meet the team
After a dozen years working in publishing in New York City, Kate moved to Colorado and formed KT Literary in early 2008 with an emphasis on middle grade and young adult fiction. Since then, KT Literary has expanded to represent fantastic stories for avid adult readers and children of all ages. Kate's clients include Maureen Johnson, Stephanie Perkins, Amy Spalding, Trish Doller, Diana Peterfreund, Emily Ecton and Matthew Cody, among other exciting and acclaimed authors. Kate is a graduate of the University of Delaware’s Honors Program, a former cast member of the New York Renaissance Faire, a hobbyist lifestyle photographer, an amateur equestrian, and an avid collector of shoes, bags, children, and dogs. Her interests cover a broad range including contemporary drama, urban fantasy and magical realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. She is an active member of the SCBWI and AALA and committed to mentoring the next generation of publishing stars in order to bring greater diversity to the industry.
Kate Testerman | she/her
Founder & Senior Agent
kate@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Sara Megibow (she/her) is the Vice President and Senior Literary Agent with kt literary out of Highlands Ranch, CO. She has worked in publishing since 2006 and represents New York Times bestselling authors including Casey McQuiston, Rebecca Roanhorse, Margaret Rogerson and Jason M. Hough. Sara specializes in launching debut authors and working on long-term career development and profit strategy with them. She is a graduate of Northwestern University with degrees in Women’s Studies, Gender Studies and American History. Always LGBTQIA+ Friendly!
For more information about her interests, please visit her Publishers Marketplace page.
https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/SaraMegibow/
*Note: Open to YA, MG, romance, and SFF. All queries will receive a response; general turn around time is about 3–6 weeks.
Sara Megibow | she/her
Vice President & Senior Agent
sara@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Adria Goetz is based out of the beautifully gloomy Pacific Northwest. Adria got her start in publishing as an intern at Martin Literary Management in 2013. She represents picture books, middle grade, graphic novels, and adult fiction. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a Creative Writing emphasis, as well as the Columbia Publishing Course. In 2019, she was selected as a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree. Adria has eclectic taste but particularly enjoys projects that are tinged with magic, have so much heart you can practically hear their heartbeat, and have a compelling, commercial hook. In her spare time she can be found rewatching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time, listening to Taylor Swift, and dreaming about the mossy stone cottage in the woods she would like to live in one day. You can read Adria’s full manuscript wishlist at adriagoetz.com.
Adria Goetz is seeking picture books (especially by author-illustrators), middle grade fiction, graphic novels, and adult fiction—particularly rom coms, thrillers, and upmarket fiction. She exclusively accepts submissions through QueryManager. You can read more about Adria’s interests on her MSWL.
Adria Goetz | she/her
Senior Agent & Illustration Coordinator
adria@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Several years in the editorial department at Random House’s Colorado division provided Renee with the opportunity to work with bestselling and debut authors alike. After leaving Random House, she came to kt literary in early 2013. She currently runs the kt literary podcast and our Instagram feed, and also loves digging into manuscripts and helping the author shape the best story possible. Though this is great for her profession, it tends to frustrate people watching movies with her. With a penchant for depressing hipster music and an abiding love for a good adventure story, Renee is always looking for book recommendations. Even if that means creeping on people reading in public. Which she does frequently. She makes her home in Arizona with her husband and their three children.
Renee Nyen | she/her
Agent & Social Media Manager
renee@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
As a proud member of the KT Literary family, Hilary represents children’s and young adult authors. She joined the team in 2016 as an assistant to both Kate and Sara and began taking on her own clients in 2017. Hilary is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she earned a degree in Anthropology. She went on to work in the back office of a major Swiss Investment Bank for eight years before deciding to trade numbers for letters. When not reading or editing or writing stories of her own, Hilary likes to hike the Rockies with her family and dreams of one day owning her own horses. As an agent, Hilary partners with her growing list of clients to develop their projects in preparation for submission and strategizes to help them build long-term writing careers as published authors. She’s highly communicative, empathetic, and supportive as an agent–tailoring her approach to each client’s unique needs, acting as a strong advocate, and helping them navigate the business side of publishing their work. She’s actively acquiring middle grade and young adult projects across all genres; picture books, chapter books and graphic novels . More about her interests can be found at Manuscript Wishlist. Recent sales can be found on Publisher’s Marketplace.
