Rose Conway is a literary agent and publishing consultant empowering fiction authors through representation and nonfiction authors through strategic guidance to make informed publishing decisions.

After years of witnessing authors navigate mounting obstacles in the publishing landscape with increasingly contradictory and inconsistent advice, Rose founded Foreword Literary Consulting, LLC as a trusted resource for strategic guidance. Within two years, she developed publishing strategies with over 200 authors, generated over $150,000 in revenue across the freelance marketplace, and guided over 35 books to market through traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing pathways, including several USA Today bestsellers. She also supported three publishers in establishing their in-house SOPs.

As an Agent with Confluence Literary Agency, Rose channels her consulting expertise into author representation. Her list focuses on stylistically subversive and thematically layered fiction: work that leads with artistry and allows deeper themes to emerge naturally, or as Rose likes to call it, “hiding the medicine in the cheese.”* She seeks upmarket and smart commercial fiction with inventive structures, emotional depth, and distinctive voices. Think braided narratives, unexpected POVs, and prose that takes creative risks.

Rose represents career-oriented authors willing to grow as writers and put in the revision work. She builds fiction careers from the ground up, prioritizing quality writing and smart publishing partnerships over platform size or quick commissions. Whether pursuing independent publishers who offer strong editorial support or Big 5 houses when the fit is right, her focus remains on long-term career development. Rose’s goal is to help authors lay the foundation so that years down the line, they can look back proudly at the body of work they’ve built.

She encourages authors to treat all conversations as a two-way interview, evaluating whether she’s the right advocate for their work. As she’s advised many querying authors, “No representation is a golden ticket.” Rose’s been told she has “old publishing era” sensibilities, which resonates with her philosophy of putting authors’ artistic development and creative growth at the center of everything she does.

Rose also serves on the board of sparrow stories, a nonprofit making ghostwriting accessible to community advocates and nonprofit leaders. In addition, she hosts a book club for bookish professionals, blending industry reads with networking opportunities.

Rose holds a Masters in Publishing from London College of Communication and a double Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Studies from Villanova University. She lives in Columbia, Maryland with her husband and their age-defying 18-year-old cat, Twirl.

For fiction representation, visit her QueryTracker profile.
For nonfiction consulting, contact her here.

*Rose is entirely aware she read this in another agent’s commentary on the industry. If this is you, thank you for putting it so well. If you haven’t read this before, you’re welcome.