Michelle is a senior agent at Fuse Literary representing leaders in the crime fiction community, award-winners, and debut authors. She joined the agency after eight years in editorial at St. Martin’s Press, where she worked on fiction and nonfiction with high-profile personalities, New York Times bestsellers, and debuts. She has built her career finding underserved clients with major talent and helping them jump their careers to the next level. She wants to boost underrepresented voices in her favorite genres to break through and create lasting change in both their writing careers and the publishing industry. Her years of experience as an agent, at a Big 5 publisher, and as an educator inform her relationships with her clients and help her guide them through the complex stages of their careers. She is an adjunct lecturer in the Master’s in Publishing program at Pace University, of which she is an alumna. She also frequently attends conferences throughout the United States.
Michelle’s clients have won or been shortlisted for such awards as the Edgar, Mary Higgins Clark, Strand Critics, Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, ITW Thriller, Macavity, Barry, Derringer, Silver Falchion, IPPY, and International Book Award. She is a member of Sisters in Crime.
Adult Fiction
Michelle is especially eager to find high-concept crime fiction with catchy hooks, twisty plots, and complex lead characters. She’s a sucker for fiction that makes her gasp, laugh, and cry, sometimes in the same book, with the kind of voice that instantly identifies a book as that author’s. BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled voices in fiction are very welcome. Michelle loves lots of twists, unreliable narrators, stories of family secrets, friendships, and sibling relationships.
Her favorite writers include Colson Whitehead, Celeste Ng, Ruth Ware, Laura Lippman, Megan Miranda, Lori Rader-Day, Jennifer Hillier, and Tana French. She’d love to find the next BATH HAUS, SUCH A FUN AGE, WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, ACCIDENTALLY ENGAGED, LONG BRIGHT RIVER, DIAL A FOR AUNTIES, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU, WINTER COUNTS, THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, or BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD.
Genres Represented
- Mystery
- High-Concept Suspense
- Domestic Suspense
- Psychological Thriller
- Police Procedural
- Book Club Women’s Fiction
- Commercial Fiction
- Contemporary Romance
- Romantic Comedy
Children’s Fiction
Michelle is not taking on any young adult fiction at this time
Michelle is looking for unique hooks and fresh voices in young adult fiction that have her on the edge of her seat and keep her up late reading. She loves complicated characters finding their way through the tricky path of adolescence, while also dealing with external dangers and crimes.
Some of her favorites are: ALL YOUR TWISTED SECRETS, WE WERE LIARS, WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI, A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, and THE GIRL BEFORE.
Genres Represented
- Young Adult Suspense
- Young Adult Thriller
- Young Adult Mystery
Michelle Does Not Represent
- Genre Fiction (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Western, Erotica)
- Satire
- Political, Medical, or Espionage Thrillers
- Memoir
- Children’s Picture, Chapter, or Middle-Grade Books
- Faith-based Fiction or Nonfiction
