Nicole Payne is a literary agent with Confluence Literary.
Many moons ago, a book-loving nerd was given a chance to live out her childhood dream of being a literary agent. Starting from reader to intern, Nicole Payne ultimately became an agent in the summer of 2016. Now she embarks on a new journey, joining Copps Literary Services in 2023 (now renamed Confluence).
In general, I represent young adult and adult fiction novels, preferably in romance, women’s fiction, literary fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, and speculative fiction. They hold a special place in my heart. As I slowly delve into nonfiction, I would love to see more science-based books, especially biology and forensic, as well as medicine, travel, and cookbooks in my queue. I’m also actively seeking diverse voices and stories across the board. Give me all the books!
General things she wants to see: stories that have amazing voice, killer plot, magical words, and a uniqueness that can’t be matched; more diverse voices and stories written by BIPOC authors.
Fiction likes: time travel romances with a twist; romantasy; more than just the stereotypical rom-com but still cute and with great chemistry and banter; STEM or STEAM-related books; exotic settings- looking for non-European; mythology – Egyptian, Norse, Chinese (no Greek, please); contemporary fantasy, high fantasy, low fantasy, and dark fantasy; vampires (different than Twilight), zombies, aliens, or psychics; unique take on fairy tale retellings; books focusing on body positivity; books with flawed characters – love character growth and fine with Happy For Now as long as they’re working on bettering themselves to achieve that Happily Ever After; books with unreliable narrators- there’s nothing better than being sent down dozens of wrong rabbit holes; and redemption stories.
Nonfiction likes: pop science- books in the biology, forensics, technology, and medicine realm but told in an engaging way and not like a typical textbook; cookbooks- looking for Eurasian, or African specific recipes with a story
Health and wellness – would love something inspirational and uplifting and focus on body positivity; spiritual/inspirational/religious – would love to follow a spiritual journey of enlightenment in some way.
She is NOT looking for: picture/chapter books; middle grade; political novels; poetry collections; novellas or stories less than 50K; erotica; previously published novels (please only send unpublished ones);