Are Gangster novels in the same genre as Crime/Police?

[cwilliard]

I ask this question because I have written to agents that say they represent Detective/Police/Crime novels yet they reply that a Mafia story isn't right for them. Also, there seems to be very few agents that are looking for Mafia stories, even though there haven't been many new ones for a while. Surely I can't be the only one who likes a good mob story. Is there any one else out there wants wants a good, new Mafia story or movie? I am new to this board and I grateful that there is a place that I can talk to fellow writers about issues like this. Thank you.



Charles

[Maryn]

Novels do go in and out of fashion, but there's always room for a good one even when it's not in vogue.

To identify more appropriate potential agents, you might want to find current mafia novels in bookstores. Armed with titles, author names, and any agents mentioned in dedications, thank-yous, etc., you can start your search.

Our own Victoria Strauss has a page to help: http://www.sff.net/people/VictoriaStrauss/trackrecord.html

Good luck to you--and welcome to AW!

Maryn, glad to meet you

[Jamesaritchie]

It may be you should stop describing the story as a Mafia story. There's a big difference, I think, between a Mafia story, and a story with the Mafia in it.

But the traditional Mafia type novel does seem to be out of favor right now, if you mean novels of "The Godfather" type.

I suppose you should find as many novels as you can of the type you're writing, even if they're a few years old, and find out who represented those novels.

[Cathy C]

I'm wondering if perhaps you're accidentally querying true crime/detective/police agents, cwilliard. True crime is non-fiction. Generally speaking, detective and police fiction are primarily shelved under suspense/thrillers or mystery. Just a thought, because I think there is plenty of room for Mafia fiction in today's market. Of course, if you're querying a NON-fiction mafia story, then it might just be out of fashion at the moment.

[Sage]

If it's set in the past when the mafia was big, it might be considered historical fiction, perhaps? (Sage doesn't actually know, it's just a suggestion).

[cwilliard]

Thanks to all those that replied. To answer a two of the comments, I made sure that I was sending letters to ficiton agents and the novel and it's sequel are set in present day.