Upmarket or literary contemporary fiction with a range of tones, including commercial stories. For nonfiction, niche topics that appeal to a wide audience with clear knowledge and human nature connections, as well as unexpected topics.
Music-centric themes; educator/student relationship dynamics; novellas.
Carleen Geisler is an associate agent at P.S. Literary Agency actively building her list of both adult fiction and nonfiction. She gravitates toward upmarket and literary voices in fiction while also considering commercial stories, and seeks niche nonfiction topics with wide appeal. She lives on a working produce farm.
Please note I am only taking novel-length submissions at this time. In Adult Fiction I'm looking for: - All contemporary genres (no scifi or fantasy please!) - I will consider some historical, generally only if it's a genre blend - Grounded speculative stories - The strange/weird/whimsical - Unsettling atmospheres - Real life stakes - Wilderness settings - Dark and dreadful plots - Thrillers/Suspense, especially if they don't center around a death/body - Characters with unique jobs - Scary horror that isn't supernatural - Romance with a really strong b-plot - Everyday, slice of life plots (a story I can believe is happening to my neighbour right now) - Mysteries where the main character has a unique reason for wanting to solve the murder - Super atmospheric suspense/horror - Nature or unusual places - Stories that make me curious about humanity - Stories set outside of the USA - Engaging upmarket/literary voices - Books that might be considered "slow" but are still captivating In Non-Fiction I'm looking for: - Spirituality - Mind/Body/Spirit - Food - Agriculture - Science/STEM - Humanity - Natural Living - Animals and Pets - Unusual or weird topics for which the author has a lot of passion/knowledge! - Community and Culture - Pop Culture - New world ideas - Anything witchy/astrology/tarot/oracle related - Health and wellness—especially topics of health or wellness that aren't mainstream - Explorations of big ideas I am not a good fit for: - Childrens/YA - Sci-fi - Fantasy - Detective/police stories, as well as crime thrillers or police procedurals - Mob/organized crime stories - Heavily political plots/military - Series (could be a series is fine, if the querying novel could also stand alone) - Excessive gore, especially medical related - Romance that starts with a destruction of some sort (death, cheating, breakup) - Stories that rely on "shock value" to keep the reader engaged - POV characters from a marginalized experience that the author does not have direct experience with - Second chance romance stories are usually not for me - Narration that breaks the fourth wall - Mystery stories where the motivation for figuring out the mystery is that it's the character's job - I am not usually a good fit for books with music-centric themes - Stories that center relationships between educators/students or similar dynamics - Novellas. I am only taking novel-length books at this time.
Last verified: March 20, 2026
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