larger MG story are welcome; work primarily intended to advocate a belief system is not.
She looks for YA that transcends trend and formula — books with a 'must-discuss-with-others' quality driven by vibrant characters, unconventional structure, or delightful humor. Contemporary, historical, speculative, and magical-realist YA all fall within her range. As with MG, authentic treatment of faith as a story element is welcomed. Proselytizing or agenda-driven work is explicitly out.
Illustrated formats and graphic novels for young readers are a clear throughline in O'Neill's client base, and her leadership of the AALA's Illustration Committee underscores how central this category is to her practice. She represents cartoonists, graphic novelists, and author-illustrators. Note: she works with picture book illustrators who also write, but she does not take picture book texts from authors who are not also the illustrator.
She welcomes narrative nonfiction and popular science or psychology titles aimed at younger readers, as well as children's nonfiction more broadly. Prescriptive nonfiction — self-help, diet, how-to — is explicitly excluded. The emphasis is on story-driven, ideas-forward work.
O'Neill represents novels-in-verse for young and teen readers. Stand-alone poetry chapbooks are not something she takes on, but a full narrative told in verse form for MG or YA audiences is squarely within her wheelhouse.
While her focus is overwhelmingly on children's and YA, her agency profile does not rule out adult literary or upmarket fiction entirely. However, adult thrillers, adult crime fiction, and adult science fiction/fantasy are explicitly off the table. Any adult fiction query should have a clear literary or commercial upmarket sensibility — not genre-driven.
Not the right fit
On Molly's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Molly
Verify the submission form is open before sending anything — it was directly observed closed in September 2024 and may reopen without broad announcement.
Lead your query with setting: O'Neill has stated repeatedly that a vivid, almost-characterlike sense of place is one of her strongest personal draws. Anchor your pitch in the world of the book before diving into plot mechanics.
If your book inhabits an artsy or niche subculture (dance, theater, music, athletics, craft), name it upfront — she has a biographical affinity for these worlds and actively looks for them, provided the stakes transcend insider appeal.
Structural ambition is a selling point, not a liability. If your MG or YA uses an unconventional structure — multiple POVs, verse, collage, epistolary — say so clearly and early.
Faith as an element? Mention it briefly and frame it as one thread among many in a larger story. Make clear the book is not advocacy or prescriptive — she is interested in authentic exploration, not message fiction.
Author-illustrators querying with a picture book should emphasize both the art and text sides of their work; if you are a writer-only, do not query picture book projects.
O'Neill spent 24 years in multiple industry roles; she responds well to writers who demonstrate awareness of their audience and market. A brief, grounded note about where your book fits — without overselling — signals professionalism.
Humor is a real differentiator for her. If your book is genuinely funny, let that voice come through in the query itself rather than just describing it as 'funny.'