A 25-year publishing veteran who founded her own boutique agency in 2023, Sara Crowe specializes in children's and YA literature—with a proven track record of Newbery and Printz medalists, National Book Award finalists, and NYT bestsellers—while also selectively representing adult fiction and nonfiction.
In brief
Sara Crowe founded Sara Crowe Literary in 2023 after two decades of agenting, most recently as a senior agent at Pippin Properties—she brought a deep, award-laden children's/YA client roster with her.
Her track record is exceptional at the literary end of children's publishing: her clients have won or been nominated for the Newbery Medal, Printz Award, and National Book Award, and earned Lambda Award recognition—signaling that she skews prestige and diverse voices over pure commercial.
Despite listing adult romance and romcoms as an interest, the bulk of her confirmed client base and award history is concentrated in middle grade, YA, and picture books—writers pitching adult work should calibrate expectations accordingly.
She has a notable foreign rights background (eight years in the field, including at The Wylie Agency's London office and Trident Media Group), and works with Ginger Clark Literary for translation rights—an unusually strong infrastructure for international deals at a boutique agency.
As of October 2025, the agency is closed to submissions with no announced reopening date; writers should monitor her agency website and social media before querying.
Lately
The agency website currently displays a clear closed-to-submissions notice, directing prospective clients to watch the site and social media for updates on when submissions will reopen.
What Sara is looking for
This is the core of her track record—her client roster includes award-winning MG authors and she has consistently sold at the literary-to-commercial spectrum here. She is drawn to stories with emotional depth, distinctive voices, and characters from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
YA is a pillar of her list, with demonstrated interest in literary, contemporary, and genre-inflected work. Her YA clients have earned Printz recognition and Lambda Award honors, pointing toward books that are both artistically ambitious and centered on LGBTQ+ and underrepresented voices.
She maintains a separate illustrators page on her agency site, signaling genuine investment in this space. She represents picture book talent across both the author-illustrator and stand-alone illustrator tracks. Writers seeking picture book representation without illustration credentials should verify her current appetite before querying.
Listed among her represented categories and consistent with the breadth of her children's/YA focus. She is receptive to graphic novel storytelling within the age ranges she already champions.
She includes adult literary fiction among her genres, and her agency bio explicitly notes she represents adult fiction and nonfiction. However, the overwhelming weight of her known client base and award history is in children's/YA publishing. Writers of adult literary fiction should approach with the understanding that this is a smaller, more selective portion of her list.
Her agency bio references adult romcoms as part of her scope, and a recent deal record includes a warm contemporary praised by the New York Times Book Review as a romcom-adjacent adult novel. This is an emerging area for her rather than an established pillar—she appears to be building selectively here.
Nonfiction is listed as part of her represented scope. Given the depth of her children's/YA fiction relationships with publishers, nonfiction projects in those age categories are likely the most viable fit.
Not the right fit
On Sara's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Sara
The agency is currently closed to submissions as of October 2025 — do not query until the website or her Instagram (@saracrowelit) announces a reopening.
When submissions reopen, follow the agency's posted guidelines precisely; her bio emphasizes that she is a full-service agency, so a polished, professional query package will matter.
Her award and prestige track record signals she values literary ambition alongside commercial viability — lean into the craft and thematic stakes of your work in your query letter, not just plot.
Diversity of background, experience, and perspective is explicitly central to the agency's mission — if your project reflects underrepresented voices or experiences, that is directly relevant to her mandate and worth surfacing clearly.
Her foreign rights infrastructure (partnership with Ginger Clark Literary) means she is a strong fit for projects with international appeal — if your work has cross-cultural or translation potential, that is worth noting.
Adult fiction writers should be aware that children's/YA is the clear core of her list; frame an adult project carefully and confirm she is actively building in that area at the time of querying.
Do not query picture book text-only manuscripts without confirming her current appetite for author-only (non-illustrating) picture book writers — her agency maintains a separate illustrators page, suggesting she may prioritize author-illustrators in that category.