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Martha Wydysh

An agent with Trident Media Group (see other agents at this agency).

About

Martha Wydysh has been working in publishing for a decade, and her first job in agenting was in subsidiary rights at a major agency. There, she worked to sell audiobook and serial rights on behalf of all clients at the agency, and quickly fell in love with the business side of books. She came to Trident in 2016 to work as Magazine Rights Associate and Executive Assistant to Ellen Levine, and in this position, she helped manage the representation of Ellen’s renowned clients in addition to placing short stories, book excerpts, articles, and essays with prestigious magazines and literary journals on their behalf.

In addition to working closely with her clients on their book projects, Martha views their careers holistically and loves helping them place short stories and essays. She is proud to have placed their work with such publications as The Paris Review, The Atlantic, Granta, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, The Southern Review, The Baffler, Gulf Coast, and Guernica. Her clients have won the O. Henry Prize, have been included in The Best American Short Stories anthologies, and have been nominated for such awards as the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the Story Prize, the Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the California Book Awards.

Martha is a graduate of Cornell University and the Columbia Publishing Course, and as an undergraduate, she spent a year at St. Anne’s College, Oxford University studying British literature and creative writing. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Country & Year Established

United States
Agent since 2019

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Slower
Martha Wydysh's overall average response time is slower than most agents.
Normal Acceptance
Martha Wydysh's overall acceptance rate is within a normal range for agents.
Less Responsive
Martha Wydysh's overall rate of non-response is higher than most agents.

Collapse section Fiction Open

She is primarily seeking literary fiction as well as upmarket fiction, and is drawn to novels that are contemporary, emotionally and psychologically acute, and not necessarily plot-centric. She has a soft spot for slightly speculative and satirical works that question the status quo here in the U.S. and abroad, and gravitates toward anything that verges on the absurd, obsessive, or humorous. She has a particular love of short fiction, especially linked collections or novels-in-stories that transport and immerse readers in an unfamiliar place. Additionally, Martha is looking for dark and propulsive psychological, domestic, and social thrillers.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults.

Genres:

General
Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres
Suspense/Thriller Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Domestic Thriller, Psychological

Lengths:

Fiction Collection
Novel

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

In non-fiction, she is interested in representing very select projects in the areas of narrative non-fiction, cultural criticism, and literary memoir.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults.

Lengths:

Book

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Memoir: See guidelines.
Society/Culture.
Other: See guidelines.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

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

Agent Impersonation Scams are becoming commonplace.
A legitimate agent will not contact you and request money to represent you. Never pay an agent an up-front fee. That is not how literary agent representation works. Agents earn a commission only after they've landed a publishing deal for you. Also, agents scarcely ever contact writers. If an agent that you haven't queried contacts you about representation, be suspicious. Look up the agent and check if the email address is correct for that agent/agency.

Martha Wydysh 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.

This agent ranks among the 25 Slowest Fiction Agents in our database.
This agent ranks among the Most Unresponsive Fiction Agents in our database.
Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 12 reports from 12 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
3 min | 193.2 mean avg | 203.0 median | 319 max days (150.5 std dev)
Responses
8.33 %
Acceptances:
0.00 %
Rejections:
8.33 % (3.0 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 100.0 % form, 0.0 % unspecified | 8.7 % partial MS requested
Non-Responses
91.67 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
91.67 % (193.2 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals
-
Pending
11 responses are pending (9 min | 135.8 mean avg | 81.0 median | 409 max days waiting | 583.2 std dev) from 11 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The agent will try to make a decision within 30 days. (91.7 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 30 days.)
Most recent response reported was received on 12 Nov 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 09 Nov 2025.
Date compiled: 05 Sep 2026 22:14 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Your Submissions

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Before Submitting

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  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the agency/agent.
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  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 05 Sep 2026

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

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