Hilary Harwell | she/her
Agent
hilary@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Kelly has over a decade of experience in the publishing industry. She cut her teeth in New York working at esteemed literary agencies before relocating to Minnesota, where she spent years as a contracts manager for various publishers. She uses her platform as a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center and as the co-host of the Pub Crawl podcast to empower writers to become informed and take creative control over their work and the trajectory of their careers. Kelly’s own career came full circle when she realized that her true passion was advocating on behalf of authors. She is now an agent and actively building a client list, as well as kt literary’s contracts manager.
Kelly Van Sant | she/her
Agent & Contracts Manager
kelly@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Jas joined KT Literary in 2020, with a background in children's editorial at Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books and Levine Querido. She represents MG and YA fiction and specializes in Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga for all ages—with a focus on creators of color and communities historically excluded from traditional publishing. Jas attended New York University and the City University of New York; she's a We Need Diverse Books alum and the current Director of Special Projects at People of Color in Publishing. More about Jas' list and interests can be found on her website.
Jas Perry | she/they
Agent
jas@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Kari is a literary agent based out of Southern California. She began on the editorial side of publishing, first at Disney Press, then HarperCollins Children’s Books–where she had the honor of editing many talented authors, including Victoria Aveyard and Sara Shepard. Middle grade and YA are at the heart of her list, but she also represents picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, and upmarket fiction. She graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in English and Psychology and received a Masters in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice before pivoting back to her first love–books. With her editorial insight and experience with the entire publishing process, Kari is passionate about helping to polish each manuscript and equip her clients for success.
Kari Sutherland | she/her
Agent
kari@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Savannah started in agenting as an intern with the Jennifer De Chiara team in 2017, moving to associate agent in 2018. In 2022, she joined the incredible team at kt literary as an agent, where she represents all of kid lit and adult contemporary and spec fiction, romcoms, thrillers/mystery/suspense, and horror. She’s especially interested in stories that teach her something new, add to a larger sociopolitical conversation, and highlight underrepresented identities and cultures. She earned her MFA from Hamline University and her BS in marketing management from Virginia Tech and worked on the editorial side of publishing for two years prior to joining JDLA. As well as agenting, she works as a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis and can regularly be found at one of Minnesota’s 11,842 lakes—yes, even in winter. You can find out more on her website.
Please note: in order to best balance out her list, Savannah is currently closed to picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult submissions, except through request or referral.
Savannah Brooks | she/her
Agent & Website Manager
savannah@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Tara is a literary agent based out of Portland, Oregon. Tara began her career as an intern in 2017 and became an agent in 2019. Tara’s passion is working with LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Neurodiverse, body-diverse, and traditionally underrepresented authors and illustrators, focusing on fiction and graphic novels for MG, YA, and adults. Her clients include Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, bestselling illustrator Joanna Cacao, Eisner Award nominee Bex Ollerton, and more. You can learn more about Tara and her clients on her website or Publishers Marketplace page.
Tara Gilbert | she/they
Agent
tara@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Laurel began her publishing career in the editorial department of HarperCollins Children’s Books. She also worked in the marketing department at a small publishing house, in a library, and as a bookseller at one of the nation’s best independent bookstores. She began agenting in 2018 and joined KT Literary in 2022, representing picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, graphic novels, and select nonfiction for children and teens. When Laurel is not reading, she enjoys baking, hiking, and spending time with her dog, Sherlock. Raised in rural New England and having spent a decade in New York City, London, and Chicago, she’s thrilled to have settled in the Pacific Northwest.
Laurel is seeking middle grade and young adult fiction, picture books and graphic novels from author-illustrators, and select nonfiction for kids and teens. Before querying, please read more about Laurel’s interests on her Manuscript Wishlist.
