2 New Literary Agents Looking for Writers

2 New Literary Agents Looking for Writers

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Here are two agents actively looking to expand their client list. Cara Mannion of Harold Ober Associates  is looking for YA and adult commercial fiction, including romance (and all its subgenres), historical fiction, women’s fiction, paranormal, science fiction, horror, mysteries and thrillers, as well as nonfiction biography.

Stephanie Delman of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates is looking for literary fiction, historical/book club fiction featuring stories that haven’t been told, upmarket women’s fiction, and smart psychological thrillers/suspense, as well as nonfiction pop culture, narrative memoirs, and blog-to-book projects.

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Cara Mannion of Harold Ober Associates

About Cara: A graduate of New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute, Cara is the newest addition to the legacy agency Harold Ober Associates. Before joining the agency world, she worked in editorial at Entangled Publishing’s new adult imprint for two years. At HOA, she works in both the book and film/TV worlds as she assists with selling books’ motion picture rights. Originally hailing from the sunny beaches of Florida, Cara is now enjoying seeing the seasons actually change while actively building her own client list. She can be found on Twitter @Cara_Mannion.

What she is looking for: Mainly YA and adult commercial fiction, including romance (and all its subgenres), historical fiction, women’s fiction, paranormal, science fiction, horror, mysteries and thrillers. Limited interest in nonfiction includes humor and biography. Cara particularly enjoys strong female protagonists, juicy love triangles, subversive conspiracy plots, and opening lines that make you want to jump headfirst into the book.

Not Looking For: Fantasy, memoirs, picture books, poetry, self-help books, screenplays and short story collections.

How to submit: Please email the first 10 pages of your manuscript, a concise query letter, and a detailed synopsis to cara [at] haroldober.com. You can also mail your query to:

Attn: Cara Mannion
Harold Ober Associates
425 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

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Stephanie Delman of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

About Stephanie: After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars, Stephanie held editorial positions at a health website and a literary journal, and then happily joined Sanford J. Greenburger Associates in 2012. There, she works for the president, collaborates on foreign rights, and is now building her own list. She tweets occasionally at @imaginarysmd.

What she is seeking: Literary fiction, historical/book club fiction featuring stories that haven’t been told, upmarket women’s fiction, and smart psychological thrillers/suspense. In nonfiction, Stephanie looks for pop culture, narrative memoirs, and blog-to-book projects (from writers with established platforms).

Not seeking: Stephanie does NOT represent children’s books, sci-fi, fantasy, romance novels, erotica, or prescriptive nonfiction.

How to submit: Query Stephanie at sdelman [at] sjga.com. Please send a brief letter and the first few chapters of your manuscript in the body of your email, and Stephanie will be in touch if she would like to read more.

2 Agents Seeking New Clients

2 Agents Seeking New Clients

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Here are two new agents seeking clients. Amanda Leuck of Spencerhill Associates is looking for literary and commercial YA, new adult fiction, urban fantasy, and romance in all genres, including edgy romantic suspense, contemporary and paranormal. Victoria Selvaggio of Jennifer De Chiara Literary is looking for all genres (lyrical picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction, new adult, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, paranormal, fantasy, narrative nonfiction, adult fiction), thrillers and all elements of weird, creepy stuff.

Amanda Leuck of Spencerhill Associates

About Amanda: Amanda Leuck started her career in various facets of the media, including work on a TV talk show, at a fashion magazine, as a print journalist, and as an on-air traffic reporter. After graduating from New York University, Amanda went on to study literacy and literature at the post-graduate level. It was then that she developed a passion for the publishing industry. Amanda started at Spencerhill Associates as an editorial assistant, and was promoted to agent in August 2014. Her Twitter handle is @MandiLeone.

What she is seeking: strong, character-driven stories, written with an unforgettable voice. She is looking for literary and commercial YA, new adult fiction, urban fantasy, and romance in all genres, including edgy romantic suspense, contemporary and paranormal with a fresh twist.

How to submit: Send all submissions to submission [at] spencerhillassociates.com. Send the query letter in the body of the email. Address the query to Amanda. Include the pitch, and information about past publishing credits in the letter. Attach a detailed synopsis, and attach the first three chapter in .doc, rtf or txt format to the email.

Victoria Selvaggio of Jennifer De Chiara Literary

About Victoria: Victoria A. Selvaggio joins The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency as an Associate Agent with a strong background in business ownership and over six years of actively working as a volunteer and Regional Advisor for SCBWI: Northern Ohio. Drawn to the publishing scene first as an author writing all genres, with her most recent publication in the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, Vicki’s passion for honing the craft carried over into reading manuscripts for the agency. Currently, she is excited to read compelling manuscripts that will resonate with her long after she’s done.

