Sheyla Knigge is a High Line Literary Collective agent who built her skills in a top agent's query inbox and now focuses on BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and own-voices commercial fiction — especially fantasy, horror, and graphic novels — with a reputation for identifying titles with major foreign-rights potential.
In brief
Knigge's submission form was confirmed closed as of April 2, 2026 — verify the live form before querying under any circumstances.
Her agency bio highlights a distinctive specialty: spotting books with 'robust foreign potential,' noting that major titles have earned out advances from global sales before their domestic debuts — an unusually commercial, rights-savvy perspective for a building-list agent.
She trained under Victoria Marini and is a 2024–2025 Literary Agents of Change mentee, signaling she's still actively developing her list with institutional support.
Her wishlist skews heavily toward fantasy in all its registers — romantasy, epic, gothic, cozy, dark, historical — with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices running as a consistent cross-genre thread rather than a category apart.
Her stated favorites and comp titles cluster around witchy historical fantasy, dark academia, and genre-blending YA/adult crossovers, suggesting she responds to high-concept hooks with strong atmosphere and commercial appeal.
Lately
In a September 2025 social post, Knigge noted she is rarely active on that particular platform and primarily engages through other channels. She mentioned distributing her fall editorial newsletter to editors — inviting any editors who hadn't received it to reach out — signaling she was actively submitting client projects to publishers that season.
I work across children's to adults, but I focus primarily on middle grade and adult titles. Something you'll notice throughout any of the stories I take on is that they typically have a magical or speculative twist — something that takes us out of our day-to-day world and puts a magical spin on it.
I am begging the universe to send me a murderous cheerleader YA. I want it to feel like what 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' meets 'Bring It On' — like, what are you truly willing to do to get to the top of the pyramid? When someone finally sends it to me, I think I can just quit. That's the book of my heart right now.
A genre mash is something I'm really loving right now — when people pitch something like 'this is a romantic horror' or 'a romantic thriller.' We get to see so many different combinations that we weren't seeing before, and that fresh element makes a book really stand out in what might otherwise feel like a super-saturated market.
When I look at comp titles and it's something I haven't seen a lot of, and I think, 'Oh, what is this? It feels fresh,' that gets my attention. I get a lot of people comping titles like 'A Dark Window' or 'Fourth Wing,' and those are fantastic books that have sold so many copies — but the downside is it sets your book up with sky-high expectations, and if it doesn't meet those in an acquisitions meeting, your comp titles can become your downfall. When I see something I vaguely remember but haven't seen a million times, I want to dive in and see what that fresh take is.
I really enjoy finding stories that I just fall into and don't want to leave, but that also keep surprising me — where I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, how has no one else read this? How am I the only one yelling about this?' The key ingredient is finding that perfect match between agent, editor, and author, because this industry is so subjective.
What Sheyla is looking for
This is unambiguously Knigge's core interest. She wants fantasy across a wide tonal and age spectrum: epic, gothic, cozy, dark, contemporary, and historical variants are all explicitly welcomed. Romantasy and fantasy romance are high priorities. BIPOC fantasy and LGBTQ+ fantasy are named separately, reinforcing that diverse perspectives are a priority within the genre, not an afterthought. Her touchstone comps — including witchy ensemble historicals, sword-and-sorcery YA, and lush dark fantasy — point toward atmosphere-rich, character-driven stories with strong hooks.
Horror is a named priority, with BIPOC horror and gothic horror called out specifically. She appreciates horror that intersects with fantasy — gothic fantasy sits squarely in her wheelhouse. Writers pitching horror should lean into atmosphere, cultural grounding, and strong concept over pure shock.
Knigge welcomes graphic novels across all age categories and specifically names children's graphic novels. Crucially, her interest appears oriented toward author-illustrators — writers pitching text-only graphic novel scripts without illustration samples should clarify their approach. This is a meaningful gate: confirm current submission guidelines before querying in this format.
Romance is well-represented in her wishlist across several subgenres: adult rom-com, category romance, and LGBTQ+ romance are all named. Trope-driven work is explicitly welcomed — she calls out 'just one bed' and 'all the tropes' as signals she wants fun, convention-savvy commercial romance, not genre-subverting literary experiments.
Thrillers and mysteries are on her list, with BIPOC mystery and cozy mystery called out. Her taste skews toward diverse-perspective and genre-cozy rather than hard-boiled procedurals. The Stalking Jack the Ripper comp signals she appreciates historical mystery with strong voice and YA crossover appeal.
Historical fiction is welcomed, especially at the YA level and in crossover adult form. Her comps and favorites suggest she gravitates toward history used as atmosphere and backdrop for plot-driven stories rather than purely literary or biographical narratives. Historical fantasy is the warmest intersection.
LGBTQ+ content runs as a through-line across virtually every genre she lists — YA, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, horror, and more. This is not a standalone category so much as a lens she actively seeks in whatever genre she's buying. Writers with LGBTQ+ protagonists or themes should name this clearly in the query.
Commercial and contemporary MG are explicitly named, including MG fantasy. She has a track record with younger readers through her graphic novel interest as well. Pitches should emphasize concept clarity and commercial hook.
Sci-fi is listed but narrowly — BIPOC sci-fi is the specific call-out, suggesting her interest is concentrated in diverse-perspective work rather than traditional hard sci-fi or space opera. Query with caution unless the project fits this framing.
New adult is a named category, and dark academia appears as a tagged sub-genre interest. Both signal appetite for stories set in academic or young-adult-adjacent spaces with higher stakes and mature content than traditional YA.
Not the right fit
On Sheyla's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Sheyla
Her form was confirmed closed on April 2, 2026 — check the High Line Literary Collective submissions page directly before doing anything else. Do not rely on any cached third-party signal.
Her name is pronounced SHAY-luh KUH-nig-gee — referencing this in a query signals you have done real research and avoids a common stumble.
She explicitly welcomes tropes in romance (named 'just one bed' and 'all the tropes') — if your manuscript leans into romance conventions rather than subverting them, say so confidently rather than apologizing for it.
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identity markers should be named plainly in the query — she lists them as active priorities across multiple genres, so burying this information is a missed opportunity.
Lead with your hook. Her introduction quote, attributed to a client, emphasizes the hook above all else: give her a hook and she'll sell your book. The first line of your query must do the work.
If your project has foreign-rights appeal — international setting, universal themes, non-US cultural grounding — note this explicitly. Her agency bio flags foreign potential as one of her specific strengths, and she likely looks for it when evaluating projects.
She attends the Writers' League of Texas Conference and the Atlanta Writers Conference. A conference meeting or referral from those events is worth noting in the opening line of your query.
For graphic novels, clarify whether you are an author-illustrator submitting samples or a writer pitching a script — this is a meaningful distinction given how she lists the category.
Comp titles from her own wishlist (e.g., Serpent and Dove, Sorcery of Thorns, A House of Sky and Breath) are safe to use if genuinely apt — she named them as targets, which means she will recognize the reference and it will resonate.
She is most active on Threads and Instagram, not other platforms — follow her there for real-time status updates and reopening announcements.