Meet Najla

Najla is an avid reader and loves great first chapters, immersive world building, deep character profiles, and well-rounded dialogue. She teaches workshops at several writing conferences, including Common Mistakes In First Chapters, Writing Rules That Can Be Broken, Self-Editing Before the Query, Getting The History And Voice Right, and many other topics. She is co-chair of American Association of Literary Agents’ Professional Development committee and member of the People of Publishing planning committee for the AALA’s annual meeting of literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals.

In nonfiction, Najla gravitates towards narrative nonfiction, true crime, memoir, biography, identity, business/economics, leadership, and stories inspired by lesser known people, professions and crafts (builders, designers, architects), musicians/artists/creators, daredevils, athletes, etc.

In fiction, she seeks adult and new adult. She is not requesting young adult, middle grade or children’s.

In both fiction and nonfiction, she seeks underrepresented stories and writers across all genres. Strong loglines and pitches pull her in, and she carefully reviews each project submitted.

She considers full manuscripts between 65,000 and 85,000 words.

Please send your query letter, one-two page synopsis, first three chapters, author bio with website link(s), social media link(s), and marketing plan (all documents must be in PDF format) to najla@savvyliterary.com or use the Submissions Form.

Her most recent projects include:

In narrative nonfiction, Dr. Lisa Brandabur Kremer's STRONG ARMS: THE STORY OF JOCKEY JAKE HEUPEL IN THE GOLDEN ERA OF HORSE RACING, exploring the life of the elite thoroughbred jockey, who ran away from his childhood home in Kentucky to become an apprentice in 1916 Havana, Cuba, later riding into the money in the Kentucky Derby and winding up his racing career watching the national favorite, Seabiscuit, race the 1937 Santa Anita Handicap, offering a human element to horse racing from the view of a popular, top money-winning jockey and the role of the strong women in the industry, to Eclipse Press, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2027,

In narrative nonfiction, THE FASTEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD: THE STORY OF DAREDEVIL JOAN LACOSTA by Tony St. Clair, which narrates the epic life behind the wheel of one of the most famous risk-taking female racers of all time in the 1920s, was published by Lyons Press in March 2025.

In memoir, Heather Sweeney’s CAMOUFLAGE: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage, detailing the hardships of life as a military spouse and her journey navigating divorce and her loss of identity in the shadows of her husband’s military career, to Post Hill Press, was published in Fall 2025. Audio is forthcoming through Recorded Books.

In memoir, Amy Scheiner's WHO I ONCE WAS, following the author's journey as one of the first teens to undergo bariatric surgery, before it was FDA approved, chronicling her experience with mental health facilities, generational trauma, and the search for wholeness against the backdrop of eating disorders and diet culture, to Joanna Green at Beacon Press, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2027.

In crime/suspense fiction, CRADLE by Cobie LeJeanne, book 1 of the Haplin River Series pitched as Mare of Easttown meets SHARP OBJECTS, exploring mental health and trauma, about a judicious detective with synesthesia who must investigate the renowned angel-worshipping church where her overzealous half-sister is engaged to the reverend's son, and, despite their differences, come together to catch a cunning killer, was published by Tule in July 2025. Books 2 and 3 of the Haplin River Series will be published in December 2025 and August 2026, respectively.

In romance, THE LONGEST BLOOM by Rashah Solun, a coming-of-age crossover fiction centered around Juliet, a seventy-five-year-old woman who embarks on a journey of rediscovering and unearthing the joys and pleasures of life as an older Black woman, pitched as the voice of a Black SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO to Launch Point Press and was published in summer 2025.