Rebecca Eskildsen is a highly editorial agent at Writers House actively building her list across middle grade, YA, and adult fiction, with a strong pull toward queer and BIPOC voices, emotional character work, and the kind of lyrical fantasy that quietly breaks your heart.
In brief
Eskildsen came up through foreign rights at JABberwocky — working across the full rosters of Brandon Sanderson, Charlaine Harris, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia — before spending nearly a decade inside Writers House supporting one of its most storied agents. That apprenticeship shows: she thinks in terms of entire careers, not single books.
Her personal reading list skews heavily toward YA fantasy with folklore and fairy-tale bones (Diana Wynne Jones, Tamora Pierce, Holly Black, Anna-Marie McLemore, Robin McKinley), which signals that 'lyrical, grounded fantasy' is not a throwaway phrase — she has deep taste there and will likely hold manuscripts to a high bar.
She is explicitly building her own list now, which means she has the bandwidth and motivation to take on new clients at a pace that more established agents may not.
Her stated priorities across all three age categories converge on one thing: emotional interiority. Whether it's MG kids navigating family upheaval, YA slow-burn romance, or adult coming-of-age sagas, she is consistently drawn to work that centers how characters feel rather than what they do.
She is actively seeking queer and BIPOC voices across every category she works in — this is not a wishlist footnote but a through-line she names first in her own description of her editorial identity.
Lately
Query update: aside from a few I'm still considering, I've responded to all queries received before May 4.
Query update: With a few exceptions I'm still reviewing, I've responded to all queries received before April 8. Thanks for your patience!
Writers! I will be opening to queries on March 1. I look forward to seeing your projects again! Perhaps I will do a new MSWL thread soon, but for now, take a peek at my website for more details. 👀📚 www.rebeccaeskildsen.com/mswl
Eskildsen announced she would reopen her query inbox on March 1, and directed writers to her personal website for submission details — suggesting she manages her query load in windows and may close again once she has enough material to review.
What Rebecca is looking for
This is her most expansive category — she says she's open to nearly any YA submission. Her highest enthusiasm is for high-concept romantic comedies, emotionally resonant character studies, stories that explore complex friendships or toxic relationship dynamics, and fantasy that is lyrical and grounded rather than epic-action-driven. She specifically calls for ambitious female protagonists and funny, slow-burn romance. Her own reading life (Holly Black's Folk of the Air, Tamora Pierce's Trickster duology, Anna-Marie McLemore, Kristin Cashore, Libba Bray) suggests she has a particular weakness for YA fantasy rooted in folklore, fae, or fairy-tale reworkings — pitch that vein with confidence.
She wants a range of MG voices, from energetic adventure to quieter contemporary — the throughline is a fresh voice, genuine humor, and a strong emotional core. Specific hooks she's drawn to: kids coping with shifts or disruptions in their family structure, immigrant and immigration stories, MG with queer characters, and stories that engage honestly with mental health. She is not looking for one flavor of MG; she wants the category to feel as broad and emotionally varied as the best books she grew up on.
Her adult taste runs toward contemporary romantic comedies and coming-of-age narratives that speak specifically to the Millennial and Gen Z experience. She is also drawn to sweeping family or friend-group sagas — particularly those that peel back uncomfortable or contested cultural dynamics rather than simply celebrating them. Think: domestic tensions, generational friction, the messy architecture of modern belonging. Adult is a newer and growing edge of her list.
Elevating LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and Disabled voices is a stated priority she places at the top of her wishlist across every age category. This is not a subcategory but a lens applied to everything she seeks — writers from underrepresented communities should note that this is a genuine editorial commitment, not a checkbox.
Not the right fit
On Rebecca's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Rebecca
Send a personalized query letter plus the first 15 pages of your manuscript pasted directly into the body of the email — no attachments for the sample pages.
Use this exact subject line format: Query [genre] [TITLE]. Deviating from this is an easy way to get deprioritized.
Address her by name and reference something specific about what she's looking for — she flags 'personalized' as the first word in her submission requirements, so a generic form letter is a red flag.
If you have a website, author social media, or other relevant presence, include it — she specifically says she'd love to see it.
You may only query one Writers House agent at a time. If she passes, you may then approach another agent at the agency.
Because she opens and closes her query window, always check her personal website and live form before sending — the window that opened March 1, 2026, may not stay open indefinitely.
Her personal reading list is dominated by fairy-tale retellings, folklore-adjacent fantasy, and emotionally interior YA — if your project echoes that vein, a brief, specific comp to one of her stated favorites can signal genuine alignment without feeling calculated.
She describes herself as highly editorial and loves working through structural ideas before or after offer — framing yourself as someone who welcomes deep editorial collaboration will resonate with her stated identity as an agent.