The Agents

Myrsini Stephanides
Founder

Myrsini Stephanides founded Arc Literary in Fall 2021. A publishing professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry, she spent the first 10 years of her career as an editor at book packagers, Indie, and Big 5 publishers specializing in illustrated non-fiction. From 2009 to 2021 Myrsini was a literary agent at the Carol Mann Agency, where she built an eclectic roster of clients while managing day-to-day operations. She brings her clients and her passion for fostering a supportive community around colleagues, affiliates, and budding creatives to her next chapter at Arc Literary.

  • Myrsini’s personal reading habits and professional interests are broad, ranging from popular science, business, and investigative journalism to self-care, illustrated humor, and photography. She gravitates toward authors and creators with strong voices, unique perspectives, and unbridled passion for their work, and will consider adult and children’s projects across categories (except genre fiction).

    Myrsini is currently looking for projects in the following adult categories: voice-driven business/tech books with clear perspectives from experts in their fields; scientist-storytellers writing accessible narratives for a general, non-academic audience; women's health, self-care, and progressive parenting books geared toward a millennial audience; narrative humorists and/or illustrators with unique voices and a strong platform/community of supporters (on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc).

    In the children’s world, she is looking for early readers, middle grade and young adult fiction; graphic novels for all reading levels; narrative or illustrated non-fiction for all reading levels; picture books by writer-illustrators (no scripts without illustrators already attached).

    Myrsini welcomes submissions (adult and children’s) from authors and creators with diverse backgrounds who have been misrepresented or marginalized and want to share their work with the world.

    Partial client list: John Doerr, Matthew Inman (creator of The Oatmeal), Claire Belton (creator of Pusheen), Hannah Shaw (aka Kitten Lady), Jarrett Lerner, Emily McDowell and Kelsey Crowe, Jen Waite, Mary Gauthier, Cyndy Etler, and Elizabeth Schneider.

Maile Beal
Agent

Maile Beal joined Arc Literary Management in 2021 after over 5 years at the Carol Mann Agency. She began her career as an intern before becoming subrights manager and assistant to Myrsini Stephanides and eventually growing her own client list. She is passionate about advocating for writers and artists so that they are empowered to create work that will have a lasting impact - books in which readers will see themselves represented, find tools for social change, learn something new, connect with a different perspective, and deepen their understanding of the world.

  • Originally from Hawaii, Maile’s first home on the east coast was Philadelphia, where she earned her B.A. in English from Drexel University. She can usually be found caring for her growing collection of indoor plants, attempting overambitious recipes in the kitchen, or starting yet another new crafting hobby. All, of course, with her rescue dog, Rufus, somewhere underfoot.

    Maile is interested in adult non-fiction as well as children’s, middle grade, and YA fiction and non-fiction. In all categories, she is looking for projects that amplify underrepresented voices and untold stories.

    In adult nonfiction, Maile is interested in journalistic, investigative deep dives, narrative retellings of untold histories, business and leadership resources centering underestimated identities, lifestyle and cookbooks with a fresh, personal hook, and unexpected humor and gift books.

    In children’s, Maile is seeking fiction and non-fiction in all age categories. In picture books and MG, she gravitates toward heartfelt, earnest stories that use humor and silliness to connect with readers. In YA, she’s drawn to voice driven projects focusing on community and relationships with strong, complex characters that will stick with readers beyond the last page.

Maile Beal
Agent

Maile Beal joined Arc Literary Management in 2021 after over 5 years at the Carol Mann Agency. She began her career as an intern before becoming subrights manager and assistant to Myrsini Stephanides and eventually growing her own client list. She is passionate about advocating for writers and artists so that they are empowered to create work that will have a lasting impact - books in which readers will see themselves represented, find tools for social change, learn something new, connect with a different perspective, and deepen their understanding of the world.

