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A: Unfortunately, there’s no direct route to the information you’re looking for, but I have a couple of suggestions to help with your research. I would start broad, by finding the names of some agents who represent Western fiction. You could review the Guide to Literary Agents (Writer’s Digest Books) listings, available in your library. Those listings specify what the agent represents and include contact information. Another option would be to go to your area bookstore, and in the Westerns section check a few acknowledgement pages to see whether the author credits an agent.

Once you’ve got a list of names to start with, you can go to the online Shaw Guides Web site and link to their Writer’s Conferences section. Then conduct a keyword search for your agent, and voila! With luck you’ll have what you’re looking for. As a last resort I would suggest a polite call to the agent specifically, if you can’t find what you’re looking for through other means.

I also contacted Candy Moulton, editor of Round-Up Magazine (the magazine of the Western Writers of America), and she let me know there are a couple of agents who regularly attend the WWA conference, and do accept materials there. She suggested you also check the Pike’s Peak Writer’s Conference in Colorado Springs, and the Southwest Writers Conference in Albuquerque. (Thanks, Candy!)

One last note: the market for Western fiction is pretty tight right now, so it may be a good idea to get involved with an organization like the WWA to keep up on what’s selling, which agents are favored by writers, which publishing houses are actively acquiring Western fiction and other insider information.

Anne Bowling
Editor of 2001-2005 Novel & Short Story Writer's Markets
Writer's Digest Books