What she is seeking: “I am currently looking for all genres (lyrical picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction, new adult, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, paranormal, fantasy, narrative nonfiction, adult fiction), but find I’m drawn to middle grade and young adult. I especially love thrillers and all elements of weird, creepy stuff. If it’s out of the box, and it will make me think and think, long after I’m done reading, send it to me. On the flip side, I yearn for books that make me laugh, cry and wonder about the world.”

How to submit: Please e-mail a query to vselvaggio [at] windstream.net. Put “Query” in the subject line of your e-mail. For queries regarding children’s and adult fiction, please send the first twenty pages in the body of your e-mail, along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis.

For queries regarding a nonfiction book, please attach the entire proposal as a Word document (the proposal should include a sample chapter), along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis of your book in the body of your email.

“I usually respond within three to six months. If you haven’t received a response after six months, feel free to query me again.”

2 New Agents Actively Seeking Clients

2 New Agents Actively Seeking Clients

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Here are two new agents actively seeking writers. Heather Flaherty (Bent Agency) is looking for children’s, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as select new adult fiction, and pop-culture or humorous nonfiction. Sarah Nagel (Writers House) is looking for psychological thrillers, horror, mystery, suspense, literary fiction, realistic Young Adult and Middle Grade with a hint of magical realism, and for nonfiction - medical ethics, true crime, humor books and memoir.

Heather Flaherty of The Bent Agency

About Heather: “I grew up in Massachusetts, between Boston and the Cape, and started working in New York City as a playwright during college. This pushed me towards English as a focus, and after a lot of country-hopping in my early twenties, I wound up finally beginning my publishing career in editorial, specifically at Random House in the UK. That’s also where I became a YA and children’s literary scout, which finally landed me back in NYC, consulting with foreign publishers and Hollywood regarding what the next big book will be. Now as an agent, I’m thrilled to turn my focus on growing authors for that same success.”

What she is seeking: Children’s, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as select new adult fiction, and pop-culture or humorous nonfiction.

“Currently I’m looking for YA fiction across-the-board, though my heart does sway towards issue-related YA with humor and heart – not depressing, or mopey. I also love love love hard, punchy, contemporary YA that’s got no hesitations when it comes to crazy. I’m also always up for seeing contemporary stories with sci-fi or fantasy elements, as well as a clever respin of an old or classic tale. And then, lastly, really good horror and ghost stories… not gory-for-gory’s sake or overly disgusting, but cringing, dark, bloody twisted, and even lovely. That said, the one thing I love above all else in a YA novel, regardless of sub-genre, is a strong and specific character voice. A real person, not another ‘everygirl.’

As for the middle grade I’m looking for, I want it stark, honest, and even dark; either contemporary or period, as long as it’s accessible. Coming-of-age stories, dealing-with-difficulty stories, witness stories (adult issues seen through the child’s p.o.v kinda thing), anything that makes you want to hold the narrator’s hand… for your own comfort, as well as their’s. I am also ok with these stories having slight magical or fantasy elements as well – as long as they’re subtle. In new adult, I like to see story… not just romance and/or erotica. For me, it should pretty much be a great YA novel for an older audience. On the nonfiction side, I’m looking for strong teen memoirs about overcoming crushing situations. ”

How to submit: Read The Bent Agency’s updated submissions guidelines online, and then e-mail flahertyqueries [at] thebentagency.com.

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Sarah Nagel of Writers House

About Sarah: Sarah Nagel joined Writers House in 2011 to work with Senior Vice President, Merrilee Heifetz and is now actively building her own client list. Previously, Sarah was a media lawyer in London and graduated with two separate degrees in English Language and Literature, and Law. Follow Sarah on Twitter: @SarahNagel14.

What she is seeking: Sarah is looking for psychological thrillers (those that mess with your head rather than high speed cross-country chases), horror, mystery, suspense and literary fiction. Sarah is especially interested in strong character-driven fiction and stories that explore the dynamics of a dysfunctional family unit / relationships. Sarah also represents realistic Young Adult and Middle Grade with a hint of magical realism. On the nonfiction side, Sarah is interested in medical ethics, true crime, humor books and memoir with a distinctive narrative voice with a universal resonance. Sarah is not looking for straight sci-fi, high fantasy, romance or picture books.

How to submit: “I accept e-mail queries and will usually respond within 4-6 weeks. Please submit your query, including the first ten (10) pages of your manuscript pasted into the body of the e-mail (no attachments please!), to snagel [at] writershouse.com with “QUERY FOR SARAH NAGEL: [TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT]” in the subject line. Please do not query multiple Writers House agents simultaneously.”

