Ronald Gerber is the President of Lowenstein Associates — a deal-making agent with a scouting and rights background who hunts for cinematic, hook-driven adult fiction, narrative nonfiction, and middle grade, with a visible commitment to queer, BIPOC, and underrepresented voices.
In brief
His confirmed client roster reveals four clear pillars right now: commercial thriller (Scribner debut, January 2025), children's/middle grade (Aladdin/S&S), nonfiction biography (St. Martin's Press), and genre-bending short fiction (W.W. Norton) — his actual sales skew heavily toward Big Five imprints.
His conference history is thriller-heavy (ThrillerFest, Killer Nashville, multiple years each), signaling that mystery and suspense are genuine priorities, not just listed interests.
He came up through literary scouting and rights management before agenting — meaning he evaluates projects with an eye toward subsidiary rights and adaptability, which likely explains his stated preference for 'cinematic stories.'
His wishlist is unusually broad for a boutique agent; writers should anchor queries in his highest-heat categories (thriller/mystery, upmarket fiction, narrative nonfiction/memoir, middle grade) and lead with a sharp hook and distinct voice rather than leaning on genre label alone.
He is openly queer-identifying in his professional outreach and actively solicits LGBTQ, BIPOC, disabled, and neurodivergent writers — #OwnVoices projects across any of his categories will receive genuine attention.
Lately
His agency page, updated to reflect 2026 conference appearances, confirms he is actively attending writing conferences and pitching sessions, most recently scheduled for Quills Conference in Salt Lake City in August 2026 — a strong indicator that he is building his list and open to new clients.
What Ronald is looking for
This is where his conference investment and confirmed sales point most clearly. He gravitates toward ordinary people dropped into extraordinary, menacing situations — not sociopathic or unreliable narrators. Locked-room mysteries are a specific love. Military and political thrillers are explicitly out; psychological and domestic suspense, detective fiction, and literary thrillers are in. Genre hybrids (e.g., literary thriller, horror-comedy with thriller elements) are welcome.
Contemporary and historical novels, romantic comedies, and upmarket romance all fit his list. He is especially drawn to stories featuring misfits and socially awkward protagonists with strong emotional stakes. Distinct voice and a sharp hook matter as much as premise. He welcomes genre-blending — romances with a light sci-fi thread, horror comedies, and similar hybrids. High fantasy is off the table; grounded genre work is welcome.
Horror that punches into literary or comedic territory is particularly appealing. He cites a taste for transgressive, dark material and is drawn to horror-comedy as a hybrid. Straightforward, non-literary horror is less emphasized but not excluded.
He wants science fiction with real thematic resonance — near-future, dystopian, and outer-space settings that hold a mirror to the present moment. Romances with a light sci-fi element are also welcome. Hard SF without social stakes or high-concept space opera without grounding are less likely to be the right fit.
He will consider collections from writers who already have a demonstrated publication history in literary magazines and journals — this is a firm threshold, not a soft preference. He is especially drawn to dark, transgressive voices. Essay collections are similarly on the table but approached selectively on a case-by-case basis.
A confirmed strength of his list: his current roster includes a biographer at St. Martin's Press with multiple titles. He actively seeks stranger-than-fiction narratives, overlooked histories of women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals, and scam/con/fraud narratives with longform-journalism energy. In memoir he is particularly drawn to harrowing coming-of-age accounts and celebrity, music, and Hollywood memoirs. Pop-culture biography and narrative nonfiction are a stated enthusiasm. Practical or how-to nonfiction and religious nonfiction are explicitly out.
He is actively building this corner of his list. He wants character-driven, diverse middle grade that handles genuine emotional weight — mental health, divorce, death, sexuality — with care and age-appropriate accessibility. Ensemble friend-group adventure stories are a specific enthusiasm. He has an established relationship with Aladdin/Simon & Schuster through his current MG client. He is NOT seeking picture books or YA as primary targets, though a YA project that closely matches his other interests could warrant a query.
Not the right fit
On Ronald's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Ronald
Send a query letter in the body of the email with 'Query' in the subject line; attach the first chapter as a Word document. Do not paste the chapter into the email body.
Lead with a sharp, one- to two-sentence hook that identifies genre, word count, and the core emotional or plot stakes — his background in scouting means he evaluates projects quickly for their 'pitch-ability.'
If your book is cinematic in structure or has adaptation potential, that framing aligns directly with how he describes his own taste; mention it if it's genuinely true.
Writers from LGBTQ, BIPOC, disabled, or neurodivergent communities should state this in the query if comfortable — he has made clear these voices are a priority across all categories, not just in nonfiction.
For thriller/suspense, make clear whether your protagonist is an ordinary person caught in events (his preference) rather than a sociopath or unreliable narrator — that distinction matters to him and is worth one explicit sentence.
For nonfiction, emphasize the stranger-than-fiction quality of the story and, where relevant, the significance of an overlooked historical perspective; pop-culture hooks travel well with him.
Short story collection writers must establish their publication credits in the query — magazines and journals only; this is a threshold requirement, not a bonus.
Conference queries are possible in person: he regularly attends Quills Conference (Utah), ThrillerFest (New York), and Killer Nashville (Tennessee), among others — check his agency page for the current year's schedule.