  • Originally from Hawaii, Maile’s first home on the east coast was Philadelphia, where she earned her B.A. in English from Drexel University. She can usually be found caring for her growing collection of indoor plants, attempting overambitious recipes in the kitchen, or starting yet another new crafting hobby. All, of course, with her rescue dog, Rufus, somewhere underfoot.

    Maile is interested in adult non-fiction as well as children’s, middle grade, and YA fiction and non-fiction. In all categories, she is looking for projects that amplify underrepresented voices and untold stories.

    In adult nonfiction, Maile is interested in journalistic, investigative deep dives, narrative retellings of untold histories, business and leadership resources centering underestimated identities, lifestyle and cookbooks with a fresh, personal hook, and unexpected humor and gift books.

    In children’s, Maile is seeking fiction and non-fiction in all age categories. In picture books and MG, she gravitates toward heartfelt, earnest stories that use humor and silliness to connect with readers. In YA, she’s drawn to voice driven projects focusing on community and relationships with strong, complex characters that will stick with readers beyond the last page.

Iris Blasi
Agent

Iris Blasi has close to two decades of experience in publishing, working in multiple facets of the industry. She joined Arc Literary Management in 2021 after four years at the Carol Mann Agency. Prior to becoming a literary agent, she was Marketing Director and Senior Editor at Pegasus Books. She has held editorial, marketing, publicity, and consulting roles at Random House, Pegasus Books, Union Square Press, Open Road Media, literary PR firm Hilsinger-Mendelson, and consulting firm Idea Logical, Inc. She has worked on best-selling and award-winning books by authors including Lawrence Block, Rachel Carson, Michael Dirda, Erica Jong, Ira Levin, Alexandra Silber, Jerry Stahl, Gloria Steinem, Charles Strouse, and Fay Weldon.

  • Iris graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in English and dual minor in American Studies and Gender Studies, and she holds a master’s degree from New York University in Humanities and Social Thought, with a thesis on the life and legacy of the American writer Dawn Powell. Her writing on books, arts, and culture has appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Dow Jones Newswires, Publishers Weekly, BUST Magazine, The Jewish Daily Forward, Bitch Magazine, and BookPage. She has spoken in the US and Canada on the topics of publishing, marketing, media theory, and digital and social media at NYU, SXSW, Sarah Lawrence, the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, the Women’s National Book Association, Digital Book World, Publishers Launch, MagNet: Canada’s Magazine Conference, and Humber College’s Book Summit. She is a volunteer for the award-wining nonprofit organization The Telling Room, currently mentoring in the Young Emerging Authors Fellowship. 

    She is seeking nonfiction in the categories of biography, memoir, history, science/nature, pop culture, cultural criticism, current events, politics, and narrative nonfiction. She has a strong interest in feminism (especially intersectional feminism), in nature, climate change, and conservation, and in social and racial justice. She has a particular penchant for books stemming from a quirky journalistic, academic, or personal obsession. 

    On the fiction side, she is presently seeking literary and commercial fiction with a strong voice. She is also seeking upmarket mysteries and thrillers. She has a special weakness for books about a major event (a wedding, a reunion, a funeral) that reunites a group of people, books that take place in compressed time periods or places (i.e. The Dinner), books set in boarding schools or on college campuses (Prep; The Secret Place), and books with a gently comic touch. She is a big fan of Jami Attenberg, Megan Abbott, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Emily Henry, Linda Holmes, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Curtis Sittenfeld, Emma Straub, J. Courtney Sullivan, Jonathan Tropper, and Kevin Wilson, and would love to see submissions along any of those lines.

    For more details about Iris, see her interview in Forbes about her work as a literary agent: Part One and Part Two.

Agnes Carlowicz
Agent

Agnes Carlowicz joined Arc Literary Management in April 2022 as a full time agent. She began her publishing career in 2015 as assistant to Joy Tutela at the David Black Agency, while completing her English B.A. and Creative Writing concentration at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York. In 2017, she joined Carol Mann Agency as assistant to the president where she worked closely with renowned novelist and essayist Paul Auster. While there, she began growing her own list to include authors from varied perspectives interested in disrupting the status quo. Agnes wants to use her position in the publishing industry to help create a world where writers are liberated to unabashedly express themselves, and readers of all identities see themselves represented on the page.

