Kelly Thomas

Kelly Thomas brings 18 years of sales and business expertise to the literary world as a champion for writers. Kelly is a Certified Copy Editor with a bachelor’s degree in English from Pace University. She is an associate member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and a member of the Editorial Freelance Association. Prior to joining Serendipity, she provided part-time manuscript analysis for the D4EO Literary Agency. She is a panelist for the New York Women in Film & Television’s (NYWIFT) ‘The Business of Adaptations Panel’ program and a trainer for the ‘Next Bestseller Workshops.’ She co-hosts the “8 Simple Steps to Write a Successful Synopsis Workshop” as part of the Your Book is Your Hook Program. Kelly has participated in Pitch Slams for writing conferences, including ThrillerFest, Crimebake, and The Writer’s Digest Conference. She has sat on ‘Ask the Agent’ panels for the AWP Conference and Writing Barn’s ‘Courage to Create’ program, and she has participated in the ‘First Pages Critique’ panel for the Carnegie Center for Literary and Learning’s Books-in-Progress Conference and for the Women in Publishing Summit. She has participated in the "First Ten Lines Critique" panel for The Hampton Roads Writer's Conference where she also taught classes on writing. Kelly is a published poet with publications in Tales for the Disenchanted (2008) and Penumbra Art & Literature (2015). She has served as an editor for the literary arts magazine Pen & Brush and as a writing coach for the academic consulting company Brattlestreet. What She’s Looking For: Kelly considers herself a generalist who is drawn to lyrical writing and strong voices. She is interested in nonfiction (narrative nonfiction, memoirs, true crime, self-help, business, travel writing, photography, medical, STEM, psychology, health and fitness, music, food & drinks, cooking) and adult fiction (psychological thrillers, suspense, comedies). She enjoys working with musicians, television personalities, athletes, and other pop culture figures to help translate their stories or expertise onto the page. She also represents children’s books including picture books, middle grade, and young adult. For Picture Books, she loves heartwarming stories with humor that have a message or a lesson to learn without being didactic. In Middle Grade, Young Adult and Adult, she enjoys fast-paced, plot-driven fiction with twists, turns, and jaw-dropping moments. Kelly is not afraid to take on dark, gritty subjects, big topics, and issue-driven stories. Stories that are told from a unique psychological vantage point are always of interest. The truth is often stranger than fiction, so she is actively looking for the next great true crime manuscript with a murderous and methodical plot. Kelly loves multi-layered protagonists who struggle between what is right and wrong, and anti-heroes who are villainous but endearing at the same time. Some of her favorite books that perfectly master this include Dearly Departed Dexter, You, American Psycho, Fight Club, Psycho, Interview With the Vampire, Dracula, and My Sister, the Serial Killer. When reading any manuscript, she looks for a premise with a strong hook, characters that are well-developed, writing that is lyrical, and a plot that is effortlessly executed.