Samantha Fabien is a literary agent with Root Literary.

Samantha is always looking for high-concept commercial and upmarket fiction for adult, young adult, and middle grade readers that features diverse, marginalized, and/or underrepresented voices with all-or-nothing stakes.
She represents book club fiction, contemporary romance, rom-coms, mysteries, thrillers, suspense, horror, speculative fiction, fantasy, and women’s fiction. She also welcomes innovative genre-blending.

After graduating from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor’s in PR and Journalism, Samantha went on to receive a publishing certificate from the Columbia Publishing Course. Following that program, she interned and/or worked at Ayesha Pande Literary, Writers House, Chalberg & Sussman, and the Laura Dail Literary Agency. She also has experience in foreign rights.

In adult fiction, she seeks:

Genres: book club fiction, contemporary romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, speculative, gothic, horror, and fantasy. (Don’t forget to send me all the genre blends—romantasy, horror comedy, book club thrillers, etc.)

Elements/themes/tropes/vibes: late-stage coming-of-age; second-generation immigrant experiences; healthy and toxic relationships (familial, platonic, or romantic); stories of obsession; stories that drop you in the chaos; specific experiences that hold universal truths; body positivity; sex positivity; fast-pacing; tight plotting; ruthless and messy characters; women killing for revenge; unexpected twists or POVs; con artists and grifters on job; convincing red herrings; ensemble casts; twisted games or puzzles; lots of yearning and pining; non-western mythology; magic systems with consequences; unexpected villains and/or villain POVs; unraveling secrets at a reunion or celebration; reincarnation/fated lovers; haunting, small, and/or isolated settings; curses and prophesies; inheritances; secrets amongst groups; cults and dark rituals; academia; gray morality; feminism; finding magic in the seemingly mundane.

Books I love: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria; The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert; Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola; In My Dreams, I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead; My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing; Never Saw You Coming by Vera Kurian; You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa; No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall; The Bridge Kingdom series and A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen; Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel; The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson; The Poppy War series by RF Kuang; Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

In Middle Grade & Young Adult, she seeks:

Genres: contemporary romance, mystery, thrillers, horror, speculative, and fantasy. (Don’t forget to send me all the genre blends!)

Elements/themes/tropes/vibes: fresh takes on familiar tropes; “how do I have the teen experience in a post-Covid world?”; body positive; sex-positive; BIPOC casts creating space in PWI; we have to fake kiss for “reasons”; LGBTQIA+ affirming; the spectrum and high emotions of firsts—first date, first kisses, etc.; friendship break-ups; all the shenanigans, hijinks, and lists; atmospheric and/or isolated settings; internal and external horror; generational reckonings; exploring grief; exploring hyper-specific fears; mixed media/social media; ensemble casts; academia; non-western mythology, folklore, and magic; competitions; prophecies from birth; healthy and toxic relationships (familial, platonic, or romantic);

Books I love: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon; Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar; We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds; Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes; Sadie by Courtney Summers; Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson; Sawkill Girls by Claire LeGrande; Wilder Girls by Rory Power; The Black Queen by Jumata Emil; The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna; I Feed The Beast and The Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea; All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & C.L. Herman; The Grace Year by Kim Liggett; Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald; Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin.