Agents

Please read each agent's bio and MSWL before querying them. If you're not sure which agent is right for your project, that's okay! If we feel another agent is better suited for the project, will will share the information with them.

This also means that a pass from one is a pass from all at Birch. 

Cindy Bullard

Senior Agent and
Subsidiary Rights

Cindy opened Birch Literary in 2021, to help other writers on their own path to publication. (She writes under a pen name.) 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 FICTION 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 at Query Manager.

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

Lori Colvin

Literary Agent

Closed to submissions except for pitches received during conferences or pitch sessions.

Lori has a special empathy for authors, having penned over 150 books herself, under a successful pen name. A fierce advocate for her fellow writers, Lori understands the publishing industry from many different viewpoints, and she does her absolute best to tailor her approach to meet each author’s needs.

 MSWL

If a book doesn’t grab Lori on the first page, she generally won’t read any further, so bring out your best right away. Lori's looking for fresh viewpoints in multiple genres, including WF, Thriller, Book Club Fiction, Mystery (but no Cozy), and more.

Things she's not seeking at the moment: Romance, MG, or PB.

If you can make Lori laugh, cry, gasp, or stay up all night reading, you may be a good match.

Submission Guidelines

Closed to submissions except for pitches received during conferences or pitch sessions.

Please send your query to lori@birchliterary.com

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

Please send all of the following in the BODY of your email. Attachments will not be opened and your query may be declined if this guidance isn’t followed.

  • Genre

  • Word Count

  • A 1-2 sentence hook

  • A SHORT query. Please do not send a summary disguised as a query letter. If you don't know how to write a query, there are multiple online tools to assist you with this.

  • A 1-2 page summary that hits the high points only.

  • The first ten pages of your manuscript.

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.