Belcastro Literary Agency

Along with her freelance editorial business, Kaitlyn Katsoupis is a literary agent with Belcastro Literary Agency. Below, you can find her published titles as well as her wishlist for submissions.

Please note, any freelance projects Kaitlyn takes on will not be considered by her at Belcastro, as that is a conflict of interest. You may, however, query another agent at that agency.

MSWL - Currently Closed to Queries

Historical Fiction

All ages
Not a huge fan of Henry VIII, Shakespeare, roman/greek legends and retellings
Would love non-Western world setting and situations
Would love some with a humor bend but open to the dark and decadent as well

Horror

All ages
Less gore, more psychological/haunting
LOVE ghosts
Would love lesser known creatures/legends (think vast stretch of shows like Grimm)
Horror Media I love: Sinister, The Conjuring, Cabin in the Woods, Yellowjackets, A Quiet Place, Hereditary, Oculus, Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass
For MG, would love Goosebumps vibe; also enjoy feels like Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Coraline, Corpse Bride, The Pagemaster.

Contemporary

All ages
Dark, light, fun, sad, gimme!
Love to find LGBTQ+ storylines
Interested in mental health angles
Enjoy romance, though it doesn’t need to be central
Enemies to lovers, rivals to friends or lovers, sibling rivalry/loyalty stories
Still looking for an escape room story!

Fantasy

MG & YA
Very selective at the moment
Not a fit for fae/fairies, elves, trolls/ogres/orcs, or most werewolves

Suspense/Thriller

YA & Adult
Think gothic, spooky, and psychological
Not into Crime fiction or procedurals
Craving a locked room concept (whether contemporary, historical, or paranormal!)

Graphic Novel

MG/YA - all genres
Adult - literary, horror, memoir, and contemporary/romance
Interested in mental health stories, humor, queer relationships, quirky casts and found families, and harrowing creatures/survival plots

Query Kaitlyn

DEAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

AIN'T IT FUNNY

Margaret Gurevich's AIN'T IT FUNNY, when a girl's parents separate as her dad pursues his comedy dreams, she hatches a plan to bring them back together by performing stand-up in her school's talent show, no matter how difficult her undiagnosed anxiety and OCD makes that feel, to Alex Wolfe at Penguin Workshop, in a very nice two-book deal.

HER LITTLE FLOWERS

Shannon Morgan's HER LITTLE FLOWERS, in which a single woman lives in her ancestral home with a little ghost; when an old evil invades her home, she is forced to confront a repressed family tragedy or lose all she holds dear, including her beloved ghost, to Elizabeth Trout at Kensington, in a nice two-book deal.

NO BETTER THAN BEASTS

ZR Ellor's NO BETTER THAN BEASTS, pitched as a dark retelling of The Nutcracker, about two siblings who take opposite sides of a war between the rat king and the pinewood prince, to Mekisha Telfer at Roaring Brook Press, in a nice deal.

STATION SIX

Ray Nadine's STATION SIX, a coming-of-age story in which queer teens learn to cope with anxiety and loss through the lens of being a competitive gymnast, to Grace Scheipeter at Oni Press, in a nice deal.

DAUGHTERS OF VICTORY

Author of THE LAST CHECKMATE Gabriella Saab's DAUGHTERS OF VICTORY, a dual timeline in which a young Russian woman choosing to stand against the horrors of World War II also uncovers dangerous revelations about her family's past, linking them back to the 1917 revolution, to Lucia Macro at William Morrow, in a very nice deal.

PERIL AT PRICE MANOR

Laura Parnum's debut PERIL AT PRICE MANOR, about a young girl determined to play the damsel in distress in her favorite director's latest horror movie, but when she visits his home, she finds his household under attack by a mysterious creature; with the help of the director's uniquely resourceful twins, she must embrace her inner heroine, to Sarah Homer at Harper Children's, in a very nice two-book deal.

JAGUARS & OTHER GAME

Brynn Barineau's JAGUARS & OTHER GAME, in which two diamond smuggling sisters must prove their best friend innocent of murder, while also unveiling the corrupt police force and its ties to the Portuguese court, recently arrived in Rio, to Arielle Haughee at Orange Blossom.

