Allie Merola acquires fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for Viking Penguin and Penguin Poets. She is interested in literary and upmarket fiction with a distinctive voice and pitch; mystery and suspense novels with complex, unusual characters and a strong sense of place; narrative, idea-driven, and multidisciplinary nonfiction and essays across a wide range of subjects—including youth culture and subcultures, social science, psychology, philosophy, and the internet—that is anchored by a fresh, clear, and memorable point of view; and poetry that is intimate, conceptually ambitious, and disarming. Across genres, she is drawn to writing with a sense of humor and projects that interrogate our political, social, and moral convictions. Since joining Viking Penguin in 2018, she has worked with authors including Zahra Hankir, Rebecca Makkai, Phillip B. Williams, Rita Bullwinkel, Bianca Bosker, Flynn Berry, Terrance Hayes, Sarah Thankam Mathews, Alice Notley, Rebecca Solnit, Rio Cortez, Sunjeev Sahota, and Alejandro Zambra.