Katherine Odom-Tomchin
Literary Agent, Audio Rights Director
Katherine (Kat) is the Audio Rights Director, a literary agent, and an operations manager at Folio Literary Management, where she represents both fiction and nonfiction. Her fiction clients include USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Penelope Bloom (the CONFLUENCE ACADEMY series, beginning with UNBOUND), Carissa Orlando (author of the horror novel THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE), and the Estate of Robert Lindner (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and THE FIFTY-MINUTE HOUR). In nonfiction, she represents Bridget Todd (creator of iHeart Media's hit podcast There Are No Girls On The Internet, LOVE AT FIRST PROMPT), BravoTV's Reza Farahan (star of Shahs of Sunset and The Valley: Persian Style, MEMOIRS OF A GAY SHAH), and Ashley Tepper (WOMEN WRITING MUSICALS). She holds a special interest in dark, mind-bending narratives, often with a unique world-building element, that strike a chord with their audience.
As Audio Rights Director, Kat strategically places audio rights on behalf of her colleagues at Folio as well as the storied authors from the affiliated agencies of Harold Ober Associates and Emma Sweeney Agency. She also acts as a subagent, selling audio for the independent publishers BenBella Books (based in Texas, publishing non-fiction only), and Regal House Publishing (a women-owned press focused primarily on fiction). She has placed audio rights on behalf of such authors as Jenny Han, Lois Lowry, Carolyn Brown, Sara Gruen, Rachel Rodgers, Michael Easter, Mother Teresa, Seraphina Nova-Glass, and the Grand Ole Opry.
Kat began her publishing career at Heritage Publishing, Inc., where she held various positions in the editorial, graphic design, and information departments. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2017 with a major in English and a minor in Mass Communications and completed her certificate in Business Contracts at Cornell University in 2022. She is currently reading The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin.
When thinking about the books I most like to represent, or most like to read, and even the television and movies I watch time and time again, I often come back to a few constants:
For fiction, I most enjoy dark, mind-bending narratives, often with a unique world-building element, that strike a chord with their audience. Whatever the genre - horror, science fiction, psychological thrillers, etc. - I find myself struck by stories that reveal some dark, hidden facts about the people or world around us. That said, I also have a soft spot for LGBTQIA+ romance, which I read guiltily while the latest horror novel sits judging me from my bedside table.
I'm most driven to read and represent narrative nonfiction that tells stories of triumph over extreme hardship on the non-fiction side. I'm an avid consumer of true crime by writers personally invested in the story that they are telling and/or with inside information in a case, whether cold or solved. I will pick up the occasional science and psychology book by an expert in their field to better understand myself and how the world operates. A good rule of thumb when submitting a proposal to me is to consider the marketability of your work. Does your work/your platform have publicity potential? If the answer is yes, I'm intrigued.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not currently represent YA or middle grade content.
Horror - Less gore and paranormal than the typical slasher or ghost story. More in line with titles like THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP, SHUTTER ISLAND, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, or MISERY. I'm open to paranormal stories like THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and stories featuring younger characters like IT, but the characters and writing must carry the story.
Psychological Thriller - A recent favorite is Elaine Murphy's LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO.
Grounded/Hard Science Fiction - Driven more by characters and voice that imagines a world altered in some way by a scientific discovery or happening. Good examples are SEVERANCE by Ling Ma, ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer, and THE MARTIAN.
LGBTQIA+ - Either romance, such as Ashley Herring Blake's BRIGHT FALLS series, or genre fiction with queer protagonists. TELL MY I'M WORTHLESS by Alison Rumfitt is a perfect example.
Psychology
True Crime - Think MINDHUNTER by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker or I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara
Journalistic Nonfiction - A favorite is BAD BLOOD by investigative reporter John Carreyrou
Narrative Nonfiction
Science
Underrepresented Voices