Matt DiGangi

Matt DiGangi – Editor

Literary agent. Specializing in query letter evaluation.

Overview

BFA in English & Textual Studies from Syracuse University (2000), MA in Publishing & Writing from Emerson College (2009).

I came up working on literary journals in the early 2000s and ran my own independent publishing house after that. Worked in academic publishing editorial, followed by three years at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's trade division. Currently a literary agent specializing in voicey fiction and research-oriented nonfiction.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to weird science, music, history, sports, politics, food, pop/alternative culture, and video games.

DISCLAIMER: My agency is not pay-to-play. If we work together, I won't be able to represent you. But if I edit your project, I'm happy to consult on a list of possible agents to query.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences History Music Sports & Outdoors
Fiction
Literary Fiction Science Fiction Short Story
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Bresnick Weil Literary Agency

Apr, 2015 — Present

• Evaluating solicited and unsolicited manuscript submissions for quality of writing and market appropriateness.
• Developing manuscripts for flow, plotting, voice, logic, and consistency.
• Editing manuscripts for grammar and style in anticipation of editor presentations.
• Presenting project pitches to acquisition editors at all “Big Five” publishing houses, as well as all large independent publishers.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Jun, 2011 — Jun, 2015 (about 4 years)

• Drafted acquisition contracts for upcoming frontlist titles, coordinating negotiations between agents and editors.
• Drafted and vetted subrights agreements for foreign publishers and audiobook rights.
• Researched and cleared necessary permissions items for backlist titles.
• Evaluated third-party material for fair use application.

Self-employed

Jun, 2010 — Apr, 2015 (almost 5 years)

• Developed manuscripts for flow, plotting, voice, logic, and consistency.
• Edited manuscripts for grammar and style.
• Worked with large independent trade houses like Bloomsbury, as well as large academic publishers like Cengage Learning.

Thieves Jargon Literary Journal

Jun, 2004 — Jun, 2009 (about 5 years)

Developed and delivered digital content daily for an online literary journal.
• Correspondence with authors and artists regarding acceptance, rejection, and editorial advice.
• Online community organizer (message board and blog), with focus toward SEO.

Portfolio

Kittens in the Boiler

Delphine Lecompte

The first novel by Delphine Lecompte. Set against the dreary Belgian coast, the book is about a young woman and the company she keeps, both on and off the streets. Comedic catastrophe and sexual assassination are afterthoughts for the narrator as she carries h... read more
Year of the Thief

Matthew DiGangi (ed.)

Thieves Jargon is a literary journal notable for its adventurous and talented writers. Their voices tell thirsty stories, tales whispered from traveling salesmen to wide-eyed youngsters in bowling alley parking lots. They are fools, they are magicians, they ar... read more
Dollhouse

Mike Boyle

DOLLHOUSE is a book about a young man with problems. Tony Diggs has moved to the suburbs, crashed out with his girlfriend and her single mother. The soundtrack would be rock and roll (and a little bit of Neil Diamond), but between the opiates and the factory j... read more
Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work

Steven Kotler

NATIONAL BESTSELLER CNBC and Strategy + Business Best Business Book of 2017"Steven and Jamie have done a wonderful job of balancing the promises, perils, and how-to prescriptions of engineering peak states such as 'flow.'" —Tim Ferriss, #1 New York Times best-... read more
Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead (33 1/3)

Buzz Poole

Released in 1970, Workingman's Dead was the breakthrough album for the Grateful Dead, a cold-water-shock departure from the Acid Test madness of the late '60s. It was the band's most commercially and critically successful release to date. More importantly, the... read more
Popovers and Candlelight: Patricia Murphy and the Rise and Fall of a Restaurant Empire

Marcia Biederman

Recounts the true story of an entrepreneurial woman who succeeded in a male-dominated industry in the twentieth century.
One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Stephanie Anderson

“Sustainable” has long been the rallying cry of agricultural progressives; given that much of our nation’s farm and ranch land is already degraded, however, sustainable agriculture often means maintaining a less-than-ideal status quo. Industrial agriculture ha... read more
The Patricide of George Benjamin Hill: A Novel

James Charlesworth

All their lives, the children of George Benjamin Hill have fought to escape the shadow of their father, a Dust-Bowl orphan, self-made millionaire in bedrock American capitalism (fast food and oil), and destroyer of two families on his way to financial success.... read more
A Guest in the House of Hip-Hop: How Rap Music Taught a Kid from Kentucky What a White Ally Should Be

Mickey Hess

Born in rural Kentucky, Mickey Hess grew up listening to the militant rap of Public Enemy while living in a place where the state song still included the word “darkies.” Listening to hip-hop made Hess think about what it meant to be white, while the environmen... read more
The Brightest Sun

Adrienne Benson

An illuminating debut following three women in sub-Saharan Africa as they search for home and familyLeona, an isolated American anthropologist, gives birth to a baby girl in a remote Maasai village and must decide how she can be a mother, in spite of her own g... read more

Professionals similar to Matt

Get a range of offers by requesting quotes from multiple professionals.

Patrick Price

Patrick P.

Hands-on, thoughtful editor specializing in memoir, self-help, thriller, mystery, suspense, and YA fiction. Formerly of Simon and Schuster.

New York, NY, United States

100% reply rate

View profile
Jenny Jacoby

Jenny J.

Experienced editor of writing for children and adults (fiction, non-fiction, picture books, novelties) through all stages of editing.

London, United Kingdom

100% reply rate

View profile
Ashley Kuehl

Ashley K.

Developmental and line editor with fifteen years of in-house publishing experience. I specialize in children's and YA nonfiction.

Minneapolis, MN, USA

100% reply rate

View profile