Lee Melillo(they/she) joined Dunham Literary, Inc. in May 2024 as Jennie Dunham’s assistant, following an internship with Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret LLC. She began signing clients in August 2025. Lee also manages the agency’s social media and website, is a second-reader for queries, and handles royalty statements and permissions agreements.
Lee graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University in 2022, with departmental honors in English and Theatre Directing. Through her majors, Lee discovered her passion for advocating for writers. She believes literature is one of the most effective ways to gain empathy for and understanding of life experiences outside our own.
Originally from New Haven, Lee now resides in Queens with her cat/office assistant, Muffin Man. Lee maintains her love of theatre by performing full renditions of musical theatre classics on the glorious stage also known as her shower.
You can find Lee on Instagram and Bluesky at @leemelillobooks, and at leemelillo.com.
What Lee’s Seeking:
Lee represents young adult and adult fiction across genres as well as select pop culture nonfiction. She prioritizes authors from underrepresented communities, including writers of color, queer writers, disabled writers, and neurodivergent writers. Her tastes are broad, but she’s always looking for strong craft and personality. Her soft spot is weird, offbeat humor geared towards Millennials/Gen Z, and characters who find themselves in conflict with the world, whether as the defense or the prosecution.
Lee does NOT currently represent picture books, middle grade, graphic novels, or memoirs of any kind. Lee is also not a fan of: erotica; high fantasy/sci-fi; cop/detective/private investigator books; US military/politics books; books about WWI or WWII; Greek/Roman/Norse mythology; books about most sports; British historical romance; books that romanticize gang life or the mafia; military academy-esque SFF/dystopia; graphic depictions of sexual assault, self-harm, or suicide attempts; excessive violence towards animals; or anything where a pet dies.
For a more detailed description of Lee’s interests and examples, CLICK HERE to see her MSWL.