Sara Kelly Kornienko is a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency.

Sara holds a M.A. in English and a B.A. in English with minors in Creative Writing and Journalism from FGCU. During her Master’s program, she was the Co-Editor-in-Chief of FGCU’s literary journal, Mangrove Review. Currently, she teaches writing courses at her alma mater. In 2023, she joined Barbara Bova Literary Agency, and as an agent, she can’t wait to help authors along their writing journey and champion their amazing books!

Wishlist:

I represent Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Sports Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Suspense and Thriller.

I love stories that:

• Are thoughtful and multi-layered
• Revolve around lesser-known historical or contemporary events
• Focus on sports or the athlete experience
• Include diverse characters that portray a wide range of human experiences
• Have morally gray characters, or characters that mess up and show their vulnerability and humanity
• Include lots of sensory details and atmospheric writing that transports the reader into the scene or world
• Feature witches, Fae, or any other mythical creatures (I’m a fan of pretty much anything related to Irish or Scottish Folklore)
• Reimagine fairy tales
• Contain hidden or “underground” worlds
• Are set in a magical or dystopian world (or worlds)
• Include witty, funny characters
• Place characters in difficult situations (this can be external or internal challenges that change or redeem them)
• Develop strong connections and relationships between characters
• Explore themes of love, loss, friendship, family relations, or identity
• Make me feel and think deeply

While I gravitate toward certain genres and plot elements, I’m not limited to these. I have a wide range of reading interests, so if you have a quality story that you believe I would be a good fit to represent, then pitch me!