Pete Mulvihill is a veteran San Francisco bookseller turned literary agent at The Watermark Agency, bringing three decades of independent-bookshop instincts to a wide-ranging list of literary fiction, commercial fiction, and nonfiction with strong backlist potential.
In brief
Mulvihill is a brand-new agent — he joined The Watermark Agency in May 2025 — but he arrives with one of the deepest bookselling résumés in the industry: 30-plus years as co-owner of Green Apple Books, a multi-location San Francisco indie celebrated for championing small-press and foreign titles.
The Watermark Agency's anchor titles include global mega-sellers and spirituality crossovers, suggesting the agency has appetite for both broad commercial appeal and books with a strong moral or philosophical core — a useful frame for pitching Mulvihill.
His stated wish list is unusually broad (literary fiction, commercial fiction, mystery, middle grade, picture books, memoir, history, politics, cookbooks, humor, sports, and more), which is characteristic of a new agent actively building a list from scratch — he is genuinely open across categories rather than niched down.
His career hallmark is 'championing small-budget titles into backlist standards,' signaling that he values durability and word-of-mouth potential over splashy debuts — writers with books that reward rereading and sustained discovery should lean into that in their pitch.
No confirmed individual deal record exists yet for Mulvihill as an agent; the agency's track record (not his personal sales history) is the only sales evidence available at this stage.
Lately
Mulvihill joined The Watermark Agency in May 2025, marking his formal entry into agenting after more than three decades as a bookseller and co-owner of a prominent San Francisco independent bookshop group. The move was framed as a natural extension of his career-long work connecting books with readers.
What Pete is looking for
Mulvihill's bookselling identity is built around literary taste and small-press discovery, making this the category most naturally aligned with who he is. He is drawn to work with staying power — books that build readership gradually and become backlist staples rather than one-season wonders. Think character-driven, prose-forward narratives that reward close reading.
He lists both commercial fiction and mystery explicitly, reflecting the reality that Green Apple Books serves a broad readership. The Watermark Agency's history with global bestsellers reinforces that he is not allergic to books with wide market ambitions. Propulsive plots with genuine literary texture would be an especially strong fit.
Memoir and biography appear prominently on his list, and the agency has a track record with major autobiographical works. Personal narratives with a distinctive voice and broader cultural resonance — rather than purely platform-driven celebrity books — match his independent-bookseller sensibility.
He welcomes a wide swath of general nonfiction. Given his background championing books that find their audience slowly, he is likely drawn to idea-driven, well-researched nonfiction with a compelling narrative spine rather than trend-chasing titles. Authors with genuine subject-matter expertise and a clear readership will stand out.
These categories reflect the full range of what a well-curated independent bookshop stocks and what Mulvihill has spent decades selling. Distinctive voice, strong visual or editorial concept, and a clear community of readers will matter most here.
Middle grade is on his list as he builds his children's portfolio. No confirmed sales in this category yet, so treat it as genuinely open territory — an opportunity for writers with the right project to get in early.
Picture books are listed among his genres, but with no deal history to anchor expectations, the bar is likely high. The agency does not appear to be primarily a children's-book house, so picture book submissions should be exceptional and distinct.
Mulvihill holds a BA in English with a Black Studies minor, and this category appears explicitly in his profile — suggesting a genuine intellectual investment rather than a checkbox. Books centering Black history, culture, identity, or experience are welcome across both fiction and nonfiction.
Not the right fit
On Pete's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Pete
Send your query to [email protected] — this is his confirmed direct address, not a general agency inbox.
He is a new agent building his list from the ground up, which means he has genuine capacity and real motivation to take on new clients across multiple categories — this is an unusually good window to query him.
Lead your pitch with the backlist argument: why will readers still be discovering this book in five or ten years? His bookselling career was defined by turning overlooked titles into enduring staples, so frame your book's longevity, not just its launch hook.
If your book has a strong independent-bookshop sensibility — community-driven, character-rich, the kind of title a knowledgeable bookseller hand-sells — say so explicitly. This is his native language.
The agency's anchor titles include works with broad moral, spiritual, or philosophical dimensions. If your book carries that kind of depth beneath its commercial surface, weave it into the query.
Because no personal sales record exists yet for Mulvihill, you cannot tailor comps to his specific deals — instead, comp to the agency's known titles or to books that fit his stated taste for durable, literary-adjacent fiction and nonfiction.
Verify the live submission form or agency website immediately before querying — open/closed status can change at any time and the most recent confirmed open date is June 2026.