meet the agents
Fast facts
Status: Open to seeing the right project, but generally closed to submissions.
Looking for: Nonfiction across most genres, nonreligious and religious. No memoir unless the author has a newsworthy story or a significant platform.
Contact: amanda at macgregorliterary dot com
Amanda Luedeke (LEE-duh-key) wrote her first book – a picture book entitled A Cat – when she was 5 years old. Though the scintillating masterpiece never made it to bookstore shelves, it solidified her dream to one day work in the book industry.
In addition to holding a BA in Professional Writing from Taylor University, Amanda brings a background in marketing and advertising to her agent role. Over the years, she has kept one foot in the marketing world, working with brands such as Vera Bradley, Peg Perego, Minwax, Reelcraft, Holmatro, and more.
She met Chip at an author signing in a Barnes and Noble in 2008. Soon, she was helping him with projects, research, and all the little stuff she now assumes he just didn’t feel like doing.
Promoted to the role of agent in 2010 and then vice president in 2018, Amanda took ownership of the agency in 2024—though she still considers Chip her colleague.
She released her author marketing book The Extroverted Writer: An Author’s Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform in 2013, and a Christian devotional, Sense of Wonder: Delighting in God’s Presence Throughout the Holiday Season (Our Daily Bread, 2024).
Amanda grew up in Chicagoland but now calls Fort Wayne, Indiana home. She holds a BA in Professional Writing from Taylor University.
Amanda Luedeke, President
Alina mitchell, agent
Alina Mitchell discovered her love for books in elementary school when she realized it opened up a world full of adventure and wonder beyond her wildest dreams. The timeless gift of storytelling and the power that one book can have simply enamored her, and she always knew she would work in the book industry one day.
Alina received a Bachelor of Arts in English/Professional Writing with a minor in Business Management from Oakwood University, a Master of Arts in English & Secondary Education from the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) and an Instructional Design/eLearning Certificate from Oregon State University.
Beginning her writing and education career working as a Freshman Composition instructor at UAH, Alina always encouraged her students to have a sense of agency and own their voices through their writing. She continued to pursue her passion working as a secondary English teacher, principal and higher education administrator.
In 2019, Alina published her debut book, The Color of Beauty: The Life and Work of New York Fashion Icon Ophelia DeVore, which chronicled the life of her grand-aunt Ophelia DeVore, the first Black model in the United States. Alina has co-authored two forthcoming books including a young adult mystery novel and Every Inch A Lady: A Memoir From Fashion Icon Audrey Smaltz (Amistad/HarperCollins).
Fast facts
Status: Closed to submissions.
Nonfiction: Memoirs/Biographies; Body, Mind & Spirit; Sports
Fiction: Mystery/Thriller
Fast facts
Status: View her MSWL page for submissions guidelines, current status, etc.
Fiction: Most genres. Loves character-heavy stories, marginalized writers. No religious or experimental writing.
elisa saphier, agent
When Elisa was home sick from school in third grade, her mom gave her two Nancy Drew books to read, and while she'd loved books before, now there was no looking back. She thought maybe she'd be a writer (and tried publishing some pretty bad poetry) but knew that no matter what, she wanted to be around books, words, and writing.
From her first job in a library, to being the editor-in-chief of her high school literary magazine, to working in four bookstores (and owning one), Elisa has always managed to surround herself with books and writers.
Elisa long dreamed of opening her own bookstore and in 2012, after her wife decreed that no more bookshelves were allowed in their house, she took the leap. Elisa and her bookstore, Another Read Through, quickly became known as champions of local writers and local small publishers, and as community builders. She works toward equity in publishing and in writers’ career development with the nonprofit she is co-launching in 2022, Amplify Writers. She believes that books and writers have important things to say, and she wants to help writers get their work out there, and for readers to find them.
colleen oefelein, agent
Colleen Oefelein (OH-fah-line) worked in the school library in 6th grade, where she fell in love with V.C. Andrews, calculated ex with Richard Feynman and adventured with The Baby-Sitters Club. Books changed her life, giving her the courage to excel as a tiny woman in engineering and in the U.S. Air Force, always with a book in her hand and a dream in her heart to help authors and put more life-changing books in the library.
