Literary Agents of Change

Mentorship isn't simply an experienced professional telling someone what to do. It's a conversation. It's curiosity meeting experience. Questions meeting perspective. Goals meeting guidance. And the best mentoring relationships can be meaningful for both the mentor and the mentee.

17 Sept

Every writer brings a perspective, experience, and imagination that no one else can replicate. ✍️ Don't worry about writing what you think you're supposed to write. Start by asking: What story am I uniquely positioned to tell? Your voice is part of what makes your story yours. #WritingTips #LAOC

15 Sept

Every book has a story behind the story. Publishing is a community of people—and who gets access to those roles helps shape which stories make it into the world. That's why we're working to create more equitable pathways into literary agenting. 📚 #LiteraryAgentsOfChange #Publishing

10 Sept

We often talk about the importance of seeing ourselves represented on the page. But representation behind the scenes matters, too. Literary agents play an important role in determining which stories are championed, which authors receive advocacy, and which voices enter the publishing pipeline.

8 Sept

A grant can be more than financial support—it can create the space to keep growing. For our mentees, this funding helps ease financial pressure and gives them greater freedom to invest in their careers and pursue new opportunities. This is what access looks like. 💛

4 Sept

A satisfying ending isn't simply the moment when the plot stops. It's the moment when the reader understands what the journey has meant. As you're drafting, ask yourself: What emotional question am I setting up at the beginning—and how will the ending answer it?

2 Sept

Ever wondered what a literary agent actually does? 📚 Literary agents are so much more than the person who sends a manuscript to a publisher. They discover talent, champion authors, navigate the publishing industry, negotiate deals, and help build careers.

1 Sept

Behind every mentorship is a person learning, growing, asking questions, building confidence, and finding their place in the industry. We're proud to create space for emerging publishing professionals to learn from those who have come before them. Because access to knowledge can change a career.

20 Apr

Struggling to pitch your story? You need a solid logline. 🧵👇 (1/2) Don't overcomplicate it. Just fill in the blanks: When [Inciting Incident] happens, a [Description of Protagonist] must [Goal/Action] or else [Stakes/Consequences]. #WritingCommunity #WritingTips #AmWriting #LAOC

20 Apr

(2/2) Example: When a tornado hits, a young farm girl must navigate a magical land to find a wizard, or else she'll never make it back home. 🌪️👠 No character names. Max 30 words. Make the conflict obvious. Share your current WIP in the replies! 📖✍️

8 Apr

🚨 MYTH BUSTED 🚨: You DO NOT need to live in NYC to be an agent. The industry is global, deals are closed on Zoom, and talent is everywhere. What you actually need: drive, a great eye, and good Wi-Fi. 💻🤝 Where are you building your career from? 🌎👇 #CareerMyths #AgentLife #LAOC

2 Mar

Today's the day!! Head to the link in our bio to apply ✍️ #publishing #amwriting #amediting #literaryagent #literaryagentsofchange

26 Feb

The deadline to apply for Literary Agents of Change's Fellowship Program is MARCH 2! Swipe for more info 👉️ Or head to the link in our bio for an info session and the link to apply 🥳 #fellowship #literaryagentsofchange #amediting #amwriting #publishing

26 Feb

12 Dec 2025

Happy holidays from all of us here at LAOC. We're more grateful than ever for your support. You won't hear from us here until the new year--and we have high hopes for 2026! Follow us to stay tuned 🎵 #literaryagentsofchange #publishing #literarycommunity #amagenting #amwriting

3 Dec 2025

Applications for the 2026 Mentorship Program are OPEN!! Apply to be a mentor or a mentee by January 15, 2026. Link in bio. #amagenting #literaryagentsofchange #literarycommunity #mentorship

2 Dec 2025

Better representation among agents = more equitable representation among published writers, building a world where every reader can pick up a book and find themselves. This Giving Tuesday, help us make better books 📚 Donate at the link in our bio. #givingtuesday #literaryagentsofchange

26 Nov 2025

This Thanksgiving season we're extremely thankful and grateful to all our committee members for all their contributions to this organization! What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season?

19 Nov 2025

DYK?: Publishing usually starts to wind down right about this time of year, and wish to circle back to new things come January! #publishing #circleback #2026 #holiday #slowseason #slowingdown #editors #agents

14 Nov 2025

Every reader deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of a book. Join us this Giving Tuesday in our work to recruit and keep underrepresented literary agents in publishing. Read more and help us change the industry for good at the link in our bio ❤️ #givingtuesday #literaryagentsofchange

12 Nov 2025

A Day in the Life of an Agent: Part Two is here! Here's an example of how one agent who freelances structures just one weekday. Every day changes in this scenario! Peek our insta for a fuller picture. #amagenting #amquerying #literaryagentsofchange

Congratulations to the Fellowship class of 2025, who finished up their program this summer. We were so honored to be able to invite these incredibly qualified individuals into publishing - their full testimonials are in the thread below! #publishing #amwriting #amagenting #literaryagentsofchange

✨ “This program does a great job of introducing the publishing field and just how broad it actually is. [It] provides building blocks for more if you intend to continue down that path, and skills that are transferable to other fields if you decide not to pursue it.”

