Liza Dawson — Liza Dawson Associates

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Liza Dawson | President & Senior Agent — Liza Dawson

Liza established Liza Dawson Associates following a successful 20-year career in book publishing, including posts as executive editor of Putnam Publishing and executive editor at William Morrow. She received her B.A. in history from Duke University and is a graduate of the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures course.
Liza has been on the board of the AAR (the Association of Author’s Representatives, now the AALA). She belongs to the Author’s Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers Inc and The Women’s Media Group.

What Liza is looking for:

She specializes in: Smart, plot-driven bestselling fiction. Memorable, confidently-written, literary fiction. Page-turning thrillers that teach you about spycraft, foreign intrigue or an unusual career. Mysteries – featuring brainy detectives. Literary fiction for book clubs. Breakout historical novels.

She wants storytellers with electric voices. If you sent her a historical literary thriller featuring a brilliant wizard who reads Dickens, she would be very happy. Or a dark, compelling, contemporary novel about a former CIA agent who is afraid for her life. Or a novel about social class, a contemporary BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES.

In nonfiction, she is drawn to cross-cultural and women’s issues written by experts. She is looking for narrative history, memoirs about women and men who have escaped from closed, repressive societies and books by journalists and poets who are trying to make sense of exotic locations, race, the environment, Wall Street, Washington, and the South. Humor and tenderness are a plus, and she has a weakness for cartoonists and quirky humor. Of course, lists like this are ridiculous, but you already know that.

She is not looking for science fiction or fantasy novels. Nor young adult or any kids' books. Nor business books or books about religion. Please do not submit work that has been self published or published by a small publisher. And with apologies, she will only get back to you if she is requesting a manuscript.

Liza will be closed to queries until May 1st, 2024. Please send only a query letter in the body of the email to queryliza@lizadawsonassociates.com.