Stacey Donaghy is the founder of Donaghy Literary Group and a commercially proven agent with 10 six-figure deals, best known for building careers in contemporary romance and psychological thrillers, now laser-focused on domestic suspense, psychological suspense, and emotionally driven romance.
In brief
Her deal record tells a different story than her current wishlist: the bulk of her career sales were in new adult and contemporary romance (Jay Crownover, K.A. Tucker, Jamie Shaw), but her current agency page has dropped NA and YA entirely — she now explicitly seeks only adult fiction, specifically domestic suspense, psychological thrillers, and romance.
She has deep, well-documented relationships with Simon & Schuster's Atria imprint, HarperCollins's William Morrow imprint, Hachette's Forever Yours, Sourcebooks, Entangled, and Kensington — a strong mid-to-large house network that suggests she can place commercial fiction at scale.
K.A. Tucker and Jay Crownover are her flagship clients, each appearing across multiple multi-book deals; Tucker alone accounts for at least four separate deal records with Atria, making that author–agent pairing one of the most commercially significant relationships in her history.
She is vocal about wanting unreliable narrators and is specifically restricting her thriller intake to domestic and psychological subgenres only — a police procedural or serial-killer thriller is explicitly not what she wants, no matter how strong.
Despite her past roster including diverse and LGBTQ titles, her current agency page does not foreground those categories the way her older wishlist did — though she still notes a desire to see more #ownvoices and diverse works within her listed genres.
Lately
Hi, #Amquerying writers📚 In order to catch up, I am closing to queries. All queries currently in my QueryManager queue will be responded to.
In early January 2026, Donaghy announced she was reopening to queries and called out domestic suspense, psychological thrillers, and romance as the categories she most wants to see that year — confirming these three as her active priorities heading into 2026.
What Stacey is looking for
This is her stated top priority right now. She wants tightly plotted, deeply unsettling stories built around unreliable narrators and twists that genuinely misdirect — the kind of read that makes you question every character. Domestic suspense is a specific callout, suggesting she gravitates toward threat-within-the-home scenarios over procedural or crime-driven plots. She is only open to psychological and domestic subgenres in thriller/suspense; other thriller types are explicitly off the table.
She wants romance that hits hard emotionally — the kind that produces a genuine, overwhelming reaction in the reader. Romantic suspense (romance with a suspense throughline) is equally welcome. She is not interested in biker, rocker, or tattooed-bad-boy tropes as a central premise, though incidentally tattooed characters are fine. New adult romance is also off her current list. The emphasis is on emotional devastation and stakes, not aesthetic rebellion.
Within her core genres of thriller, suspense, and romance, she actively wants to see manuscripts from underrepresented voices and stories centering diverse experiences. This is not a standalone category but a strong filter she applies across everything she considers.
Not the right fit
On Stacey's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Stacey
Use the query submission button on Stacey's bio page at the Donaghy Literary Group website — do not email her directly under any circumstances; unsolicited emails are not accepted.
Her current page focuses exclusively on adult fiction; do not query YA, middle grade, or new adult, even though older sources listed those categories — her current page is the authority.
Lead with your narrator's unreliability if you have one: she has explicitly called this out as a must-have, so name it early and explain how it serves the plot.
If querying thriller or suspense, establish in the opening that your book is domestic or psychological in nature. Her genre restriction here is tight — don't leave it implicit.
For romance, foreground the emotional devastation: she wants ugly-cry, gut-punch impact. Describe the emotional stakes and what tears the relationship apart, not just the trope.
Mention diverse perspectives or #ownvoices status if applicable — she has flagged this as a consistent priority across all her current genres.
Her January 2026 public statement singled out domestic suspense, psychological thrillers, and romance as her most-wanted for the year — if your book fits more than one of these (e.g., romantic suspense), say so explicitly.
Check the live query form for the most current genre dropdown preferences, which she updates directly there, before finalizing your submission.