Episode 18: Melanie Figueroa


A downloadable PDF transcript of this episode will be available soon


Melanie Figueroa is a literary agent at Root Literary and a member of the Association of American Literary Agents. She has a M.S. in creative writing and book publishing from Portland State University and a B.A. in English rhetoric and composition and certificate in technical writing from California State University, Long Beach. She got her start in publishing as an editorial project manager and freelance editor before joining Root Literary as an agency assistant in 2018. She represents children’s literature and adult fiction, and what she loves most about the job is the balance of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. 

Melanie was born and raised in Southern California in a multicultural, blended family, so she has a soft spot for books that speak to the nuances of relationships and identity. When she's not working, you can find her stress baking, watching something scary, or snuggling with her chocolate lab, Oakley.


In this episode:

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Michael’s

Learn to Draw Finding Dory

Holly Root, Taylor Haggerty, Alyssa Maltese, Molly O’Neill - some of Melanie’s colleagues at Root Literary

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Sparkle by Lakita Wilson

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue (coming 2024)

The Office

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan

Waterstones Children’s Book Prize



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Episode 19: Khadijah VanBrackle

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Episode 17: Kristy Boyce & Carrie S. Allen