Teffanie Thompson is an assistant literary agent at Falkin Literary — and a published, award-winning author herself — who champions diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across genre fiction, with a particular eye for BIPOC voices in commercial, literary, and speculative categories.
In brief
Thompson is a published author whose own middle-grade novel won an African American Literary Award, which is a meaningful signal: she reads client manuscripts not just as a business analyst but as a practitioner who understands craft from the inside.
Her stated fiction list is unusually broad — spanning middle grade through new adult, literary through thriller — but her personal reading taste (Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis, The Hunger Games, The Giver, The Alchemist) skews toward speculative, dystopian, and philosophically resonant fiction, suggesting those will land with her most deeply.
Her academic background includes a graduate degree from Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction program, meaning she can articulate craft problems at a technical level — query letters that demonstrate self-awareness about structure and genre convention are likely to resonate.
No confirmed sales record is available in the current data set, so her commercial track record at Falkin Literary cannot yet be independently verified — writers should weigh her credentials (mentoring, editing, sensitivity reading, authorship) alongside the agency's overall standing.
Query status is unverified — confirm directly before submitting, as the last known status carries no reliable observation date.
Lately
Thompson's personal reading list — Butler's Xenogenesis, The Hunger Games, The Giver, The Alchemist — signals a consistent preference for speculative fiction with philosophical or social resonance, suggesting this is where her editorial enthusiasm runs deepest.
What Teffanie is looking for
Amplifying BIPOC voices is Thompson's explicit north star. Across every category she considers, she prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging — this isn't a subcategory for her, it's a lens applied to everything. Stories centered on or written by BIPOC authors are her core mandate.
Thompson's personal reading favorites are a strong speculative cluster — Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series, The Hunger Games, The Giver — pointing to a genuine appetite for science fiction, dystopian, and world-building-heavy narratives. Stories with philosophical weight and social stakes are likely to click with her instincts.
Thompson has personal skin in this category: her own MG novel won an African American Literary Award. She understands middle-grade craft at a practitioner level. BIPOC-centered MG — especially with speculative or magical realism threads — appears to be a sweet spot.
YA is explicitly on her list across multiple genre flavors — commercial, literary, speculative, thriller. Contemporary YA with strong voice and diverse representation would align well with her stated priorities.
Both categories appear on her list, suggesting she has appetite for character-driven, commercially oriented fiction with a strong female or femme center. BIPOC protagonists and culturally specific settings are likely to elevate a submission in her eyes.
Thriller is listed among her fiction interests. Given her overall emphasis on BIPOC storytelling and literary sensibility, character-driven thrillers with cultural specificity or social stakes are the most likely fit.
New Adult is an underrepresented category at many agencies; Thompson explicitly includes it, which makes her a relatively rare landing spot for stories in that 18–25 life-stage range. Speculative or literary NA with diverse characters seems like the best match.
Literary fiction appears alongside commercial on her list. Her own authorship and MFA-level training (Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction program) suggest she can engage with voice-forward, stylistically ambitious work, especially when it has genre DNA underneath.
Nonfiction is addressed in her submission guidelines — she asks for a query before a full proposal — indicating she will consider it under the right circumstances. However, it is not foregrounded in her wishlist, and writers should treat this as a conditional, case-by-case interest rather than a primary focus.
Not the right fit
On Teffanie's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Teffanie
Email your query plus the first chapter (pasted into the body of the email — no attachments) to the address listed on her agency page. Confirm the current address is still active before sending.
State the genre and word count clearly in your email — she explicitly asks for both and keeping it simple is part of her stated philosophy.
For nonfiction, send a query letter first; do not attach a full proposal until invited.
Submit only one project at a time.
Lead with your BIPOC identity, BIPOC protagonist, or diversity-centered premise early in the query — this is her explicit mandate, not a nice-to-have.
If your book has speculative, dystopian, or magical realism elements, make that clear in the opening lines; her personal taste runs strongly in that direction.
Because Thompson holds an MFA-equivalent credential in popular fiction, demonstrating craft self-awareness in your query (e.g., articulating your book's structure or genre conventions deliberately) is likely to signal you as a serious writer rather than cluttering the pitch.
Avoid fussy formatting or over-engineered query letters — her guidelines explicitly push back against overcomplicated submission requirements, so a clean, direct email will serve you better than an elaborate pitch document.
Verify query status independently before submitting — no confirmed open/closed date is on record.