How we evaluate literary agents

Every profile on Glass Elevator is built to the same standard, so a label means the same thing on one page as it does on the next. This is how we make those calls. For where the underlying information comes from, see our sources; for the editorial standards that govern the writing, see the editorial policy.

Who we list

We focus on literary agents who represent authors to publishersand are or recently have been considering new clients. We currently prioritize agents working in fiction and children’s books, with growing coverage elsewhere. We do not list agencies that charge reading or representation fees — a legitimate agent makes money by selling your book, never by charging you. (For the paid side of publishing, we keep a separate, clearly-labeled author-services section.)

What each profile tries to answer

• What they represent — categories (picture book, middle grade, YA, adult) and genres, with the specific qualifiers that change whether you’re a fit.
• Whether they’re open — open, selective, closed, or unknown, dated to when we last confirmed it.
• How to submit — the method and a direct link to the agent’s own submission page.
• What their taste actually looks like — drawn from their stated wishlist, public interviews, and, where available, the books they’ve sold.

How we determine query status

“Open to queries” is the most volatile and most important field, so we treat it carefully:

• We take status from the most authoritative, most recent public signal we can find and date it.
• A fresher reading always overrides an older one. If our reading is getting stale, the page says so (“confirmed N days ago” / “verify before querying”) rather than implying it’s live.
• Selective means open to some queries (a niche, a referral, or a narrow window). Closed means not currently reading, but may reopen. Departed means the agent has stepped back from representing — a sticky state we don’t silently flip back to “open.”

Because windows change daily, we always tell you to confirm on the agent’s own page before you submit. We’d rather be honest about uncertainty than confidently wrong.

How we assign genres and categories

We normalize each agent’s stated interests into a consistent set of audience categories and genres so you can filter reliably. We preserve meaning-changing qualifiers rather than flattening them — “author-illustrators only,” “crossover authors only,” or “as a thread, not a main genre” all survive into the profile, because dropping them would send you to the wrong door.

How pages are ordered

On listing pages we generally lead with the most complete, most useful profiles, then agents who are currently open, then by how much we know. Ordering is editorial and based on usefulness to a querying writer — it is never for sale, and advertising plays no part in it.

How current it is

Status and signals are refreshed on a regular cadence, and each profile carries a date. Newer or more active agents tend to update more often. No directory is perfectly live, which is why every page ends with the same advice: confirm with the agent before you query.

Limitations we’ll own

We’re a small operation summarizing public information, so coverage is uneven, some pages are thinner than others, and an agent’s status can change between our last check and your visit. We mark thin pages, date what we can, and fix errors quickly when they’re flagged. If you spot one, let us know.