Agent Carrie Pestritto – Prospect Literary

Carrie Pestritto, literary agent

Carrie Pestritto

Carrie Pestritto joined Prospect Agency in 2011 after working as an assistant at Writers House. With a B.A. in English from Amherst College, she has experienced all sides of the publishing industry, having worked as a ghostwriter, freelance writer, and as an intern in the editorial acquisitions department of the Greenwood Publishing Group. As an agent, she loves the thrill of finding new authors with strong, unique voices and working closely with her clients to develop their ideas and manuscripts.

For Carrie, extraordinary fiction and non-fiction share the ability to transport readers to new and exciting places. As a history and mythology buff, she is intrigued by books that introduce her to another culture or time period. She is looking for description and detail that will make her feel like she is inside the story and interest her in a subject she never thought she would want to read about—or, conversely, introduce her to startling facts about something or someone she believed she already knew everything about.

Carrie is currently seeking:

• Narrative non-fiction
• Biography and memoir
• Commercial fiction with a literary twist
• Fresh chick lit
• Contemporary romance
• Upmarket women’s fiction
• Near-historical fiction (from about the Gilded Age on)
• Mystery/thrillers for a female audience
• High-concept YA fantasy
• Diverse YA and upper MG
• MG with a quirky voice
• Biographical, educational, or cultural picture books

For non-fiction projects, she looks for authors that have a strong platform, such as a popular blog, published articles, or related professional experience. She loves memoirs that bring her into a very atypical life situation, such as Suzanne McMinn’s Chickens in in the Road, and non-fiction that reveals little-known aspects of history. Cutting edge relationship or dieting books, pop psychology, and pop science also interest her.

In the fiction arena, she is drawn in by relatable characters, fantastic voices, strong heroines, unusual premises, or re-imaginings of classical books. She loves feeling connected with characters and immersed in the world she is reading about, whether that be 19th century Holland or a land ruled by elemental magic.

She is not currently interested in heavy, adult science fiction/fantasy or picture books that do not fit the parameters listed above. (Do not submit unsolicited manuscripts or inquire about the status of submissions via email. Please read the submissions page.)

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy