A commercial-fiction agent across adult, YA, and select middle grade who chases voice-driven stories with strong characters that twist their genre's familiar tropes into something new.
In brief
Townsend buys broad across commercial fiction — women's fiction, psychological suspense, romance, fantasy and science fiction, and YA — but the common thread is always voice and a character worth following.
Their loudest preference is genre work that honors the tropes readers love while doing something fresh with them, rather than the standard version of the form.
They actively prioritize inclusive, diverse stories and new, unique voices across every genre and age group.
Middle grade is a near-closed door right now: they're not taking on much new, and only for standout literary, character-driven prose.
Above all they reward a commercial hook plus beautiful writing — and they like to come away from a book feeling warm, inspired, and good.
Lately
Listed as open to queries on the most recent public status check.
What Suzie is looking for
Upmarket book-club fiction; historical that digs into cultural heritage, especially untold non-European events; contemporary that throws new light on a topical issue or centers quirky, dysfunctional families. They also love a touch of magic or speculative flavor in the vein of Sarah Addison Allen or Alice Hoffman, and lean toward stories carrying a thread of mystery or protagonists hiding secrets.
Strong, proactive characters with real agency who act against type and surprise Townsend while staying swoonworthy. Open to contemporary, historical, fantasy, or paranormal, and to high-concept, trope-driven hooks at any heat level — with a particular soft spot for a great slow burn.
Voice-driven stories in rich worlds that play to popular tropes while doing something new with them. Townsend loves atmospheric settings so vivid the world reads like another character, and is especially drawn to stories rooted in lesser-known or underrepresented history, mythology, and legend.
Named directly as a category they're looking for — suspense built on complicated characters and secrets fits their broader taste for protagonists with something to hide.
Authentic teen voices and raw, emotional stories that make Townsend laugh, cry, and swoon — books that linger long after the last page. Their YA touchstones range across contemporary and speculative, e.g. Chime, Jellicoe Road, Shatter Me, I'll Give You the Sun, Before I Fall, and You Should See Me in a Crown.
Not looking to take on much new at the moment, and only for literary, character-driven stories with poignant prose — any setting or subgenre. They're also a soft touch for beautifully written, emotional animal stories in the vein of A Dog's Way Home and Pax.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Suzie
Lead with voice and character — Townsend follows the protagonist first, so make yours sing on page one.
If you write genre, name the tropes you're playing with and show exactly where you break from them.
Inclusive, diverse stories with new voices are an explicit priority across every genre and age group — foreground that.
For women's fiction, signal whether you're upmarket book-club, cultural-heritage historical, topical contemporary, or have a thread of magic or mystery — those are the specific lanes they want.
Pitch middle grade only if it's genuinely literary and character-driven; the door there is nearly closed.
A clear commercial hook paired with beautiful writing is the combination they reward.
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