Colleen earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with a focus in Biotechnology and a Bachelor of Science in German with a minor in International Business, both from Penn State.
With over a decade of experience in the publishing industry, Colleen has worked at a couple literary agencies as both an associate agent and PR manager. She’s hosted numerous “Pitch Perfect” and “Rejection Correction” workshops on Facebook and at conferences nationwide and mentored several authors one-on-one through online pitch contests such as Pitch Wars.
Also an author of young adult fantasy and memoir, Colleen has a deep appreciation for bond between an author and their art as well as a keen understanding of the PR world, having been featured in People Magazine, on Inside Edition, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson and on 20/20.
Colleen is a disabled veteran living in Alaska with her husband, son, and boerboel. A former 911 call taker and dispatcher for Alaska State Troopers, she has a soft spot for veterans and law enforcement families. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors and teaches creative writing workshops and Irish dance to homeschoolers.
Fast facts
Status: Closed to submissions.
Fiction: heart-rending romance across subgenres (no erotica), romantic suspense, YA, harsh and sobering contemporary, low fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, unusual re-tellings, suspense and thriller.
Nonfiction: high-profile crime memoir, whistleblower memoir and narrative nonfiction on the subjects of science or medicine.
Chip macgregor, founder and agent emeritus
Chip has a comprehensive knowledge of the industry—from book development to writing, acquisition to production, marketing to sales. A former publisher with Time-Warner and Hachette, he has secured more than 1000 book deals for authors with all of the major publishers, including numerous imprints at Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Jossey-Bass, Chronicle, Thomas Nelson, Baker, Tyndale, Kensington, and dozens of others. As an editor, he discovered Phillip Gulley, worked with bestselling authors such as Andy Andrews and Karen Kingsbury, and helped craft books for some of the best names in publishing, including Brennan Manning, Vincent Zandri, Steve Jackson, Davis Bunn, Byron Huggins, Alistair McGrath, and numerous others. He has also written more than two-dozen titles, including two books that hit #1 on the bestseller lists in their category, and he has been the collaborative writer on nearly three-dozen other titles. During his tenure as a publisher at Time Warner, he helped start Center Street, the “heartland publishing” initiative at what is now Hachette, and did books with the likes of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. John Ashcroft.
His work with Lisa Beamer and Ken Abraham led to Let’s Roll hitting #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, eventually becoming the bestselling nonfiction book the year it released. After starting his own agency, he has focused on helping bring great fiction to market, representing authors such as Rachel Hauck, Susan Meissner, and many others. Some of his bestselling nonfiction clients include writers Sheila Wray Gregoire, Shane Stanford, Grace Valentine, Michelle McKinney Hammond, and Mike Hingson. A longtime member of the American Association of Literary Agents, he has represented dozens of books on all the national bestseller lists, and the authors he represents have won numerous national awards.
A popular writer’s conference speaker, Chip has presented workshops at more than 200 publishing conferences, spoken at colleges and universities, and is frequently invited to speak to writers groups around the country on the topics of writing and publishing. He earned his BS with High Honors at Portland State University, earned an MA with Honors from Biola University, and did his doctoral work at the University of Oregon in Policy and Management, focusing on organizational development. He later did a post-doctoral semester at Oxford University. Chip has been written up in numerous writing and publishing related magazines and newsletters, is frequently asked for his opinions on trends in the publishing industry, and his longtime blog was regularly on the list of Writers Digest’s “101 Best Websites for Writers.”
Chip is currently transitioning to retirement, hoping to spend more time in the sun and less time at the keyboard. He continues to enjoy life on the west coast with his wife Holly, and spends some of his time as a publishing consultant.
“We’re in the business of building author careers, not chasing one-and-done book deals. When you reach out, we’ll answer whether or not there’s money to be made.”