Holly Root is the founder of Root Literary and an active literary agent. She is currently closed to unsolicited submissions, and accepts referrals only.
About Holly Root
Holly Root is the founder of Root Literary and an established literary agent representing commercial fiction for adults and younger readers, along with selected nonfiction. Her list has included bestselling and award-winning authors in romance, speculative fiction, young adult, middle grade, and other commercial categories. She is particularly drawn to distinctive voice, strong pacing, high-concept ideas, and books that combine broad reader appeal with confident execution.
Root began her publishing career as an editor in Nashville before moving to New York and entering literary representation. She worked at William Morris Agency, Trident Media Group, and Waxman Leavell Literary before founding Root Literary in 2017. Her clients have included Victoria Schwab, Jasmine Guillory, Christina Lauren, and other bestselling authors, and she has developed a reputation for focusing on long-term career strategy rather than individual book sales alone.
Holly Root — Literary Agent
Submitting Your Work to Holly Root
Before querying Holly Root
The Market List recommends you verify this agent is still active and open to submissions before sending a query. Check the agency website, recent deal announcements, and any posted guidelines.
To be sure your project is a fit, we recommend you familiarize yourself with Holly Root's list by reviewing recently represented titles and the agency's current submission guidelines before querying.
If you have recently queried Holly Root or have experience with this agent, please submit a comment below. Recent response times are always welcome and helpful to other writers.
From the Holly Root and Root Literary guidelines:
Root Literary accepts submissions through QueryManager unless otherwise noted. Writers should check each agent’s submission page to confirm whether that agent is currently open to queries. Holly Root is currently closed to queries and accepts referrals only.
Writers should query only one Root Literary agent at a time and should review each agent’s profile for individual interests and requirements. The agency does not accept screenplays or poetry, and does not accept paper submissions, telephone pitches, or in-person pitches.
After submitting, writers are given the agent’s current response timeframe. If no response is received within that period, they may follow up or query another Root Literary agent. Writers who receive an offer of representation from another agent should notify Root Literary promptly.