Tess Callero is a highly editorial Chicago-based agent at Europa Content who champions commercial women's fiction, psychological suspense, and romance alongside platform-driven nonfiction—with a particular eye for stories that reframe familiar experiences in fresh, emotionally resonant ways.
In brief
Tess joined Europa Content in 2019 after four years at Curtis Brown, and her agency bio emphasizes her nonfiction chops—building platform-driven proposals from the ground up—as much as her fiction taste, suggesting she is a genuinely hybrid agent rather than a fiction-first one.
Her bestseller track record spans the New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, and Globe & Mail, signaling she has real commercial placement muscle and publisher relationships across the US and UK markets.
On the fiction side, her stated wishlist skews hard toward psychological suspense and contemporary romance/rom-com, with a clear preference for female-centered, emotionally elevated narratives—she is less interested in plot-as-puzzle than in character interiority with a sharp hook.
Her nonfiction appetite is unusually broad: self-development, business, mind/body/spirit, health/wellness, food, pop culture, science, and investigative journalism all appear, which means a compelling platform paired with a fresh angle matters more to her than the specific subject.
She sits on the AALA Board and serves on both the AI Special Committee and the Media and Digital Innovations Committee—signals that she is agency-ecosystem-minded and attentive to how the industry is evolving, which may resonate with authors thinking about rights and digital reach.
Lately
Tess's current agency page frames her nonfiction work as her editorial specialty—she describes building platform-driven proposals collaboratively with clients, suggesting she invests heavily in pre-submission development rather than signing only finished, polished packages.
What Tess is looking for
Tess is actively looking for smart, twisty psychological suspense with strong female voices. She gravitates toward the kind of propulsive, character-driven tension found in writers like Lucy Foley and Ashley Audrain—stories where dread builds from intimate relationships and domestic spaces rather than procedural mechanics.
Fun, voice-driven romantic comedy with genuine emotional depth and elevated themes woven naturally into the plot. She is not looking for breezy-only fare—she wants the comedy to carry real stakes or social texture. Writers in the vein of Emily Henry, Talia Hibbert, Elena Armas, and Ali Hazelwood represent her target zone.
Tess has a specific appetite for narratives that place a young female protagonist in a recognizable setting and use it to reveal something genuinely new about that experience—stories that feel familiar on the surface but deliver an unexpected emotional or cultural perspective. She includes BIPOC and LGBTQ stories explicitly in her commercial fiction interests.
Beyond psychological suspense, Tess represents mystery and thriller more broadly in the adult space. The emphasis from her own language is still on voice and character over pure plot mechanics, so a distinctive narrative perspective will serve a query better than a complex whodunit architecture alone.
Her agency bio positions this as a core strength: she builds platform-driven proposals from the ground up, meaning she is comfortable working with authors who are not yet fully packaged. Subject areas include self-development, business, mind/body/spirit, and health/wellness. A credible platform or clear expertise is essential—she is not looking for speculative nonfiction from unknown voices.
Tess has a wide secondary nonfiction appetite covering cookbooks, food narrative, pop culture, science, investigative journalism, business, and social justice and anti-racism work, including humor. The through-line is a strong authorial point of view backed by genuine expertise or access. Her colleague Amanda Bernardi also covers much of this territory, so confirming you are addressing Tess specifically in your query matters.
Listed among her nonfiction categories. True crime in particular pairs naturally with her interest in investigative journalism and psychological suspense sensibilities. Biography and psychology round out a nonfiction list that prizes intellectual rigor alongside commercial appeal.
Not the right fit
On Tess's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Tess
Send to tess@europacontent.com — her direct email is confirmed on the Europa Content agency page, which is the highest-authority source for submission logistics.
Do not include attachments of any kind in your initial query; she has explicitly stated she will not accept them. Paste any sample pages or a synopsis directly into the body of the email if needed.
She will only reply if interested — do not follow up to check on status. Treat no response as a pass and query on.
Distinguish yourself from her colleague Amanda Bernardi, who covers overlapping nonfiction territory: make clear why you are querying Tess specifically, particularly for food, social justice, or pop culture nonfiction.
For fiction, lead with a sharp, single-sentence hook that names the emotional or social experience at the center of your story — she responds to interiority and theme, not just plot mechanics.
For nonfiction, open with your platform and the concrete gap your book fills. Her agency bio signals she is comfortable building proposals collaboratively, so if your proposal is still in development, say so — it is not disqualifying.
Mention relevant comp titles she has cited or sold; her taste is specific enough that well-chosen comps signal you have done your homework.
Do not query her with sci-fi, fantasy, horror, or historical fiction under any framing — these are flat exclusions with no noted exceptions.