Laurel Symonds | she/her
Agent
laurel@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Before joining kt literary, Chelsea was a freelance editor and perpetual publishing intern. In 2018 she mentored in Pitch Wars and most recently was an editorial intern at Page Street Publishing where she assisted on titles from Addie Thorley and Breanna Shields. She has a BA in English from the University of Missouri and lives and works as a bookseller in St. Louis, MO. She likes fresh and imaginative SFF, dark and twisty mysteries/thrillers, and whipsmart protagonists. She is interested in working with authors belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in publishing, especially Black authors. When she isn’t working, she can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons, watching The Golden Girls, or playing with her dog.
Chelsea is seeking MG, YA, and Adult fiction, especially mysteries, thrillers, sci fi, and horror. Before querying, please read more about Chelsea’s interests on the ktliterary blog or her MSWL.
Chelsea Hensley | she/her
Associate Agent & Digital Content Manager
chelsea@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Arley Sorg is a kt literary associate agent primarily interested in adult speculative titles, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror with speculative/fantastic elements, literary speculative fiction, and climate fiction. Arley is a two-time World Fantasy Award Finalist and a two-time Locus Award Finalist for his work as co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine. He is also a SFWA Solstice Award Recipient, a Space Cowboy Award Recipient, and a finalist for two Ignyte Awards: for his work as a critic as well as for his creative nonfiction. Arley is senior editor at Locus Magazine, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare, a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and conducts interviews for Clarkesworld. Arley grew up in England, Hawaii, and Colorado, and lives in the SF Bay Area. He is a 2014 Odyssey Writing Workshop graduate. Find out more on his personal site (arleysorg.com) and look for him on QueryTracker.
Note: Closed to queries—for now! Reading through the excellent submissions and queries I've been sent. Will reopen before long.
Arley Sorg | he/him
Associate Agent
arley@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Maria Napolitano began her career in publishing as a book scout, where she fell in love with the process of matchmaking books with just the right editors and publishers around the world. She went on to work in subrights and as an agent, and joined kt literary as foreign rights manager and agent in 2024. In foreign rights, Maria's focus is bringing authors to international readerships and building multi-faceted careers across global markets. As an agent, Maria represents a broad range of fiction, from commercial rom-coms to radical speculative fiction, subversive thrillers, and upmarket book club fiction. She is drawn to character-driven stories, unusual perspectives, genre-bending works, and supremely pitchable high concepts. Maria is a native New Yorker and Cornell graduate who currently lives in Astoria, Queens with a sourdough starter named Ryeley.
Read more about Maria's wish list on her website.
Maria Napolitano | she/her
Foreign Rights Manager & Agent
maria@ktliterary.com
OPEN TO QUERIES
Katherine is a writer and taxonomist based in New Hampshire, where they have a love-hate relationship with the bonkers political milieu. They have a BA in Literary Studies from Bard College at Simon’s Rock and an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons University. After the 2016 election, they contributed to and helped Maureen Johnson edit How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation. In addition to helping kt literary manage contract and royalty data, they have a day job in tech and try to fit in some writing of their own. Katherine will read almost anything but their first love is mysteries. In addition to books and politics, they’re into spreadsheets, knitting, and baseball.
Katherine Welsh | they/she
Royalties Manager
katherine@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Tatenda has been an intern at kt literary since summer of 2023 when she emigrated to Boulder, Colorado from Harare, Zimbabwe. She is a passionate and intuitive reader particularly interested in romance novels and narrative nonfiction. Tatenda has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a passion for counseling. In her spare time, she plays Zimbabwean marimba, videos live local musicians and volunteers at the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence.
Tatenda Deve | she/her
Intern
tatenda@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES
Helen is an intern at kt literary particularly interested in supporting authors and devolping new voices. She spent ten years in the non-profit world as a videographer and marketing executive and, before COVID, worked with the Denver Center for Performing Arts in Denver Colorado. Helen is also an international photographer and musician from Harare Zimbabwe and now resides in Colorado. With a deep love for storytelling and artistic expression, Helen brings a fresh perspective to the publishing world.
Helen Masvikeni | she/her
Intern
helen@ktliterary.com
CLOSED TO QUERIES