Cindy Bullard

Senior Literary Agent and
Subsidiary Rights

Cindy is closed to traditional submissions.
She is only open to indie authors and publishers for representation of subsidiary rights. 

Cindy opened Birch Literary in 2021. Presently she represents subsidiary rights and a select few career authors. Please visit our "Sold" page to see Cindy's represented deals.

MSWL

• Please do not submit unfinished work.

• Please do not submit first drafts or work that has not been through a critique group. Beta readers are not the same!

• Join a critique group that will read (and redline) your manuscript. Then, polish your final draft before submitting it. 

• Please review the suggested guidelines for word count below.

In nonfiction, Cindy loves books about nature (kids and adults),  faith-based books, self-help from experts, mindfulness, humor, history, sports, and true crime.

Cindy is NOT seeking adult fiction or children's fiction at this time. 

Submission Guidelines

Your non-fiction proposal should include:

• A proposal that covers the title, audience, and the reasons why you are the one to write the work. 

• A list of recent comparable titles.

• A marketing plan of how you will promote the work.

• A table of contents.

• A chapter outline that includes a one-paragraph synopsis for each chapter.

• The first three completed and polished chapters.

• Your biography. Please focus on your expertise in the area in which you are writing. 

CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS EXCEPT FOR

• Pitches received during conferences or pitch sessions.

• Indie authors seeking representation for
  subsidiary rights.

• Publishers seeking representation for subsidiary rights.

Please check back for updates. 

When open to submissions, my preferred submission method is cindy@birchliterary.com

Suggested Guidelines for Word Count

Non-fiction 50 - 80K 

Adult Fiction Mystery 70 - 90K Adult Fiction Romance 70 - 90K
Adult Fiction Cozy Mystery 50 - 60K
Middle-Grade Fiction 30 - 50K
YA Fiction 60 - 90K

Kay Cornett

Literary Agent

Closed to submissions.

Before joining Birch Literary, Kay began her publishing career as an intern at Folio Literary Management after receiving her MFAW from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Following a role in marketing and public relations, she landed Birch Literary. As an agent, Kay takes an active role in the editorial process and is dedicated to cultivating a long-term career and vision for her authors.

MSWL 

Fiction

• Adult literary thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and well-researched true crime

• YA in any genre (but she's particularly fond of fantasy or a good origin/fairytale retelling)

Also eager to read:

• Coming-of-age stories featuring main characters with scratchy voices

• Immortal characters and unlikely love interests

• Ghost stories that keep me up at night, but no horror

 Nonfiction

• Cookbooks (plant-based, regional, or fresh spins on old classics)

• Lifestyle Nonfiction: health, wellness, relationships, parenting, lifestyle, interior design, minimalist/clean living, fitness, apothecary, mindfulness

• Platform-based Nonfiction: must demonstrate a built-in following with expertise in the specific professional space

Also, (very) selectively seeking:

• Narrative Nonfiction and Essay Collections that make me see the world differently

• Poetry Collections that haunt me (in the best way, of course!)

Submission Guidelines

Closed to submissions.

Please send your query to kay@birchliterary.com

In the subject line, type ATTN Kay, and include your project's title.

• A brief query letter

• The first 10 pages of your manuscript
  pasted in the body of the email.

• No attachments, please.

• For nonfiction, please send
  a detailed proposal that includes the first two chapters of the manuscript.

Rhian MacGillivray

Literary Agent

Rhian is closing to submissions on 9/14/25.

Before joining Birch Literary, Rhian worked for more than a decade as a Spanish-English translator, editor, and proofreader. 

MSWL

Rhian is looking for adult commercial or upmarket fiction that can be classed as women’s, book club, historical, romance, or fantasy or romantasy fiction. Ultimately, she wants fiction that will make her feel something, keep her up late at night, and have her still thinking about it months down the line. She's a sucker for coming-of-age stories and those told with multiple POVs, whatever the genre.

• Women’s fiction: strong female characters facing difficult choices and complex relationships, like Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, or anything in the vein of Taylor Jenkins Reid or Kristin Hannah.

• Book club fiction: emotional depth and human connections, or ones that will open up a new world to her, like video games in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, and hockey culture in Beartown by Fredrik Backman, while exploring different themes.

• Historical fiction: fiction that's well-researched and that immerses the reader in another time and place. If it’s got a bit of romance thrown in, all the better, like the incredible In Memoriam by Alice Winn.

• Romance: strong characters, big emotions, complicated relationships, and more. Not a good fit for the fake dating trope. Spice is okay, but it shouldn’t feel gratuitous.

• Fantasy/romantasy: romantic fantasy where the romance is not necessarily front and center, but rather the plot shines and the romance is secondary. Anything that involves high stakes, political intrigue and dynamics, scheming, and unlikely heroes, such as Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley.

Rhian is not seeking any YA, children’s fiction, or non-fiction books at this time.

Submission guidelines

• Rhian is closing to submissions on 9/14/25.

• Please send a short query letter along with the first three chapters or 10,000 words of your manuscript, and a 1-2 page synopsis, all in one Word document to rhian@birchliterary.com.