A commercial-leaning fiction agent who built a bestseller-heavy MG/YA list and has since pushed into adult fiction — Knapp chases sharp, high-concept, cinematic stories with a strong point of view and breakout potential.
In brief
The sales tell the real story: Knapp's track record is stacked with bestsellers and franchise fiction (Soman Chainani's The School for Good and Evil, Adalyn Grace's Belladonna, Ayana Gray's I, Medusa), so the bar here is commercial scale, not quiet debut.
Don't be fooled by the older "middle grade and YA" framing — Knapp now actively represents adult fiction too, and names breakout adult fiction and standout middle grade as the specific things they most want to add in 2026.
A real chunk of the business is handling US rights on behalf of UK agents — multiple #1 NYT-bestselling series came in this way — which signals deep co-agent relationships rather than only direct-from-the-slush signings.
Taste runs to edge and high concept: smartly written, compulsively readable books that demand to be noticed, balanced against a soft spot for simple, beautifully told coming-of-age stories.
Film and TV are part of the pitch — Knapp came from a Hollywood-facing consultancy, gravitates to cinematic and speculative material, and the agency has a heavy screen-adaptation operation.
Lately
Bio update names the 2026 focus plainly: hungry for more breakout adult fiction and standout middle grade across genres, while continuing to take both emerging and established voices.
What Peter is looking for
The newest and most actively pushed lane. Knapp now represents adult fiction and is especially eager to add more breakout adult titles in 2026. The appetite skews smart commercial and upmarket across genres — Knapp's directory specialties span general fiction, mystery, romance, and suspense/thriller. Confirmed by sales like Becka Mack's Consider Me (romance).
A named 2026 priority — Knapp wants standout middle grade across genres. The stated soft spots are contemporary MG built around complicated family relationships and simple, brilliantly told coming-of-age stories, alongside the high-concept and speculative material Knapp gravitates toward.
Long-standing core of the list and where many of the bestsellers sit. Knapp wants strong-perspective YA — a rom-com with a queer point of view, a sweeping fantasy interrogating socioeconomic disparity (à la Francesca Flores's Diamond City), plus slow-burn romances and love stories. Cinematic, high-concept speculative work is the sweet spot, but a beautifully told coming-of-age can win on craft alone.
Knapp represents middle grade and YA graphic novels and accepts them with a different submission package: query plus synopsis, with sample art (finished or thumbnails) or a pitch packet attached as a PDF. Same genre tastes apply — action, fantasy, speculative, contemporary.
Beyond traditional debut and established voices, Knapp also enjoys working with indie and hybrid authors seeking new or additional avenues to reach readers — a narrower, case-by-case interest rather than a general open call.
Not the right fit
Threads through Peter's deals
Knapp's best-known projects are not quiet debuts — they are bestselling, series-driving titles. The School for Good and Evil grew into a multi-book franchise, Belladonna anchors a gothic trilogy, and the list keeps landing NYT bestsellers. The throughline matches Knapp's own word for their books — "sharp" — and a clear preference for commercial scale over the literary mid-list.
Several of the marquee titles came not from direct signings but from representing US rights on behalf of a single UK agent (Claire Wilson at RCW) — and they became #1 NYT bestsellers. This is a distinct, lucrative lane: Knapp is trusted to place big British children's franchises in the American market, which says as much about co-agent relationships as about taste.
Coming from a film-and-TV consultancy, Knapp keeps buying the kind of vivid, adaptable premises that read like screen properties — sweeping fantasy, mythic retellings, and academy/magic-school worlds. It tracks directly with the stated love of action and speculative film and the agency's heavy adaptation pipeline.
Against the high-concept fantasy sits a quieter strand: grounded, coming-of-age contemporary fiction. A Newbery Honor recipient's middle grade and the realistic-MG sales show Knapp will back craft-driven, emotionally honest stories, not just big premises — exactly the "simple but brilliantly told" books they say they can't resist.
On Peter's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Peter
Put "Pete Knapp" plus the category and genre in the subject line (e.g. "Pete Knapp – Adult Historical" or "Pete Knapp – YA Fantasy").
For novels, paste the query letter and roughly the first 10 pages (or first chapter) into the body of the email — no attachments.
For graphic novels, send a query letter, synopsis, and author bio, and attach a PDF pitch packet with sample art (finished or thumbnails); a link to artwork also works.
Lead with a sharp, high-concept hook and a strong point of view — Knapp wants books with edge that demand to be noticed, and is alert to cinematic, adaptable premises.
If you write adult fiction or middle grade, you're aiming at the stated 2026 priorities; pitch the breakout, commercial angle.
Expect a response within about 12 weeks; Knapp replies only to queries they want to pursue, so follow up only after 12 weeks or with an offer in hand.