OUR TEAM

KAREN SOLEM, President

Karen is no longer accepting new clients.

Karen Solem represents a broad range of commercial fiction, and though a number of her clients have become New York Times bestsellers she still takes great pleasure in discovering and working with new talent. With many years of publishing experience she brings an editorial as well as a business background to assist her clients.

Karen is looking for literary and commercial fiction and non-fiction, primarily for the adult market. She would love to read a richly detailed historical novel or historical suspense, a big sprawling family saga, or engrossing women’s fiction. She especially enjoys southern women’s fiction; and given her passion for animals, seeks any work involving dogs, horses or the natural world. She loves a great suspense novel and especially those with a psychological hook.

NALINI AKOLEKAR, Vice President

Nalini Akolekar joined Spencerhill Associates after a lengthy editorial career and several years in advertising sales. Working as an agent has provided the perfect opportunity to combine her editorial instincts with her sales, marketing, and business experience. Nalini loves nothing more than discovering and nurturing talented authors. She likes to build strong, long-term relationships with her clients and keep open lines of communication.

Nalini primarily represents commercial fiction. She is always interested in seeing new women’s fiction, romance, historical fiction, thrillers and horror. Nalini maintains a diverse client list and loves to find exciting new voices that utilize elements of different genres to tell their story.

Nalini has two adult children and lives among a pack of very poorly behaved dogs who love to interrupt her when she is on the phone and a beautiful cat named Jakk who delights in winding them up.

AMANDA LEUCK, Submissions Manager &

Special Projects

Amanda Leuck began her career in media, and has worked on a TV talk show, at a fashion magazine, as a print journalist, and as an on-air traffic reporter. After graduating from New York University, Amanda went on to study literacy and literature at the post-graduate level. It was then that she developed her passion for publishing.
Amanda joined Spencerhill Associates as an assistant and was promoted to agent in August 2014. As of August 2021 she no longer accepts new clients as she now manages the flow of submissions to the agents and also handles special projects as they may arise.

SANDY HARDING, Literary Agent

Prior to joining Spencerhill in September 2015, Sandy Harding spent fifteen years at Penguin Random House and Penguin Group USA, most recently as a senior editor at NAL. In earlier days she earned an MA in American Literature at NYU and taught expository writing. As an editor she was fortunate to work with New York Times bestselling authors, but she also loved discovering new writers in unexpected places and nurturing both their manuscripts and their careers. She’s excited to bring this passion to agenting as she works to build her client list.

Sandy is seeking mainly upmarket commercial and literary fiction for the adult market. She enjoys women’s fiction for book clubs, smart page-turning thrillers, works of suspense with complex protagonists, mysteries of all sorts (cozies, historical, traditional), and romance. Most of all she’s seeking writing with a voice so penetrating and a story so captivating the reader simply must keep reading.

ALI HERRING, Literary Agent

Ali joined Spencerhill in 2017 after moving back to Georgia from Connecticut, where she interned for a literary agency in the greater NYC metro area. A former magazine associate editor, Ali has a diverse background in communications and editing. She graduated valedictorian of her class at Berry College in 2001, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Journalism. She is seeking middle grade and young adult fiction in all genres, science fiction and fantasy, romance, southern women’s fiction, and inspirational fiction, especially romance. She particularly likes high-concept commercial fiction with a literary flair. If you'd like a better idea of her interests, you can find her on Twitter, @HerringAli, where she regularly posts #MSWL's. Please query her only via the Query Manager link under the submission's tab.

Donna Pieszala, Office Administrator & Royalties Manager

Originally from Western New York, Donna and her family moved to Florida in 2013. She most recently worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates before joining Spencerhill Associates. Spending time with family and being near the water are two of her favorite things. She and her husband have 2 children and 4 grandchildren.