Episode 20 - Insights From a Literary Agent: A conversation with Jessica Sinsheimer

Jessica Sinsheimer is a New York literary agent at Context Literary Agency, where she works with authors and illustrators to bring their books to life and helps writers build sustainable careers in publishing. Jessica has been reading and campaigning for her favorite queries since 2004 and is known for co-creating #MSWL (Manuscript Wish List) and ManuscriptWishList.com. She’s always looking for new voices, with a particular interest in YA, MG, upmarket genre fiction, psychological thrillers, SF/F, and nonfiction, and she has a special love for stories that are smart, surprising, beautifully written, and full of contrast. So, in this episode we're asking... what makes an agent say yes? In Episode 20 of Argh! Not Another Podcast, William May sits down with Jessica for a conversation about querying, discovering new writers, what catches an agent’s attention, Manuscript Wish List, and the realities of getting your work in front of the right people. Hosted by poet and author William May, Argh! explores the creative and practical realities of literary life. William is the author of Blaze without Burning, a 2025 poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, and his work has been recognized with a Pushcart Prize nomination. A fourth-generation New Yorker and self-described “Neurodiverse Language Wizard,” William brings his own perspective as a writer to conversations with authors, poets, publishers, and people working behind the scenes in publishing. 🎧 Listen to Episode 20 and discover what might make a writer’s query stand out.