Isabel Kaufman is a literary agent with Fox Literary. She is actively looking to build her list in fantasy & science fiction, adult literary fiction, horror, historical fiction, contemporary commercial fiction, and upper-level young adult literature. She is looking for smart, inventive, ambitious storytelling and welcomes speculative elements across all genres. She is also interested in creative nonfiction and microhistories particularly related to travel, food, and incisive cultural perspectives on luxury and beauty.

Her taste is varied, but she is consistently drawn to dynamic, thoughtful prose and vibrant character voice. She is actively seeking work from historically underrepresented and marginalized perspectives. She appreciates fresh takes on familiar archetypes, new perspectives on well-known myths and fairytales, and crossover rehabilitations of “archaic” genres such as noir, gothic, and classical revenge tragedy (she has a master’s in revenge tragedy and is willing to get bloody!).

Recent books she has loved include THE GLASS HOTEL, by Emily St. John Mandel; SEVERANCE, by Ling Ma; the LOCKED TOMB trilogy, by Tamsyn Muir; PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE, by Samantha Shannon; THE IDIOT, by Elif Batuman; LUSTER, by Raven Leilani; PLAIN BAD HEROINES, by Emily Danforth; FRESHWATER, by Akwaeke Emezi. Nonfiction favorites include PRIESTDADDY, by Patricia Lockwood; SECONDHAND TIME, by Svetlana Alexievich; BLOOD, BONES, AND BUTTER, by Gabrielle Hamilton; and THE EMPEROR OF SCENT, by Luca Turin. Permanent must-read authors include Helen Oyeyemi and Megan Abbott.