  • Outside of her professional publishing work, Agnes enjoys reading both literary and commercial fiction, humorous (and sometimes irreverent) essays, and anything deeply moving that makes her cry (which happens a lot since her astrological sign is Cancer.) She is a competitive ballroom dancer, formerly talented chess player, and veteran NYC French bulldog walker currently living in Washington Heights.

    In Nonfiction, Agnes is looking for projects written from underrepresented perspectives covering both history and current events, intersectional social justice, lifestyle with a personal touch, deeply honest and self-reflective memoir, and fresh humor/gift books.

    Agnes would love to see fiction that includes well-developed and imperfect characters with atypical relationships dealing with relatable issues.

    In children’s, Agnes is interested in complex topics made palatable for kids of all ages for parents to read with their children. She would also love to see heart-warming stories and silly wholesome humor.

Agnes Carlowicz
Agent

Agnes Carlowicz joined Arc Literary Management in April 2022 as a full time agent. She began her publishing career in 2015 as assistant to Joy Tutela at the David Black Agency, while completing her English B.A. and Creative Writing concentration at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York. In 2017, she joined Carol Mann Agency as assistant to the president where she worked closely with renowned novelist and essayist Paul Auster. While there, she began growing her own list to include authors from varied perspectives interested in disrupting the status quo. Agnes wants to use her position in the publishing industry to help create a world where writers are liberated to unabashedly express themselves, and readers of all identities see themselves represented on the page.

  • Outside of her professional publishing work, Agnes enjoys reading both literary and commercial fiction, humorous (and sometimes irreverent) essays, and anything deeply moving that makes her cry (which happens a lot since her astrological sign is Cancer.) She is a competitive ballroom dancer, formerly talented chess player, and veteran NYC French bulldog walker currently living in Washington Heights.

    In Nonfiction, Agnes is looking for projects written from underrepresented perspectives covering both history and current events, intersectional social justice, lifestyle with a personal touch, deeply honest and self-reflective memoir, and fresh humor/gift books.

    Agnes would love to see fiction that includes well-developed and imperfect characters with atypical relationships dealing with relatable issues.

    In children’s, Agnes is interested in complex topics made palatable for kids of all ages for parents to read with their children. She would also love to see heart-warming stories and silly wholesome humor.

Kate Davids
Agent

Kate joined Arc Literary in 2022 after 3 years working at Simon & Schuster as part of their Organic Growth Initiative. She uses her background in market research and digital marketing strategy to help her clients find new audiences and better appeal to the audiences they may already have. Prior to working in publishing, Kate worked in marketing strategy and research in a variety of industries for brands like Weight Watchers and Unilever. She loves exploring different cultures, including subcultures. For her, books enable readers to explore new and different perspectives, with authors as the all-important guides and gateways.

  • Born in Arizona, Kate moved to New York City after first studying and living in Toulouse, France, and then London. She has always loved international cultures and travel, visiting her family based in Rome as often as possible. She has become an expert on traveling on a budget. She currently speaks French and Italian, and has also studied Japanese and Spanish. When she is home, she can be found reading comic books, watching anime, or trying out new recipes in the kitchen.

    Kate is looking for nonfiction projects, particularly practical nonfiction, in cooking, personal finance, business, pets/animals, gardening, mental health, and new age. She also enjoys history books that delve into interesting subcultures, like anime or tabletop RPGs.

    In fiction, Kate has a soft spot for science fiction and fantasy that has great action and world building that leverages real world cultures or histories. She loves fiction that represents diverse cultural backgrounds in their settings and characters.

    For children’s books, Kate is looking for titles that can help both parents and their children explore the world together. This includes bi-lingual books and books about travel and multi-culturalism. She also likes a good laugh and an “aww” moment or two.