Rebecca Podos is a Philadelphia-based senior agent at Neighborhood Literary who specializes in character-driven YA and adult genre fiction—particularly queer-centered fantasy, horror, and romance—with a selective eye for nonfiction that digs into nerd culture and queer history.
In brief
Currently CLOSED to queries as of June 25, 2025—verify the live submission form before attempting to query.
Her wishlist skews heavily queer: queer romance, queer book club fiction, queer history nonfiction, and queer-centered SFF are among her most clearly articulated priorities across both fiction and nonfiction.
She is both a published YA/adult fiction author and a career agent since 2011, which means she brings an editorial eye alongside market experience—pitches that foreground character interiority and prose quality are likely to resonate.
Her agency page singles out Why Fish Don't Exist as a comp for the narrative-voice-plus-expertise nonfiction she wants, signaling she values literary ambition even in nonfiction submissions.
She explicitly welcomes steam in adult romance but flags that she prefers the fluffier end of the spectrum over dark romance—a meaningful distinction for writers deciding between her and colleagues at the same agency.
Lately
Her current agency page foregrounds queer contemporary and historical fiction and upmarket romance as active fiction priorities, alongside the folklore fantasy and horror interests she has long articulated—suggesting her taste has sharpened toward literary-commercial hybrids.
What Rebecca is looking for
Folklore-rooted, culturally specific fantasy featuring diverse casts, myths, and monsters. She wants it character-driven first—worldbuilding should serve interiority. YA DnD-core fantasy or romantasy is called out as a niche she is especially eager to find. For adult, she is drawn to sweeping, romantic epics with real heat.
Horror used as a lens for exploring identity, otherness, and trauma rather than horror as pure shock. She is particularly delighted by high-concept, cozy-weird premises—her own 'grannycore horror' wishlist item (a knitting club vs. a cosmic entity) signals she loves genre-play within horror. Horror romance is also squarely in her wheelhouse.
She wants queer and/or BIPOC romance and romcom with a strong commercial hook and upmarket prose. Steam is welcome—she explicitly says so for adult—but she draws the line at dark romance territory, preferring the warmer, fluffier end of the tonal spectrum.
Fresh genre mashups are a genuine priority: cozy sci-fi, speculative mystery, horror romance, queer upmarket survivalist thriller (she name-checks an Iditarod-horror concept as her dream project). The throughline is a fresh perspective on a familiar genre shape, not novelty for its own sake.
She is seeking upmarket adult fiction with gorgeous prose and a strong hook that would appeal to a book-club readership—specifically centered on queer characters and experience.
Cozy mysteries and Knives Out-style ensemble whodunits are welcome, especially for younger readers. She also calls out Nancy Drew-but-noir amateur detective fiction with optional paranormal elements as a niche wish. Hard gate: she does not want mysteries or thrillers with police protagonists or police love interests.
She is open to either direction of the blend—SFF with romance at its core, or romance with meaningful speculative elements. Both directions must feel essential rather than additive; she wants the genre elements to be load-bearing.
She reads nonfiction selectively overall, but is genuinely interested in deep, expert-voiced explorations of TTRPG culture, cosplay, fandoms, and related pop-culture communities. A strong narrative voice paired with real expertise is the bar.
Kid-lit nonfiction that centers queer history is a specific and narrow interest. The 'kid lit' framing here is nonfiction only—she is not seeking MG fiction.
Intersectional explorations of sustainability, food justice, urban gardening, and humanity's relationship to land. Must carry a strong narrative or advocacy angle; she is not seeking general wellness or self-help.
Not the right fit
On Rebecca's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Rebecca
The form is closed as of June 25, 2025—check the live form at Neighborhood Literary's website before doing anything else; querying a closed form is wasted effort.
Prepare a query letter and the first three chapters of your manuscript before opening the form; both are required and the form will not accept incomplete submissions.
She responds to all queries, so silence is not the norm—if you have not heard back after a reasonable window, her agency page notes you are welcome to withdraw and re-query another Neighborhood agent if that person is a better fit.
Lead your query with a clear genre label and a single-sentence hook that captures the premise and the emotional stakes—her own niche wishlists ('grannycore horror,' 'Iditarod thriller') show she responds to vivid, immediately legible high-concept premises.
If your book is queer-centered, say so explicitly and early—queerness is not a selling point you should bury; it is a primary factor in her acquisitions interest.
Do NOT query her for dark romance, police procedurals, MG fiction, picture books, chapter books, or self-help—these are firm exclusions and querying them signals you have not read her guidelines.
If your adult romance has steam, you do not need to apologize for it or soften the pitch—she explicitly invites it for adult submissions; just be clear about tone so she can distinguish it from dark romance.
Note that Neighborhood Literary has other agents (including Tianna Kelly, who actively seeks dark romance and romantasy) who may be better fits for certain projects—check the full roster before deciding whom to query.