2 New Agents Looking for Writers

2 New Agents Looking for Writers

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Here are two new agents actively seeking clients. Lane Heymont is especially interested in sci-fi and fantasy. Caitie Flum is looking for historical fiction, mysteries/thrillers of all kinds, magical realism, and memoirs. Caitie is also looking for Young Adult and New Adult projects, particularly romance, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and contemporary books with diverse characters.

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Lane Heymont of The Seymour Agency

About Lane: Serving as a literary assistant for the past two years at The Seymour Agency, Lane Heymont has led the marketing efforts for their authors and enjoyed connecting clients with readers. As a lover of literature since childhood, he decided to pursue his passion as a literary agent to bring more well written books to the masses. With a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, business and literature, Lane continued his education in Creative Writing and English, attending Harvard. Lane is a member of HWA, ITW, and AAR membership is pending. He believes what John Gregory Dunne said: “Writing is manual labor of the mind.”

What he is seeking: Science fiction and fantasy (exceptional world building is a must), and nonfiction (the inspiring, intriguing, mysterious, and scientific).

How to submit: Send all queries to lane [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.

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Caitie Flum of Liza Dawson Associates

About Caitie: Caitie Flum joined Liza Dawson Associates in July 2014 as assistant and audio rights manager. She graduated from Hofstra University in 2009 with a BA in English with a concentration in publishing studies. Caitie interned at Hachette Book Group and Writers House. She was an Editorial Assistant then Coordinator for Bookspan, where she worked on several clubs including the Book-of-the-Month Club, The Good Cook, and the Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club. She is taking on her own clients in 2015.

What she is seeking: Caitie is looking for commercial and upmarket fiction with great characters and superb writing, especially historical fiction, mysteries/thrillers of all kinds, magical realism, and book club fiction.

Caitie is also looking for Young Adult and New Adult projects, particularly romance, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and contemporary books with diverse characters.

In nonfiction, she is looking for memoirs that make people look at the world differently, narrative nonfiction that's impossible to put down, books on pop culture, theater, current events, women's issues, and humor.

She is not looking for science fiction, fantasy, westerns, military fiction, self-help, science, middle grade, or picture books.


How to submit:  Email your query in the body of the e-mail to querycaitie [at] lizadawsonassociates.com.

2 New Agents Seeking Writers

2 New Agents Seeking Writers

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New agents are a boon to budding authors. They take the time to really delve into the manuscripts they receive, and they are enthusiastic supporters of their clients. In addition, many new agents work for long-standing literary agencies, which gives them the benefit of a respected letterhead.

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Kirsten Carleton of Waxman Leavell

About Kirsten: Before joining Waxman Leavell in 2014, Kirsten worked at Sobel Weber Associates. She holds a B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration from Amherst College, and a Graduate Certificate in Publishing from the Columbia Publishing Course. Follow her on Twitter: @kirstencarleton

What she is seeking: Upmarket young adult, speculative, and literary fiction with strong characters and storytelling. She’s particularly interested in novels that bend and blur genres; literary takes on high concept worldbuilding; diverse characters in stories that are not just about diversity; antiheroes she find herself rooting for; characters with drive and passion; girls and women in STEM fields; settings outside the US/Europe; well-researched historical settings; YA noir/thriller/mystery; stories that introduces her to a new subculture and makes her feel like a native. She is not interested in horror, romance, erotica, poetry, or picture books.

How to submit: Send a query letter with the first five to ten pages of your manuscript in the body of the email only to kirstensubmit [at] waxmanleavell.com. Please do not query more than one agent at this agency simultaneously. 

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Amanda Panitch of Lippincott Massie McQuilkin

About Amanda: Amanda Panitch was recently promoted from agency assistant to associate agent at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin. Before joining LMQ in 2012, she interned at Writers House and attended The George Washington University and New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute. A writer herself, her first novel, Damage Done, will be released in July from Random House Books for Young Readers. Follow her on Twitter: @AmandaPanitch

What she is seeking: Young adult and middle grade only. In particular, she’d love to find a high fantasy set in a non-Western inspired setting. Other concepts she’d love to see in her inbox include a dark psychological thriller, a quirky mystery, a gorgeous literary contemporary, historical fiction set in a place or time not often explored in fiction, or anything featuring food as a main element. She is also drawn to generational spaceships, unreliable narrators, magical realism, the pre-Columbian Americas, the Amazon, close sibling relationships, and slow-burning romances.

