ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE LITERARY
Lighthouse Literary Agency represents authors of children's (PB, MG, YA) and adult fiction and non-fiction for both the Christian and secular markets. Our primary goal is to sell our clients' books to traditional publishers. For this service, we receive 15% of the royalties our clients earn on their books from the publishers. Stephanie Cardel and Mara Cobb are the only agents at Lighthouse Literary. (Don't believe the scammers claiming to be a part of Lighthouse calling and offering publishing contracts or asking for money. We don't do that!) At Lighthouse we aren't interested in submissions that have content that conflicts with our Christian values or contains horror, gore, or sexually explicit scenes.
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Our live-by verse: "...let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven," (Matthew 5:16 NIV).
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Founder Stephanie Cardel has a B.S. in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State with minors in English and Social Work. She owned a dance studio for ten years then left the dance world to homeschool her three children K-12. During those years, she also worked at homeschool tutorials teaching Psychology, World Literature, P.E., Health and Art. ​
She and her husband run a log home maintenance business and spend most of their free time with their five grandchildren. Stephanie writes MG and YA fiction. She had the privilege to work on four film crews (as P.A., Script Supervisor, and Continuity Supervisor) with writer, director, and actress Brittany Goodwin and even had a small part in two of those films, and was an extra in one. Her debut YA Christian Contemporary, THIS ISN'T SHAKESPEARE, will be out in August 2025.​
She interned for a year, then worked as a literary agent at Golden Wheat Literary for two years. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to launch Lighthouse Literary where she considers it an honor to help writers realize their dreams of becoming published.
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On Mara Cobb's fifth birthday, she read two Junie B. Jones books in one sitting. It wasn’t long after that when her grandmothers, both voracious readers, took it upon themselves to hunt for books she would love just as much as the Junie B. series. By age six, she was reading Nancy Drew mysteries. At seven, she was working her way through the Bobbsey Twins and Little House in the Big Woods, followed by Little Women.
As a reader and as an agent, she often picks up the same books that she sneaked into her bed and read long into the night with her handy-dandy flashlight. She's drawn to strong and feisty protagonists, antagonists with redemptive arcs, and plots that have curveballs and keep her glued to the page. She loves books that are impossible to put down with surprising plot twists--books that have her saying “just one more chapter” at 2 a.m. when she really should be sleeping.
By day, when she's not reading or teaching at a nearby community college, she's drafting stories of her own, baking cookies, crafting, playing piano and fiddle, and spending time outdoors with the dogs, cats, goats, horses, and chickens on her family's farm. By night, she can be found consuming iced coffee while watching cheesy rom-coms and reality TV. She also enjoys traveling and hopes to visit all 50 states, finding unique coffee shops, book stores, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants along the way.
In February 2022, Mara began interning at Martin Literary Management, and she started work as a junior agent at Martin Lit in September 2023. She is excited to be part of Lighthouse Literary, where she can fulfill her goal of working on projects that serve as a light in our world.
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INTERN-
CATE VANOSTRAND is an editorial intern currently assisting Mara Cobb. Cate is a college junior majoring in English and History at the University of Memphis, where she spends most of her time studying technical writing, Ancient Rome, and Latin. Having been raised by two avid readers, she's managed to read at least 200 books every year since grade school.
When she's not studying, you can find Cate writing faith-infused novels, drinking too many chai lattes, or binge-reading fantasy novels like there's no tomorrow. Her favorite authors include Nadine Brandes, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Stephen Lawhead.
