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Editor's
Letter: Profiles on 4 Agents Seeking Queries NOW
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PLUS NEWS OF
CONFERENCES IN NV, MN, GA, MI, PA, AND WA
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First things first: Are you writing an adult fantasy or
science fiction novel? Because literary agent Mike Hoogland is judging
a new (free) contest just for you. Top three winners get a critique
from him. It's the 26th edition
of my "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest and more details are
below in this newsletter.
Next, you may see that my headline above says profiles on four agents,
but only three new agents are profiled below. That's because the
fourth agent who put out a call for subs is not a new agent at all.
Abby Saul, formerly of Browne & Miller, recently formed her own
literary agency (The Lark Group) and she is celebrating this new agency
launch with a call for submissions. Check out her profile here. She
is most interested in historical fiction, women's fiction, mysteries,
and thrillers.
And like I mentioned last newsletter, I just got asked to speak at some
writing events in 2017 that I'm excited about. These events include Minneapolis (Feb. 11), Atlanta (Feb. 25), Detroit (March 25), Philadelphia (April 8), Seattle (May 6), and Nashville (July 22). And as a reminder, later in
2016 I'm speaking in Missouri (this weekend! Nov. 5-6) and Las Vegas (Nov. 19). And I know it's way
ahead, but WD just set dates for its huge 2017 conference in New York.
The conference happens again August 18-20, 2017, and we hope to again
bring you 60+ agents for our gigantic pitch slam.
Until next time, good luck writing, agent hunting, and building your
writer platform!
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New Agents
Seeking Submissions NOW
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Click on any
name below to see the full mini-profile on the GLA Blog (with
submission instructions). Good luck querying!
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She is seeking
: Rachel is
looking for literary and commercial fiction and YA. She's interested in
stories that defy genre conventions and play with reader expectations,
and particularly enjoys dystopian, eco-fiction, and apocalyptic
narratives, as well as anything with a scientist protagonist. She's
also looking for international fiction, political fiction that explores
big ideas through compelling narrative, and stories from traditionally
underrepresented voices. She loves stories about women by women. In
nonfiction she's interested in tech, futurism, psychology, environment,
and science, and isn't adverse to prescriptive nonfiction from authors
with a strong professional background in their topic of choice.
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She is seeking: Kira is particularly interested in
children's literature (young adult and middle grade) with a strong
narrative voice, well-crafted storylines, and memorable characters.
Within YA & MG, Kira is actively seeking realistic fiction,
speculative fiction, magical realism, thriller/mystery, horror,
fantasy, and historical fiction. Stories with folklore elements,
complex villains, morally enigmatic (and very flawed) protagonists,
medieval literature influences, and taboo subjects are bound to catch
Kira's attention.
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She is seeking
: Catherine is
looking to represent debut novelists, particularly in literary and
reading group fiction. She's searching for stories that transport their
readers-with a strong, moving narrative and distinctive voice. She
particularly enjoys stories with magical realism and speculative
elements (such as Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell). Her other
favorite authors include Kazuo Ishiguro, David Nicholls, Ann Patchett,
Karen Russell, Elizabeth Strout, Donna Tartt, and Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie. In nonfiction, she's searching for lifestyle titles and
narrative memoirs. She is based in the UK. Although she is open to subs
from writers of any nation, she said this: "I am looking for both
US / UK, but I do primarily submit to UK, so ideally something that
crosses over."
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New FREE
Contest for Writers of Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
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Welcome to the
26th (free!) "Dear Lucky
Agent" Contest on the GLA blog . This is a FREE recurring
online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the
deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the
niche itself changes-meaning each contest is focused around a specific
category or two. If you're writing any kind of fantasy or science
fiction novel (for adults), then this 26th contest is for you! The
contest is live through end of day, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. The
contest is judged by agent Mike Hoogland of Dystel & Goderich.
All you have to do is submit the first double-spaced page of your
completed work of adult speculative fiction.
See
all info and rules on the official contest page here.
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"Writing,
Revising, and Pitching Your Middle-Grade Manuscript" -- Nov. 3
Webinar by Agent Maria Vicente
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Middle-grade
is one of the most popular and fastest growing categories in the
publishing industry. For many, middle-grade novels are childhood
favorites that stick with us for decades-whether these stories are
realistic portrayals of life or fantastical escapes from the mundane.
Middle-grade is a competitive market, and it's a difficult category to
master. There are many expectations surrounding voice, character,
content, and structure that go along with writing middle-grade novels.
How can you make your manuscript stand out in the crowded market? And
how can you catch the attention of a literary agent with your
manuscript?
This new webinar, "Mastering
Middle Grade: Writing, Revising, and Pitching Your Middle-Grade
Manuscript," covers the most important topics to keep in
mind while writing and revising middle-grade novels, as well as the
process of writing a query letter that will effectively pitch your
manuscript and entice literary agents. This webinar includes a live
presentation, a Q&A session, a critique of your query letter and
the first 1,000 words of your manuscript, and downloadable worksheets
that will help you write, revise, and pitch your manuscript long after
the webinar is over. It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, Nov. 3,
2017, and lasts 90 minutes.
