Debut and established authors of Romance (especially romantic suspense, small-town, inspirational, diverse characters) and Women's Fiction (historical fiction, psychological suspense, commercial, female friendships, mother-daughter bonds, Deep South settings).
Ann Leslie Tuttle is a literary agent at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret actively seeking debut and established romance and women's fiction writers. She specializes in romantic suspense, small-town romance, inspirational romance, and women's fiction including historical fiction, psychological suspense, and commercial fiction.
Please see full guidelines at https://www.dystel.com. Do send your query letter via email, and include the full query in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Do include a writing sample of the first 25 pages of your manuscript (fiction) or your proposal with sample chapter (nonfiction) in the body of the email below your query letter. Do be sure to query only one agent at this agency. We will not review queries sent to more than one of us. Do resend your query email if you haven't heard from us in 8 weeks, noting the date previously sent. Don't send attachments with a blank email or an incomplete query. Don't send materials in a shared file of download link. We will not open these files. Don't send a query for a novel until the manuscript is complete, polished and ready for review. We do not accept partial manuscripts for novels. Nonfiction can be queried with a proposal. Don't pitch projects or follow up on queries via social media. Pitches made via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. will not be considered except as part of a planned pitch event.
Last verified: April 1, 2026