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Laura Zats
Headwater Literary Management
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About
Laura Zats is the founder of Headwater Literary Management. She previously worked as an agent at Red Sofa Literary and has also worked as an editor. She co-hosted the publishing industry podcast Print Run and is known for being active in the writing community on social media.
Currently Looking For
LAURA’S REPRESENTATIVE CATEGORIES: I am actively looking to flesh out the adult side of my list but am always excited to read YA. I particularly love to work on books that appeal to readers of different genres or subgenres—if you’re querying something that crosses multiple areas of my list, I want to see it! YA I’m interested in reading about standout characters I’ve never met before, clever twists on familiar themes, and compassionate writing. I’m also very interested in seeing marginalized creators take on “tired” tropes. I’m not interested in dystopia/big government stories, but I’m very much open to anything else. This is a category where I don’t quite know what I want until I see it, so take the above and run with it! ROMANCE I gravitate towards tropes that build conflict from the roles and expectations a character brings with them at the start of the book—think enemies (or rivals) to lovers, fake relationship, and coworkers. Put another way, I like the tension to come from forces outside the relationship versus forces inside the relationship (like accidental pregnancy, love triangle, miscommunication, etc.) Feel free to query me with contemporary romance, historical romance, romance with speculative elements, and romance in speculative settings. I’m not a good fit for Christian romance. I will also not be a good fit for you if you describe your romance as “clean.” I unintentionally work primarily with LGBTQ+ romance and am always excited to add more to my list in all subgenres! I particularly would love to see more f/f and would love more nb or trans characters. MYSTERY/THRILLER I am particularly looking for series or standalone books that bring something fresh to the genre. For example, I’d love to see projects that play with romance or speculative fiction tropes as much as traditional mystery tropes, or that feature antiheroes. I am actively looking for projects that feature a BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ protagonist. I am interested in mysteries and thrillers in contemporary, historical, and speculative settings. I am particularly drawn to cozy mysteries, thrillers that are built around long-standing relationships and unspool slowly and deliberately (a la Lucy Foley), and anything with Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher vibes. I am not a good fit for police/law enforcement heroes or love interests. I am also not a good fit for plots that include gaslighting of female characters. SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/HORROR SFF will always be my first love, and as such, I’m very open to all subgenres, as well as horror. However, submitted projects must pass the Bechdel and/or the Mako Mori test. Forever loves for me are heists/cons, fantasy that taps into gaming culture/fandom, witches, and reluctant, flawed heroes. I prefer to see traditional settings and tropes twisted on their heads. I’m drawn to seeing progressive, community-focused politics in my SFF and would love to have more decolonized worlds come across my desk. I am less interested in dystopian/big gov
Submission Guidelines
Submit query and first three chapters to https://querymanager.com/query/laura_headwaterliterary Guidelines & Details Consultations As a new addition from The Manuscript Academy, #MSWL’s educational sister company, we are now offering ten-minute e-consultations (ask about your query, your first page, why you’re getting form rejections–or just ask your general publishing questions) and written critiques with a select group of our agents and editors. You’ll be able to pick from Skype, Hangouts, or a phone call–and, yes, this works internationally–or simply receive an email with your detailed written notes. Meetings are posted once monthly, and then often sell out. If there are meetings available, you’ll see them bolded on the calendar below after clicking “Set Time Zone.” Click here to get an email when new meetings go live. Live Meetings Vital Info @LZats Website
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