Roger Copenhaver (he/they) is the founder of Yes & Literary, a boutique agency launched in April 2025 with a clear mission: to champion LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized storytellers across fiction and non-fiction.
In brief
Yes & Literary is a brand-new agency — Roger founded it in April 2025 and spent the first year building publisher relationships and signing initial clients; 2026 is the growth year when he begins actively pitching and seeking new authors.
No confirmed deal record exists yet, which is expected for a debut agency; taste signals come entirely from Roger's stated wishlist, comp titles, and favorite authors — meaning early queriers are betting on his editorial instincts and his prior contract/negotiation experience at a major publisher.
The agency's identity is non-negotiable: LGBTQIA+ and marginalized voices are the filter for everything — genre is secondary, queerness is primary. A strong queer or marginalized perspective in the work is effectively a prerequisite.
Roger's taste skews toward speculative, literary-leaning, and cozy registers rather than hard genre; his named touchstones (Jemisin, VanderMeer, Baldree, Silvera) suggest he prizes atmosphere, hope, and imaginative world-building over grit or darkness.
Cookbooks with a narrative voice are an explicit priority — a niche but real opening for food writers who tell stories through recipes and culinary culture.
Lately
Roger announced the founding of Yes & Literary in April 2025, describing the agency's mission as amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices and celebrating the diversity of queer experiences — with an explicit understanding that no two queer lives are the same.
What Roger is looking for
Roger's clearest passion is literary-inflected speculative work: stories where place, atmosphere, and concept carry as much weight as plot. He gravitates toward fiction with eco or climate undertones, magical realism, and settings that function as characters in their own right. Works should center queer and/or marginalized protagonists and carry a sense of hope or imaginative possibility — he is not looking for relentlessly bleak narratives.
He has specifically named cozy fantasy as a target, drawn to the warmth, community, and everyday-magic register of the subgenre. Romantasy with a literary sensibility is equally welcome. Works featuring food, craft, or place as central elements are a particular draw.
Roger is actively seeking historical fiction and retellings — especially stories rooted in periods or cultures that have been underrepresented in mainstream publishing. He is drawn to BIPOC-centered retellings of classic narratives and to 1800s-and-later settings. The emphasis is on excavating histories that have been overlooked rather than retelling familiar Western stories.
YA is on the list, with a preference for queer voices and speculative or contemporary works with emotional resonance. His admiration for Adam Silvera's emotionally gutting contemporary YA signals an appetite for character-driven work alongside genre fare.
Roger welcomes bookclub-friendly literary fiction, romcom, and commercial adult fiction provided the work centers queer or marginalized voices. He is drawn to stories with messy, imperfect characters that nonetheless reach toward something hopeful.
Memoir, cultural criticism, biography, and 'big idea' non-fiction are all on the table when authored by or centering LGBTQIA+ and marginalized perspectives. Essays, pop culture criticism, and activism-oriented non-fiction fit his stated interests.
Roger explicitly wants to develop a limited list of cookbook authors — but only those whose work is genuinely innovative and uses food as a vehicle for storytelling. A conventional recipe collection is unlikely to interest him; the narrative and cultural dimension of food must be central.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Roger
Lead with the queer or marginalized dimension of your work — this is the agency's founding filter, not a secondary consideration. If that identity isn't legible in your query letter, you're starting at a disadvantage.
Roger responds to atmosphere and concept: describe the world and feeling of your book, not just the plot. His touchstones (Jemisin, VanderMeer, Baldree) reward writers who can evoke a sense of place and mood.
If your book features food, craft, or a setting that operates as a character, say so explicitly — these are named passions and should be surfaced early in the query.
Hope matters. Roger has repeatedly emphasized stories that imagine a better future and embrace the messiness of humanity without wallowing in despair. Signal that emotional register.
For historical fiction or retellings, be specific about the period, culture, and the gap in publishing history you are filling — he wants stories that haven't been at the forefront, so name what's been overlooked.
Yes & is a new agency with no confirmed deal record yet. Frame your query with that context: you are partnering with a founder who brings strong contract and negotiation expertise from major publishing, not a decades-long sales track record.
Confirm the query form's current status on the Yes & Literary website before submitting — the agency is young and submission windows may shift as the list develops.