Chelsea Hensley

An agent with Mad Woman Literary Agency (see other agents at this agency).

About

Chelsea Hensley is an agent at Mad Woman Literary Agency representing a varied list of clients writing across ages and genres and a few who are also illustrating. She began her agenting career in 2020 and continues to build a list that reflects her own diverse tastes, from the lushest of fantasies to the tensest thrillers, steamy, hilarious romcoms to smart sci-fi, lyrical picture books to plucky middle grade, and imaginative, innovative horror to intelligent, deeply researched nonfiction. In all areas, Chelsea enjoys bold work from ambitious creators who share her unrelenting drive to succeed in a challenging industry.
Chelsea is a Capricorn from St. Louis, where she lives with a pair of very cute, though very chaotic, dogs. She enjoys D&D, Golden Girls, women’s soccer, chocolate chip cookies, and Airtable. She is a member of the AALA.

Country

United States

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

39 members set this agent as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Chelsea Hensley's overall average response time is faster than most agents.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Lyrical prose, voice that comes off the page, intricate plots, complex emotional arcs, and immersive worlds. Ambitious works that play with form and narration as well as works that blend genre, aren’t afraid to get a little weird, and surprise her. The bolder the better. In all areas, Chelsea is very interested in works that feature BIPOC characters and are written by BIPOC authors. Both fiction and nonfiction picture books from author/illustrators with potential new classic characters and strong narratives and middle grade novels featuring fun mysteries, inventive capers or creepy horror. In YA and adult, Chelsea’s looking for smart, twisty mysteries and thrillers, arresting horror, and fresh fantasy and sci-fi.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults, Children, Middle grades, Young adults.

Genres:

General
Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Historical, Supernatural
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Mystery/Crime Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Science Fiction Horror
Suspense/Thriller Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Novel

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Submissions:

Method: QueryTracker.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

She is looking for select nonfiction in the area of women’s sports.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults, Children, Middle grades, Young adults.

Lengths:

Book

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Sports/Recreation: General, See guidelines.

Submissions:

Method: QueryTracker.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

No recent cover image of a book represented by Chelsea Hensley available.

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Report:
Submission/Query
Correction/Update
New Cover Art

Social:
Blog/web Blog/web
Bluesky @chelseabigbang.bsky.social
Instagram @madwomanliterary

For the Agent:
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Chelsea Hensley Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the agency or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 6 reports from 6 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

13 min | 66.7 mean avg | 57.0 median | 173 max days (56.9 std dev)

Pending

1 response is pending (60 days waiting).

Other Information

The agent will try to make a decision within 84 days. (16.7 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 84 days.)
Most recent response reported was received on 29 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 16 Jul 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 09:45 UTC (less than a minute ago).

Work submitted to this agent was also submitted to...

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Your Submissions

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Danielle Burby

Alex Land

Before Submitting

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Dates

Last Updated: 23 Jul 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.