How to submit: Submit your query, including the first five to 10 pages of your manuscript pasted into the body of the email (no attachments) to amanda [at] lmqlit.com. Include the word “Query” in the subject line.

PitchMAS is coming up fast! Writers, pitch your books directly to agents

PitchMAS is coming up fast! Writers, pitch your books directly to agents

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PitchMAS is a biannual pitch fest for writers held in December and July. It is co-hosted by Jessa Russo, a native Californian who describes herself as "the most extroverted introvert you know."

Most pitch fests are for screenplays, so this is a rare opportunity for those who write books to present their pitches directly to agents. (For a list of agents participating in December's pitch fest click HERE.)

Does PitchMAS actually work? 

The answer is yes. Vicki Leigh found an agent, and subsequent publisher, through participating in PitchMAS. (Read her story HERE.)

From the PitchMAS website:

FRIDAY 12/5/14

*PITCH-HONING WORKSHOP*

(A blog post will go LIVE on 12/5, right here on the PitchMAS blog, where you will post your pitches in the COMMENT SECTION. Your peers will then hop around and critique/advise you on what works/doesn't work. Tamara and Jessa WILL NOT be participating in the workshop; this is for peer critique/help only.)

SUNDAY 12/7/14 - MONDAY 12/8/14
*SUBMISSION WINDOW*
For this event, we will be accepting your 35-word pitch submissions VIA EMAIL ONLY--email address will be posted when submission window OPENS. Submission window will be open from Sunday 12/7/14 at 9:00amPST until Monday 12/8/14 at 6:00pmPST. 

We will delete any submissions received before or after that submission window, and it isup to you to figure out your own time zone differences.

THURSDAY 12/11/14

BLOG PITCH PARTY
{35 Words or Less}

The TOP 50 pitches will go live on the PitchMAS blog at MIDNIGHT on Thursday, 12/11/14. Agents and editors will have the entire day (as well as all day Friday!) to comment and make requests. 

Please do NOT comment if you are not an agent or editor. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE is if an agent/editor has asked a SPECIFIC question. Any other non-agent/editor responses or comments will be deleted. 

FRIDAY 12/12/14
TWITTER PITCH PARTY
{140 Characters or Less}

All day long on Friday, 12/12/14, we will have our PitchMAS Twitter Party! Agents and editors will follow the hashtag #PitchMAS, reading your awesome pitches. ANYONE can participate, even if you didn't make it into the 50 selected blog pitches. However, your manuscript MUST BE COMPLETED and POLISHED. 

Twitter pitches MUST BE 140 Characters or Less and HAVE TO include the hashtag. Don't make the agents and editors work by breaking your pitch into more than one tweet. That will just annoy them and your fellow pitchers. We also advise against making them click a link to get to your pitch. Guess what? They won't.  

Please keep your Twitter pitching to no more than TWO PITCHES PER HOUR. Do not fill up the feed with your pitch over and over again. This will annoy the agents and editors involved, as well as ruining it for everyone else and people WILL remember you for it. 

Follow along with the hashtag: #PitchMAS

Click HERE for more information.

2 New Agents Seeking Clients

2 New Agents Seeking Clients

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New agents are a boon to authors. They are hard-working and enthusiastic about their clients. (Nothing convinces an editor to take on a project more than a heartfelt endorsement.) Jane Rostrosen Agency is located in NY. Rebecca Friedman Agency is located in LA.

Rebecca Scherer of Jane Rotrosen Agency

About Rebecca: Unable to narrow her focus to just one subject, Rebecca Scherer earned her BA from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College in Political Science, English Lit, and German language. After several years at the agency, Rebecca now has daily opportunities to put her wide range of interests to use as she actively builds her client list. Find her on Twitter: @RebeccaLScherer.

What she is seeking: women’s fiction, mystery, suspense/thriller, romance, upmarket fiction at the cross between commercial and literary

How to submit: Contact Rebecca via e-mail: rscherer [at] janerotrosen.com. Put “Query: [Title]” in the subject line. Send a query letter, brief synopsis (1-2) pages, and the first three chapters. Please paste the letter and synopsis in the body of the email, though the chapters can either be pasted or attached.

