A picture-book powerhouse with a fast-growing cozy-fantasy list — Goetz chases stories tinged with magic, brimming with heart, and built around a commercial hook, from blockbuster author-illustrators to witchy adult fiction.
In brief
The wishlist spans picture books, middle grade, graphic novels, and adult — but the sales tell a sharper story: Goetz is, first and foremost, a high-volume picture-book agent with a proven commercial record (including a NYT bestseller).
The “cozy, magic-tinged adult fiction” they ask for is not aspirational — they're already selling it to major imprints, so that lane is wide open and real.
Goetz builds careers, not one-offs: several of the authors appear across multiple book deals, a strong signal they invest in long-term clients.
Across every category the through-line is the same: a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heart, with a hook commercial enough to break out.
Lately
Begging for adult fiction adjacent to Sarah Addison Allen — magical realism and low-stakes cozy fantasy with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heart.
The idea needs to win me over first — the idea is king in my world.
A query letter needs to be professional, concise, and friendly.
If you're not regularly getting rejected, that probably means you're not regularly sending your work out.
I gravitate toward projects that are tinged with magic, have so much heart you can practically hear their heartbeat, and have a compelling, commercial hook.
If you're on the fence about whether your project is the right fit for me, but you think we'd make a good team — my vote is you just go for it.
What Adria is looking for
The core business and where Goetz sells most. They're primarily signing author-illustrators but take author-only queries too. Two flavors light them up: the hilarious, commercial blockbuster with breakout potential, and the magical, whimsical story brimming with wonder. The sales here run deep and decorated — bestsellers, starred reviews, and award shortlists — so the bar is commercial and high.
A proven, active lane, not a wish. Goetz wants magical realism, grounded and low-stakes cozy fantasy, and magic-tinged rom-coms — “a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heart,” with permission to get a little weird. Their recent and forthcoming deals in witchy, cozy adult fiction confirm they can place it with big adult imprints.
Whimsical stories with light touches of magic, grounded in the real world or a cozy, fairytale-flavored second world. Especially keen on magical boarding-school or academy settings and lesser-known folklore retellings. Also actively hungry for genuinely scary, cheeky kid mysteries (an Agatha-Christie-style whodunit), and a self-described sucker for a dual timeline.
Open across genres and art styles — contemporary realism, magical realism, fantasy, mystery, historical, even nonfiction. Goetz is drawn to atmospheric, setting-driven stories and to creators working in hybrid, unconventional formats. They've already placed an award-winning MG graphic novel, so this isn't theoretical.
Narrow on purpose: from new authors Goetz takes YA only as graphic novels — they do not acquire YA prose novels from writers they don't already represent. Wide-ranging on genre and style within YA graphic novels, with a love of atmospheric, setting-as-character stories.
Not the right fit
Threads through Adria's deals
The signature note: enchantment that's never saccharine. Both Millie Fleur books are pitched as “Wednesday Addams meets The Night Gardener” — a girl who loves sinister plants and embraces being peculiar — while the adult list runs on clairvoyant sister-witches bargaining with Fate. Goetz buys whimsy, but whimsy with a shadow in it.
The strongest single thread, anchored by a long partnership with one author: a free-diving haenyeo grandmother, a story of escape and hope, and a Korean retelling of The Princess and the Pea. Across three deals Goetz returns to Korean culture and the ties between generations — a clear, sustained editorial commitment, not a one-off.
Where wishlist and wallet agree: Goetz asks for magical boarding-school stories, and has bought one — a girl expelled to an opulent manor hiding a secret at its heart. The atmospheric, setting-as-character impulse shows up again in the haunted-feeling manor of the cozy adult fantasy.
Emotionally forward books that give a child's inner world a shape — worry personified as “the Whatifs,” the fear of failure behind a pile of ugly doodles, a fire hydrant searching for his purpose. Even a WWII true story lands as tenderness over spectacle. It backs Goetz's own “so much heart you can hear the heartbeat” line.
On Adria's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Adria
Submit on the first of the month — the window opens then and the online form is how Goetz takes queries. KT Literary does not review email queries.
If you're an author-illustrator, that's the sweet spot; include your art, and aim for either a laugh-out-loud commercial hook or genuine magic and whimsy.
For adult fiction, comp the cozy-witchy space (think Sarah Addison Allen) and lead with the magic-plus-heart angle — it's a lane they're actively selling.
Foreground a commercial hook in one line. Across categories Goetz rewards a strong, marketable concept over quiet literary mood.
Don't pitch a YA prose novel unless they already rep you — for new writers, YA means graphic novels only.