Stephen Barr is a senior literary agent at Writer House, where he started out as an intern in the winter of 2008. He represents a broad stripe of authors across all genres, with a steady hankering for literary and commercial adult fiction that tackles heavy themes with a light touch, audacious YA, intricate picture books, mysteries that handcuff humor and tragedy to the same radiator, world-bending middle grade, and fearless reportage. He’s also the author of The Upside Down Hat, illustrated by Gracey Zhang, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2022. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife, son, and daughter.
Stephen is a pretty omnivorous agent, with both an adult list (mostly literary and commercial fiction, as well as journalistic non-fiction) and a children's list (everything from picture books to young adult). At the moment, he's got his eyes peeled for...
- adult fiction that rewards the reader line-by-line and handcuffs humor and tragedy to the same radiator, like Maggie Thrash's Rainbow Black (other recent favorites include The Searcher, Five Decembers, Lonesome Dove, and The Night Watchman)
- bonkers high-concept novels with a speculative tilt (time loops and the like!)
- audacious, experimental mysteries, fantasies and psychological suspense
- intricate, heart-on-its-sleeve, voice-abundant YA like King Dork or Baby & Solo (bonus points for unrequited love stories!)
- fantastical or contemporary middle grade that takes on heavy themes with an optimistic, eccentric touch (like Eli Brown's Oddity)
- sweet and/or silly and/or heartbreaking picture books from adventurous author/illustrators
- unexpected memoirs with itchy voices
- narrative non-fiction that tackles hard-to-tackle issues, like Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
- detective stories that bend reality
- ghost stories that blow reality to hell
Stephen is not looking for romance or faith-based fiction.
Stephen Barr - Agent Assessments
Assessment Categories
- Adult Literary Fiction
- Chapter Books
- Commercial Adult Fiction
- Early Readers
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Illustrations
- Junior Fiction
- Literary Fiction
- Middle Grade
- Mystery
- Narrative Non-Fiction
- Picture Book
- Speculative Fiction
- YA Writing
Last day to book
22 June
Payment plans
If you’d like to set up a payment plan, just send us a quick email at info@cyaconference.com to receive your code before booking. A 15% non-refundable deposit is required upfront for payment plans, with full payment due before your session.
Please note that each attendee can have only one payment plan.
Feedback
Stephen will be providing verbal feedback with his assessments.
Important
Assessment sessions:
- are only available to conference, bootcamp and Writers at Sea Retreat attendees.
- may be booked before booking for the conference, but you must book for the conference by 15 May, or your session will be cancelled and not refunded.
- have a $25.00 administration charge should you decide to cancel before 15 May.
- are non-refundable if cancelled after 15 May unless we are able to resell the session.