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Kimberly Brower of Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency

About Kimberly: Kimberly fell in love with reading when she picked up her first Babysitter’s Club book at the age of seven and hasn’t been able to get her nose out of a book since. Reading has always been her passion, even while pursuing her business degree at California State University, Northridge and law degree at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. By joining the Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency in 2014, she has been able to merge her legal background with her love of books. Although she loves all things romance, she is also searching for books that are different and will surprise her, with empathetic characters and compelling stories. Follow her on Twitter at @kimberlybrower

What she is seeking: Kimberly is interested in both commercial and literary fiction, with an emphasis in women’s fiction, contemporary romance, mysteries/thrillers, new adult and young adult, as well as certain areas of non-fiction, including business, diet and fitness. Kimberly is interested in representing English-language writers from all countries

How to submit: Email a query to Kimberly at kimberly [at] rfliterary.com. Submit a brief query letter and your first chapter (pasted into the email, not to exceed fifteen double-spaced pages) and for security purposes, do not include any attachments unless specifically requested.

3 New Agents Actively Seeking Writers

3 New Agents Actively Seeking Writers

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Here are three new agents actively building their client lists. Writers House is a large well-established agency located in New York. If you google Alec Shane and Cassie Hanjian, you will find several interviews with them. The Purcell Agency, which specializes in children's books, was founded by Tina Schwartz.

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Alec Shane of Writers House

About Alec: Alec majored in English at Brown University, a degree he put to immediate use by moving to Los Angeles after graduation to become a professional stunt man. Realizing that he prefers books to breakaway glass, he moved to New York City in 2008 to pursue a career in publishing. Alec quickly found a home at Writers House Literary Agency, where he worked under Jodi Reamer and Amy Berkower on a large number of YA and Adult titles. Twitter handle: @alecdshane.

What he is seeking: Alec is now aggressively building his own list. On the nonfiction side, Alec would love to see humor, biography, history (particularly military history), true crime, “guy” reads, and all things sports. “What I’m looking for in fiction: mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, historical fiction, literary fiction, and books geared toward young male readers (both YA and MG). What I’m not looking for: Romance (paranormal or otherwise), straight sci-fi, high fantasy, picture books, self-help, women’s fiction, food, travel memoir.”

Submission guidelines: I accept e-mail and snail-mail queries (although email is preferable), and will usually respond within 4-5 weeks. Please send the first 10 pages of your manuscript, along with your query letter, to ashane [at] writershouse.com with “Query for Alec Shane: TITLE” as your subject heading – no attachments please! If sending via regular mail, please include a SASE with proper postage.

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Cassie Hanjian of Waxman Leavell Literary

About Cassie: Prior to joining Waxman Leavell as an acquiring agent this year, Cassie held positions at the Park Literary Group, where she specialized in author support and foreign rights, and at Aram Fox, Inc. as an international literary scout for publishers based outside the United States. She holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from the University of South Florida, a Graduate Certificate in Publishing from the University of Denver’s Publishing Institute and an M.S. in Publishing from Pace University. Follow her on Twitter: @Cjhanjian

What she is seeking: page-turning New Adult novels, plot-driven commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, historical fiction, psychological suspense, cozy mysteries and contemporary romance. In nonfiction, she’s looking for projects in the categories of parenting, mind/body/spirit, inspirational memoir, narrative nonfiction focusing on food-related topics and a limited number of accessible cookbooks. Cassie does not accept submissions in the following categories: science-fiction, fantasy, paranormal, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children’s, literary fiction, poetry, and screenplays.

How to submit: Send a query letter only to cassiesubmit [at] waxmanleavell.com. Do not send attachments, though for fiction, you may include five to 10 pages of your manuscript in the body of the email.

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Tina Schwartz of The Purcell Agency

About Tina: Literary Agent Tina P. Schwartz is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), and is the Co-Rep for her local chapter. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Columbia College (Chicago) in Marketing Communications. After a long career in Radio Sales and Marketing, she turned to her true passion, selling manuscripts. Schwartz started The Purcell Agency in July of 2012 after spending twelve years writing and marketing her own work, along with helping several others get published. She sold her first book contract in 2004, and sold ten nonfiction titles for one author to traditional publishers in the Teen and Youth markets. Since opening the agency, she has sold several middle grade and young adult novels, along with some nonfiction works for teens. 

What she is seeking: Chapter books (all kinds except fantasy); Middle Grade (contemporary/realistic, sports, mystery, humor, multicultural, issue driven [no fantasy]); Young Adult (edgy, issues, contemporary/realistic, light romance, sports, mystery [no fantasy]). Tina is also seeking nonfiction Chapter books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult – all topics. She is not seeking: Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Paranormal or Picture Books submissions at this time.

How to submit: TPAqueries [at] gmail.com. Mention if you are a member of SCBWI. 

To submit nonfiction for a teen or grade school audience: Table of Contents + Intro and sample chapter, author’s credentials. To submit fiction: Query, 1st three chapters + synopsis. No attachments. Include sample work in body of e-mail.