✨“Everyone sent me a check in email, and I had consistent office hours. I also had specific help (like application and resume help) and advice (email people for information and look at books you like; look at the editor/literary agent and email them). It was a wonderful working environment.”

✨ “I found myself excited for every project I did, and I realized that I was also very good at what I was doing."

✨ “I feel I've grown more confident in the strides I'm making to break into the industry! It was reaffirming to listen to the feedback from my colleagues and mentors as I shared my potential prospects.” ✨ “[Fellowship is] a great stepping stone to acquire publishing skills, network, and explore.”

Congratulations to the mentorship class of 2025, who recently wrapped up their program year! We're so proud to have worked with these incredible individuals 🌠 Peek below for some testimonies: #mentorship #literaryagentsofchange #publishing #amagenting #amwriting #literarycommunity

✨ “Not only did I receive great advice during these meetings, the conversations truly drove forth wonderful growth, personal, and business considerations on my end that have shifted and strengthened the practices I am doing now to further future growth and stabilization.”

✨“Honestly, the only thing I wish was different is that the program lasted longer—it was so beneficial that I didn’t want it to end.” 🥹 who's chopping onions?

✨ “I'm walking away from this mentorship program with more confidence and knowledge, and I'm excited to build off of this solid foundation.” ✨ “Being part of this program gave me increased confidence in negotiating deals & communicating with clients and publishing partners about tricky situations.”

✨ “...Learning from my mentor that there are ways to be open about disability and chronic illness and still be professionally successful instead of hiding my condition from colleagues and clients was a major breakthrough in an area I didn't expect to address when I applied to this program.”

24 Oct 2025

Writers, though it may feel like the agent is interviewing you, the call is actually a chance for YOU to interivew the agent! Ask all your questions---fire away and don't be afraid! #publishing #writers #agents #writingcommunity

22 Oct 2025

Join us for our third "In Conversation" discussion in partnership with AALA's DEI Committee: How to Address the Challenges Facing our Industry, which will be moderated by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, bestselling author and co-founder of Authors Against Book Bans!

Two Did You Know posts in the same week?! Yes. You can never know too much 😉 The Diversity Baseline Survey by @leeandlow is the most extensive demographic survey currently in existence for publishing. (thread) #disabilityawarenessmonth #literaryagentsofchange #amwriting #publishing #amagenting

That accessibility is why our #mentorship program is entirely remote. We'll continue to work to help raise standards for remote internships and assistantships, which pose both challenges and opportunities.

There are still many more accommodations that are owed to people living with disabilities who are working in publishing. But we're making a start!

The survey notes two important factors: 1 - that the COVID pandemic happened between these years and 2 - that the rise in remote or hybrid work may have allowed greater access to people who needed a more flexible work environment.

At LAOC, one of our missions is to increase accessibility to publishing and particularly to agenting - and as remote work has risen at publishing houses, it may have risen even more at literary agencies, whose models lend themselves well to remote work.

This Disability Awareness Month, note that from 2019 to 2023, the percentage of literary agents who identified as disabled or as having a disability increased from 9% to 22.4%.

17 Oct 2025

Latinx Heritage Month drew to a close this week, so we're reminding you that Latinx agents work hard all year, every year! Our colleagues @latinxpublishing have a resource that lists great Latinx agents - & do we spy some grads of our very own Mentorship Program? 👀 📣 latinxinpublishing.com/agents 📣

17 Oct 2025

The same resource also contains a list of non-Latinx BIPOC agents and white agents interested in Latinx stories. Agents, take note - visit this page to add your name to the list! Authors - use this great resource to find new names to query!

17 Oct 2025

*Agents' inclusion on this list should not be taken as an endorsement by Latinx in Publishing or LAOC. #latinxpublishing #literaryagentsofchange #latine #latinx #latinxwriters #amwriting #amagenting

10 Oct 2025

Ever wondered how an agent structures their day? Well, welcome to our new series: A Day in the Life of an Agent! We're kicking off this series with an agent who also has a full-time job! #agenting #publishing #writing #writingcommunity #sidehustle #dayinthelife #dayinthelifeofanagent

8 Oct 2025

We're so excited to have #DVPit back this year, and to see all these amazing pitches roll in! Keep them coming! We hope for plenty of successful matches for both agents and writers out there! ❤️ #dvpit #marginalizedcommunities #pitchevent #pitching #writingcommunity #writers #agents

🍂 It's October - here are some of the past month's happenings! (extremely noncomprehensive - we are still volunteers :) #recap #September #amagenting #publishing #writing #amwriting #literarycommunity

- Shorter, hookier middle grade is in; but titles that would normally have hit the school & library market hard are floundering. Read more about this in the @publisherswkly article "Middle Grade Is Down but Never Out." - Bluestockings Cooperative, an indie feminist bookstore, has closed.

Notable events in September included the People of Publishing Conference and Latinx Storytellers Conference!

- As authors see their books have been pirated by Anthropic and try to file a claim, they're finding that some publishers never registered their copyright. Check with your agents. - B&N is acquiring Books, Inc., the oldest indie bookstore in the Western U.S.

1 Oct 2025