A former Hollywood development executive turned literary agent at Heirloom Literary, Sahar Kashi hunts for emotionally daring fiction and memoir that pairs commercial appeal with authentic storytelling — especially romance, romantasy, dark comedy, and narratives about grief and healing.
In brief
Kashi brings a decade-plus of screen development experience — including senior roles at Warner Bros. Television and Anonymous Content — to her agenting work, giving her an unusually strong lens for narrative structure, pacing, and commercial viability.
Her named touchstones span a wide range from epic fantasy (Shadow & Bone, The Fourth Wing) to emotional contemporary (The Fault in Our Stars, People We Meet on Vacation) to memoir (The Glass Castle, Everything I Know About Love) — suggesting she is genuinely cross-genre rather than siloed, and equally at home with YA and adult.
She explicitly welcomes 'most adult or young adult fiction or memoir projects,' making her one of the broader mandates among newer agents — but her heat clearly concentrates in romance, romantasy/fantasy, and stories threaded with grief or dark comedy.
As a new agent building her list, she is likely actively seeking strong debut voices and may be more accessible than established agents with full rosters — a meaningful tactical consideration for querying writers.
Her screen background means she will almost certainly respond to manuscripts with cinematic stakes, strong visual storytelling, and adaptable narrative hooks — pitching the 'story world' alongside the character arc could resonate.
Lately
In a new-agent spotlight, Kashi described her ideal projects as daring work that holds laughter and grief in the same hand, champions visionary storytellers who understand commercial dynamics, and subverts genre expectations from the inside rather than ignoring genre altogether. She framed her screen development background as a lens for identifying narratively structured, commercially resonant stories.
What Sahar is looking for
Contemporary and genre-blended romance is a clear priority. She gravitates toward emotionally resonant love stories with wit and warmth — think character-driven summer reads and emotionally honest relationship dynamics, not formula. Strong narrative voice and a sense of place matter to her.
She wants romance woven through immersive worldbuilding, and stories that actively subvert genre expectations rather than reproduce familiar beats. Epic scope combined with genuine emotional stakes is the sweet spot. She isn't looking for paint-by-numbers fantasy — the world should feel lived-in and the romantic thread should be integral, not decorative.
She is specifically drawn to work that finds laughter alongside grief — not comedy as escapism, but comedy that earns its lightness by sitting with something difficult. Dark comedy with real emotional stakes is especially welcome. Voice-driven, funny books that aren't afraid to go somewhere uncomfortable are a strong match.
Stories exploring grief, emotional healing, and mental health are central to her taste across categories — she isn't looking for grief as backdrop, but as a structural and emotional engine. This overlaps heavily with her comedy and romance interests; the best pitch to her likely touches more than one of these threads.
She is open to a wide range of adult and YA fiction that pushes narrative boundaries and is rooted in authentic character experience. Quieter, more literary work is on the table if the voice is distinctive and the emotional stakes are clear.
She represents memoir, with a particular affinity for personal narratives that are emotionally honest, structurally compelling, and written with a strong authorial perspective. Commercial memoirs with crossover appeal fit her background well.
Not the right fit
On Sahar's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Sahar
Send your full manuscript alongside your query letter in the same email — this is an unusual and specific requirement; do not send pages separately or wait for a request.
Her screen development background means a query that conveys the cinematic or visual dimension of your story world — stakes, pace, and adaptable narrative hooks — is likely to land well.
She responds strongly to emotional authenticity: articulate clearly how your manuscript handles grief, healing, or humor (or ideally more than one of these) rather than simply naming the genre.
Her touchstone comps span a wide emotional and commercial register — if your book genuinely sits at a crossroads (e.g. romantasy with dark comedy and grief), name that intersection explicitly; she appears to prize genre hybridity over category purity.
She calls herself a champion of 'visionary storytellers who pair commercial insight with an authentic connection to their material' — your query should demonstrate both: that you understand your market and that this story is yours to tell.
Verify live query status before submitting — agent availability can change, and a direct check of her agency's current submission page is always worthwhile.