Molly O’Neill is a literary agent at Root Literary. For 20 years, she has held various roles inside the publishing industry. Prior to joining Root Literary, she worked as an Agent at Waxman Leavell Literary Agency; an Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquired Veronica Roth’s juggernaut Divergent series, among many other fantastic projects; as Head of Editorial at Storybird, a publishing/tech start-up; and in School & Library Marketing at both HarperCollins and Clarion Books. Molly loves the creative process and early-stage project development, is invigorated by business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking, and is fascinated by the intersections of art, commerce, creativity, and innovation. She is especially passionate about the people behind books, and takes pride in discovering and evangelizing talented authors and illustrators, expanding the global reach of their work, and finding new ways to build connections and community among creators, readers, stories, and their champions. You can learn more about her via her website or Twitter.
Fun facts about me
I am owned by a wildly affectionate cat named Captain Von Smooch. I have been a florist, a cake decorator, and a waitress. (In my next life, I will apparently star in a small-town rom-com movie.) Before moving to NYC, I lived in Houston, TX; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis, MN; and across Canada, and love things about each of those places. I am drawn to any story with a vivid sense of place, whether it’s one of these areas, or elsewhere. I spent years intensively studying ballet growing up, and later was a theater nerd, so I’m forever looking for manuscripts that capture those kinds of artsy microcosms while also having high enough stakes to interest readers unfamiliar with those worlds. I’m a person of faith and am always looking for authentic explorations of (any) faith within the context of a larger middle grade or YA story. (I am not, however, looking for work that is primarily intended to proselytize, promote a specific agenda, or encourage readers toward the author’s specific set of beliefs.) I won a jalapeño-eating contest in college. I swoon for interesting settings, where the sense of place in a story is practically its own character. I hate Jane Austen (I know! I’m sorry!), yet somehow they let me be an English major anyway. Submission Guidelines Submissions should be emailed to Please follow the submission guidelines on my website. NOTE: At this time, I do NOT represent: prescriptive nonfiction (i.e. self-help or diet books); adult thrillers, adult crime fiction, or adult SF/F; picture book texts (though I do work with illustrators who also write); poetry chapbooks (though I do represent novels-in-verse for young/teen readers); screenplays; or erotica. Vital Info @molly_oneill Website Agent
Fiction
Children's, Commercial, Graphic Novel, Humor, Literary, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult
Non-Fiction
Memoir, Science
Favorite sub-genres
Author-Illustrators, Children's Nonfiction, Commercial YA, Contemporary YA, Diversity, Graphic Novels, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Humor, Illustrated, Literary Middle Grade, Literary YA & MG, Magical Realism, Multiple POV, Popular Science/Psychology, Speculative Fiction, YA/MG graphic novel, award-winners!, commercial middle grade, groundbreaking structures, narrative non-fiction, picture books I’d like the next… …groundbreaking trendsetter of a picture book or MG or YA novel; the kind of book that has a “must-be-talked-about-with-others” feeling, thanks to its memorable setting, vibrant characters, or confident storytelling; its fascinating and/or nontraditional structure; its resonant, universal themes that say something meaningful about what it means to be human; or its delightful sense of humor. I look for books that transcend simple trends or or tropes or formulas, and become part of the canon, part of the conversation, the kind of books tha