Elisa Saphier is a literary agent at MacGregor & Luedeke Literary.

As a reader and as an agent, she is open to most genres, as long as the novel or memoir is well-written, but she is partial to character-heavy stories that tell her something about herself or the world around her. She is also hoping to represent marginalized writers and their stories, doing her small part toward equalizing the publishing playing field. She is almost never interested in religious or experimental writing, but is otherwise open to being won over by just about any piece of excellent writing.

While she is open to virtually any genres and types of books, here’s what she is not really looking for right now: science fiction/fantasy, any kind series (although mystery can be an exception to that), picture books, and chapter books.

When Elisa was home sick from school in third grade, her mom gave her two Nancy Drew books to read, and while she’d loved books before, now there was no looking back. She thought maybe she’d be a writer (and tried publishing some pretty bad poetry) but knew that no matter what, she wanted to be around books, words, and writing.

From her first job in a library, to being the editor-in-chief of her high school literary magazine, to working in four bookstores (and owning one), Elisa has always managed to surround herself with books and writers.

Elisa long dreamed of opening her own bookstore and in 2012, after her wife decreed that no more bookshelves were allowed in their house, she took the leap. Elisa and her bookstore, Another Read Through, quickly became known as champions of local writers and local small publishers, and as community builders. She works toward equity in publishing and in writers’ career development with the nonprofit she is co-launching in 2022, Amplify Writers. She believes that books and writers have important things to say, and she wants to help writers get their work out there, and for readers to find them.