The Swyer Agency is a New York–based boutique literary agency founded in 2024 by Rachel Swyer. We represent authors whose work lingers - fiction and nonfiction that is psychologically complex, emotionally precise, and impossible to shake.
We're drawn to books that sit at the intersection of literary and commercial: stylish and compulsively readable, with strong narrative engines and clear psychological or emotional hooks. We love morally complex characters, unreliable narrators, and stories driven by desire, power, obsession, and rage. We gravitate toward secrets, transgressions, closed worlds, and the feeling that something is slightly off from the very first page.
With experience spanning literary agencies, international book scouting, and film/TV adaptation at Netflix, Rachel brings a unique perspective to author representation. She understands not just how to sell a book, but how to position it for long-term success across publishing, foreign markets, and screen adaptation.
At The Swyer Agency, we believe in close collaboration. Every client receives hands-on editorial guidance, strategic career development, and dedicated advocacy from query to publication and beyond.
We're currently open to submissions and look forward to finding our next great story.
About Us
RACHEL SWYER - FOUNDER
Rachel Swyer is the founder of The Swyer Agency.
Before launching the agency, Rachel served as Director of Operations at Langtons International Agency, where she oversaw author representation, editorial development, and publishing coordination. She has worked across the literary landscape - as editorial staff at The Anderson Literary Agency, an international literary scout at Mary Anne Thompson Associates, and a reader at Conner Literary and OhCo.
Rachel also spent time in Netflix's Books and Intellectual Property division, evaluating manuscripts for film and television adaptation potential - experience that informs her eye for stories with screen appeal.
She holds a Master of Science in Criminology from the University of London, Birkbeck College, where her research focused on risk assessment tools in prison settings. This academic background, combined with her publishing experience, makes her particularly drawn to psychological thrillers, true crime, and narratives that explore the darker corners of human behavior.