HEART FINDS

Jaime Berry's HEART FINDS, about a quiet, pun-loving girl who only feels like herself while extreme treasure hunting with her grandpa, but when real life starts to crumble around her, she must learn to let go of the past and embrace the future, to Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown Children's, in a nice deal.

ACTING THE PART

Author of the forthcoming MAY THE BEST MAN WIN Z.R. Ellor's ACTING THE PART, in which a teenage actor questioning their gender identity starts a fake relationship with a costar to convince their showrunners to give their on-screen f/f couple a happy ending, to Stephanie Guerdan at Harper Teen, at auction.

THE LAST CHECKMATE

Gabriella Saab's THE LAST CHECKMATE, pitched as THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT meets THE GERMAN GIRL, in which a young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz, plays chess for her life, knowing any lost match could end with her death, to Lucia Macro at William Morrow, in a pre-empt.

CALLED TO THE DEEP

Desiree Niccoli's CALLED TO THE DEEP, when the lone survivor of a shipwreck learns she's descended from the vicious sirens who attacked her crew, she must find ways to curb her flesh-eating instincts or endanger her humanity, her identity, and the sea captain who rescued her, to Tee Tate at City Owl Press, in a nice two-book deal, in a two-book deal

SILK FIRE

Literary agent Zabe Ellor's SILK FIRE, set in a planet-sized matriarchal city where magic and technology freely bleed together, in which a male courtesan's quest for vengeance against his aristocrat father draws him into an ancient struggle between dragons, necromancers, and his home district's violent history, to Kate Coe at Rebellion, in a nice deal.

BEFORE WE WERE BLUE

E.J. Schwartz's BEFORE WE WERE BLUE, a dual POV story, pitched as Netflix's Cheer meets GIRL, INTERRUPTED, in which a former cheer-lebrity and a headstrong rebel question if their overwhelming bond as patients in an eating disorder treatment center helps or hinders recovery, to Mari Kesselring at Flux, in a nice deal.

HOPE SPRINGS

Jaime Berry's HOPE SPRINGS, about one girl who is desperate to find the perfect home as she moves from one town to the next with her grandmother, to Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown Children's, in a nice deal.

THE SECRETS OF STAR WHALES

Rebecca Thorne's THE SECRETS OF STAR WHALES, a sci-fi novel in which a 12-year-old aboard a space station discovers the secrets of the most elusive creatures in the galaxy: star whales, to Mari Kesselring at Jolly Fish Press, in a nice deal.

MAY THE BEST MAN WIN

Literary agent at Jennifer De Chiara ZR Ellor's MAY THE BEST MAN WIN, in which a transgender teen challenges his ex-boyfriend for the coveted title of homecoming king and, as their campaign hijinks turn vicious, the two realize they may still have feelings for each other, to Mekisha Telfer at Roaring Brook Press, in a nice deal.

ENSNARING THE SIREN

Desiree Niccoli's ENSNARING THE SIREN, the third book in the Haven Cove series where, after watching the fishing crew he's meant to save get yanked into the deep, a rescue swimmer must follow the clue offered by the flesh-eating, amber-eyed mermaid who let him live: her kin are being hunted to extinction, and she'll need his help to save them, to Tee Tate at City Owl Press, in a nice deal.

THE JINN DAUGHTER

Rania Hanna's THE JINN DAUGHTER, where a Hakawati jinn—tasked with telling the stories of the dead so their souls can move on—must do the unthinkable to guard her daughter from being forced to become the heir to Death's throne, separating them forever, to Nadine El-Hadi at Hoopoe, in a nice deal.

FIRST LOOK AT FOREVER

Ingrid Pierce's debut FIRST LOOK AT FOREVER, in which a workaholic wedding gown designer signs up for a reality show to be married at first sight solely for the money granted to those who divorce by the end of filming, only to realize the man at the altar is not the stranger she anticipated, but the last person she ever wanted to see again, to Holly Ingraham at Alcove Press, in a nice deal.