Nicole Cunningham is a New York–based literary agent at Trellis Literary Management who hunts for voice-first adult fiction—literary, upmarket, and book club—with a particular appetite for speculative and genre-inflected work that still earns its literary stripes, plus a selective nonfiction list anchored in essays and cultural criticism.
In brief
Cunningham joined Trellis in 2025 after nine years at The Book Group, bringing an established client roster with her—writers querying her are pitching to someone with a decade of relationship capital across major publishers.
Her stated aesthetic is unusually specific: she reads at the sentence level first, meaning a flat-prose high-concept pitch will lose her faster than a quieter book with exceptional writing.
Her favorite non-client authors (Brit Bennett, Helen Oyeyemi, Lucy Foley, V.E. Schwab, Caroline O'Donoghue) map a clear Venn diagram: literary-commercial hybrids, gothic and speculative undercurrents, and strong sense of place—use these as calibration before querying.
A fresh public signal from May 2026 reveals a live craving for voice-driven historical fiction, specifically naming Alice Roosevelt as a subject—writers with witty, propulsive biographical or historical novels should pay attention.
Her nonfiction list is explicitly selective—essay collections, cultural criticism, and narrative nonfiction with a podcast-bingeable rhythm—so literary novelists are her primary audience, not memoirists or prescriptive nonfiction writers.
Lately
if you are writing a queer line dancing rom com I WANT IT! #mswl #amquerying #linedancing
i am two beers deep watching the teddy roosevelt doc on netflix and it has become critically important that someone send me a voice-y alice roosevelt novel IMMEDIATELY #mswl #amquerying
i had so much fun at my first #apw2026 i’m absolutely buzzing from all the great energy & i’m as hungry as ever to sign up some great new fiction. anyone #querying a family story with a voice that sparks off the page? something bighearted and biting? a literary procedural? find me on querytracker!
After watching a documentary about Teddy Roosevelt, Cunningham posted that she had developed an urgent need to read a voice-driven, witty novel centered on Alice Roosevelt—and asked writers to send it immediately. This is an unusually specific and time-stamped craving worth acting on if you have a project in that space.
What Nicole is looking for
This is her core territory. She wants writing that earns its place at the sentence level—precise, controlled, and alive—before anything else. Immersive novels with deep character interiority paired with a plot that actually moves. The sweet spot she chases most is a high-concept premise filtered through a genuinely literary sensibility. Think: the kind of book that gets shelved in literary fiction but gets talked about at every book club in the country.
She has a pronounced pull toward fiction that blends a magical or speculative dimension with literary weight—not secondary-world epic fantasy, but speculative premises that illuminate character and culture. 'Grounded fantasy' is a phrase she uses deliberately, signaling she wants the emotional and prose standards of literary fiction to carry through even when the world bends. Magical realism sits comfortably here.
She is not chasing generic domestic suspense. What she wants is a thriller in which setting functions almost as a character—atmospheric, specific, and load-bearing to the plot. Psychological and domestic thriller are both fair game provided the location does real narrative work. Her taste in authors like Lucy Foley and Caroline O'Donoghue signals a preference for gothic atmosphere and psychological tension over pure procedural.
She wants book club novels with genuine emotional stakes and a sharp, even acerbic edge—not feel-good fluff. The phrase she uses is 'a beating heart and a razor-sharp bite,' which is a useful test: does your novel make readers argue about its characters at dinner? Women's fiction, family sagas, and upmarket contemporary all fit here when the writing is strong.
She is explicit that she wants more of this: not genre romance with literary window dressing, but serious fiction where love—its presence, absence, or ambivalence—drives the engine of the narrative. The prose standard is the same as her literary fiction bar. Romcom is also listed, but her taste skews toward the emotionally complex end of the spectrum.
A very fresh signal (May 2026): she posted that she urgently wants a witty, voice-saturated novel centered on Alice Roosevelt. This telegraphs a broader appetite for historical fiction that prioritizes a distinct, alive narrative voice over period atmosphere alone. Irreverent, propulsive, and character-obsessed historical novels are exactly what to pitch right now.
Her wishlist emphasizes Caribbean, West African, South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian literary fiction specifically, alongside broader BIPOC literary and upmarket work. This is not a catch-all diversity checkbox—it fits her overarching demand for voice-driven, immersive fiction. Writers working in these traditions should still meet her prose bar; the category signals enthusiasm for these cultural perspectives, not a lower standard.
Her nonfiction appetite is narrow but real. She wants essay collections that feel fresh and precisely crafted—not the safe personal essay anthology, but writing that has something genuinely new to say and says it with style. Cultural criticism and narrative nonfiction that reads with the momentum of an excellent podcast also qualify. Memoir, prescriptive, and self-help are not on her list.
Not the right fit
On Nicole's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Nicole
Lead with voice: Cunningham has said explicitly she falls in love at the level of the line first. Your query letter must demonstrate—not just describe—the quality of your prose. A dull query about a brilliant book will not get the manuscript read.
Name the literary-commercial tension. Her sweet spot is high-concept hooks filtered through literary sensibility. If your book has both, say so plainly in the first paragraph: give her the hook AND signal the prose ambition.
If you are writing historical or biographical fiction with a strong, distinct narrative voice—particularly anything in the orbit of early twentieth-century American history—this is an unusually hot moment to query her based on her May 2026 public post.
Calibrate your comps against her stated favorite authors: Brit Bennett, Lucy Foley, Helen Oyeyemi, V.E. Schwab, Caroline O'Donoghue, Rebecca Makkai, and Kiley Reid. If your book shares genuine DNA with any of these, name them confidently. If it doesn't, be honest—she will notice a forced comp.
For BIPOC literary and diaspora fiction writers, lean into the specific cultural tradition your work comes from. Her wishlist names Caribbean, West African, South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian literature individually—this level of specificity signals real enthusiasm, not tokenism, so pitch with the same specificity.
Nonfiction writers: frame your essay collection or narrative nonfiction in terms of voice, freshness, and momentum. Telling her why it reads like a great podcast is not a bad angle. Do not query memoir or prescriptive work.
Her submission form is the only confirmed entry point. Email queries sent to her address may not be reviewed if the form is the stated channel—use the form.
Confirm the form is still open immediately before submitting; agent status can change without public announcement.