Paige Terlip is a co-founder of Starling Literary + Media who hunts for psychologically sharp thrillers, grounded fantasy, and emotionally resonant upmarket fiction alongside children's books across all age ranges — with a particular drive to champion Indigenous voices and stories that use genre to interrogate real-world stakes.
In brief
Terlip launched Starling Literary + Media at the end of 2025 after nearly a decade at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, making her a founder-agent with an established client base and fresh acquisition appetite.
Her wishlist skews heavily toward psychologically twisted suspense and horror — she names multiple touchstones in that space and describes herself as 'especially hungry' for it, signaling this is her highest-priority category right now.
She has an MFA and MA both focused on children's literature from Simmons University, which means her picture book through YA eye is deeply trained — children's content is not a secondary interest for her but a foundational expertise.
Her nonfiction appetite is narrow and platform-dependent: she wants pop science and lifestyle titles from writers who already have audiences, not platform-in-progress projects.
The cross-category note about Indigenous writers appears in every version of her wishlist and is stated with explicit emphasis — this is a genuine, sustained priority, not boilerplate.
Lately
Query Box update for #amquerying authors: I am working my way through December queries at the moment. I received over 700 queries in December and there are LOTS of promising projects. I will respond to everyone, and in the meantime really appreciate your patience!
Hello #amquerying writers! I wanted to share a quick update. I got so many AMAZING queries since opening Starling—over 1,000. I also had surgery last week so I'm unfortunately behind in my QB. I'm trying to catch up, and I appreciate your patience. I am seeing some wonderful stuff!
Terlip posted a public update noting she had received more than 700 queries in December alone and was actively working through them as of late March 2026. She confirmed she responds to every query and asked for patience given the volume.
What I find that I'm drawn to the most is voice and character. I really appreciate a novel that has a character that feels familiar and yet unique — someone I can relate to but who is also opening doors and giving a glimpse onto life experiences I have yet to experience or may never experience. For picture books especially, the voice on a line level is so important — how are you engaging both the kids and the parents who are potentially reading the book aloud?
I really look for a narrative arc and an emotional arc — how is the character changing from the beginning of the story to the end? Sometimes that's present in the manuscript but it's not being presented in an enticing way in the query. Work that in while still being brief, because you don't want the query to be more words than your picture book submission.
I see a lot of people comping to very old titles — Dr. Seuss, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. If there's a classic that genuinely ties to your book you could mention it, but make sure you're also referencing more current titles. And understand the market — you may not want to comp a big commercial laugh-out-loud book to something quieter just because they both rhyme.
For picture books, we're seeing a lot of demand for humor — people want to laugh, want funny, want maybe a big character to carry a property. I've been hearing that as a direct request from editors. The non-fiction biography market surged and now seems to be pulling back, and the lyrical 'I love you' book space got a bit saturated. It really does seem like humor is taking the day right now.
Having a critique group is huge — people in the writing community who can give constructive criticism, not just your kids or your spouse. For picture books specifically, reading it aloud is an enormous tool because I'm more critical about line-level flow in a shorter format. Also, having multiple projects in querying shape is very helpful — especially for picture books it can be a numbers game, and as an agent I want to know you have other ideas ready or in progress.
One thing I see quite often is authors not reading recent publications and writing in a voice and style that is much older, which can be a real barrier to breaking in. Go to Barnes & Noble, go to your library, look at new releases and read them. That's a great way to get a sense of what is selling today and what readers want today.
What Paige is looking for
This is her most vocally emphasized category. She wants genre-redefining psychological suspense with twists that are earned, not gimmicky — the kind that feels inevitable in retrospect. Particularly drawn to stories where contemporary social issues are explored through a horror lens (à la Jordan Peele or Stephen Graham Jones), sinister natural settings (including sentient or threatening plant life that nods to climate anxiety without becoming a lecture), and family-secret-driven generational horror. Other specific draws: occult conspiracies, forensic procedurals that show how technology both solves and enables crime, vigilante protagonists doing wrong for right reasons, martial arts heroines, and legal thrillers built around communities rather than lone-hero lawyers. Also interested in stories that channel the tone of the show Unsolved Mysteries.
She favors magic that feels native to the story's world — systems and rules that drive plot rather than serve as set dressing. Grounded, contemporary-feeling magic is especially welcome. A specific wishlist item: a story exploring matrilineal inheritance through a trans POV. She's not seeking epic secondary-world fantasy for its own sake; the magic must feel integral.
She gravitates toward literary fiction with a dark, speculative, or emotionally destabilizing edge — not quiet domestic realism. She wants genuine surprise: backstabbing and plot turns that land hard. Humor that coexists with heartbreak is a recurring theme. Specific wishes include: a novel about the Navajo Rangers written by a Navajo author, speculative fiction centering the tsunami spirits of Ishinomaki and the collective grief around 'ghost taxis,' stories about trans athletes, and explorations of how insular or niche communities turn toxic. Quirky, atmosphere-laden settings that function as characters in their own right are a consistent signal across her taste.
Platform is non-negotiable here — she is not developing platforms, she is amplifying existing ones. Within that gate, she wants: pop-science narratives about the natural world with lyrical, immersive storytelling; accessible books on neuroscience, sex, and relationships, especially from queer or underrepresented authors; queer perspectives applied to subjects beyond queer identity itself; lifestyle and pop culture nonfiction; and cookbooks or home-and-garden titles from authors with established audiences. The emotional and intellectual payoff matters — she wants to both feel and learn.
Her academic training is entirely in children's literature, and she represents the full spectrum from picture books to young adult. Her cross-category preferences (Indigenous voices, disability representation that doesn't pathologize, queerness beyond trauma, legacy and lineage as theme) apply here as much as in adult. No specific children's-only wishlist items are listed, but her expertise in this space is deeper than her wishlist density suggests — writers with strong children's projects should not overlook her.
Not the right fit
On Paige's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Paige
Submit through the query form linked from her agency page — she does not accept email queries.
She confirmed she responds to all queries, but volume is high (700+ in a single month); expect a wait of several weeks to months and do not follow up prematurely.
Lead with a clear, specific comp title from her stated wishlist if applicable — she is comp-literate and names touchstones precisely, so mirroring that precision signals you know her taste.
If your project centers Indigenous voices or perspectives, name that explicitly and early in your query — she has repeated this priority across every version of her wishlist, making it a genuine differentiator.
For nonfiction, address your platform in concrete terms (audience size, channels, existing media presence) before describing the book — without platform evidence, a nonfiction query is unlikely to advance.
For upmarket or speculative fiction, name the dark or speculative edge in your opening line; do not bury the genre-bending element deep in a synopsis.
Do not pitch AI-focused narratives or stories where a character's disability is central to a twist — both are explicit dealbreakers.
For children's books, her expertise is deep even if her wishlist is less prescriptive in that space — a strong voice and clear age category positioning will matter more than hitting a specific sub-genre.