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  3. Maria Whelan
MW

Maria Whelan

InkWell Management

United States

Open to Queries~8 week responseemail
Submission Guidelines[email protected][1]Website
Manuscript Wish List (MSWL)

Looking For

Non-fiction books on funerary traditions or novels that examine peculiar customs around death, with a slight edge but not overly dark. Speculative fiction and horror that are accessible to general readers, focusing on themes of farmers, cowboys, and cryptids, set in Ireland by Irish writers.

Not Looking For

Screenplays

Themes & Elements

current cultural momentoverlooked facets of societycultural divide
Read MSWL profile →

About

Maria graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in English and Drama and obtained her Masters in Modern Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She worked as a Foreign Rights Assistant at Janklow & Nesbit and interned at Akashic Books before joining InkWell Management. She represents a blend of literary and commercial fiction, speculative fiction, and magical realism, with particular interest in novels that straddle cultural divides and speak to the current cultural moment.

Submission Guidelines
Format: email
Email: [email protected][1]
Submission Page: https://www.inkwellmanagement.com/terms/
Response Time: ~8 weeks
Guidelines:

Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] Queries should be emailed to the agent's query email In the body of your email, please include a query letter and a short writing sample (1-2 chapters). Emails with large attachments will be discarded. We currently accept submissions in all genres except screenplays. Due to the volume of queries we receive, we may not be able to respond to your query. If we are interested in reading more, we will respond within two months. No phone calls, please.

Notable Clients
  • Erin Mayer
  • Audrey Burges
  • Vinod Busjeet
  • Liz Topp
  • Joselyn Takacs
  • Luke Dumas
  • Dima Alzayat
  • Sarah Fay
  • Eduardo Garcia
  • Tea Hacic-Vlahovic
Notable Sales
  • USA TODAY bestsellers
  • Lammy Finalist
  • PEN/Robert W. Bingham Finalist
  • Simon & Schuster Books Like Us first novel winner
  • NPR's Best Books Of The Year authors
  • James Beard Award winner
  • Barnes & Noble picks authors
  • MacDowell Fellows

Social

LinkedInTwitter / X@@mariarwhelan

Sources

MSWL ProfilePersonal Website

Last verified: March 13, 2026

Audience

Adult

Genres

Literary Fiction
Fantasy
Humor / Essay Collections
Cultural Criticism
Mystery
Short Stories
Speculative Fiction
Women's Fiction
Memoir / Autobiography
Commercial Fiction
Family Saga
Science / Nature
Psychology

Focus Areas

LGBTQcurrent cultural momentnovels that straddle the cultural divideoverlooked facets of society

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