ABOUT THE CRITIQUE
All registrants are invited to submit your query letter and the first
1,000 words of your manuscript for critique. All submitted query
letters and first 1,000 words are guaranteed a written critique by
Literary Agent Maria Vicente. Maria reserves the right to request more
writing from attendees by e-mail following the event, if she deems the
query excellent.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
-- What the current middle grade market looks like in publishing
-- What the middle grade audience is looking for in a book
-- The appropriate word count for middle grade manuscripts of all
genres
-- The common themes in middle grade stories
-- How to write in the elusive middle grade "voice"
-- How to create engaging and diverse middle grade characters
-- The importance of a high concept plot with high stakes conflict
-- What mistakes to avoid in your manuscript's opening chapter
-- What a query letter is and why you want a literary agent
-- How to craft a successful query letter for your middle grade project
-- The best resources to bookmark as you continue writing, revising,
and pitching
INSTRUCTOR
Maria Vicente is an associate agent at the P.S. Literary Agency. Her
publishing career began as an intern with Bree Ogden at D4EO Literary
Agency, and she also interned at P.S. Literary before joining the
agency as an associate agent. Her reading preferences vary across
categories and genres, which is reflected in her client list. Maria
holds a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton University, a B.Ed.
from the University of Western Ontario, and many years of experience
editing and designing literary magazines. (Sign up for the Nov. 3
webinar here.)
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See a Brand
New Example of a Young Adult Query That Worked and Got a Writer Her
Agent
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This series is
called "Successful Queries" and I'm posting actual
query letter examples that succeeded in getting writers signed with
agents. In addition to posting these query letter samples, we will also
get to hear thoughts from the writer's literary agent as to why the
letter worked.
The 75th installment in this series is with agent Jessica Watterson
(Sandra Dijkstra Literary) for Emily Albright's young adult novel, THE
HEIR AND THE SPARE (Jan. 2016, Merit Press). Booklist states that
"Readers ... will appreciate this debut, which confidently combines
royalty, romance, and mystery."
About Emily: Emily Albright is a major bookworm, a lover of romantic
movies, a Netflix junkie, a wife, a mother, and an owner of one
adorable (yet slightly insane) cockapoo and one very tolerant cat. Her
debut young adult novel, THE HEIR AND THE SPARE, is available now from
Merit Press. Her series continues with Preston's story, EVERYDAY MAGIC.
See Emily
Albright's successful query here.
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Get Your First
10 Pages Critiqued by a Literary Agent -- Latest Talcott Notch Boot
Camp Starts Nov. 17
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As many
writers know, agents and editors won't give your work more than ten
pages or so to make an impact. If you haven't got them hooked by then,
it's a safe bet you won't be asked for more material. Make sure you've
got the kind of opening they're looking for! In this invaluable event,
you'll get to work with an agent online to review and refine the first
ten pages of your novel. You'll learn what keeps an agent reading, what
are the most common mistakes that make them stop, and the steps you
need to take to correct them. The best part is that you'll be working
directly with an agent, who will provide feedback specific to your
work.
Here's how it works:
On Thursday morning, November 17, you will gain online access to a
special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agent and editor Paula
Munier (Talcott Notch Literary). It will help you clarify what you
should be looking for in your work. Then you have two days to revise
your material and send it to the agency. The agency sends it back after
that with individual critique feedback.
And there's more. Learn
everything on the official sign-up page here.
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Agent-Conference
Opportunities
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There are
plenty of opportunities for writers to meet agents face to face at
writers' conferences and pitch their work in 2016 and 2017. Remember:
Meeting agents in person is a great way to get past the slush pile. If
an agent is interested in your work and requests a sample or book
proposal, you can write "Requested Material" on your
submission, making sure it gets a fair read and consideration.
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Know that
there are two types of conferences. There are general writers'
conferences, that address a variety of subjects, and then there are
specialized conferences, which usually tend to focus on a single
genre-such as western, romance, or mystery. You will find all kinds in
this list below.
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Attending
Agents: Rebecca Bugger
(Serendipity Literary). I (Chuck) will be teaching sessions on how to
get published, as will other publishing professionals.
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Attending
Agents: Jill Marr
(Sandra Dijkstra Literary), Paul S. Levine (Paul S. Levine Literary),
Jamie Bodnar Drowley (Inklings Literary), Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon
Literary), Annie Bomke (Annie Bomke Literary), Carlie Webber (CK Webber
Associates), Jennifer March Soloway (Andrea Brown Literary), and Thao
Le (Sandra Dijkstra Literary).
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Attending
Agents: Laura Zats
(Red Sofa Literary), Gemma Cooper (The Bent Agency), Kaylee Davis (Dee
Mura Literary), Mary Cummings (Betsy Amster Literary), Jennie Goloboy
(Red Sofa Literary), Abby Saul (The Lark Group), Samantha Fountain
(Corvisiero Literary), Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary), Lauren Kukla
(editor Mighty Media Press Children's Books), Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura
Literary), Erik Hane (Red Sofa Literary), and more.
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Attending
Agents: Peter Beren
(Peter Beren Literary), Jennifer Chen Tran (Fuse Literary), Amy
Cloughley (Kimberley Cameron & Assoc), Mark Gottlieb (Trident Media
Group), Sarah Levitt (Zachary Shuster Harmsworth), Laurie McLean (Fuse
Literary), Paula Munier (Talcott Notch), Andy Ross (Andy Ross
Literary), and more.
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Attending
Agents: Cherry Weiner
(Weiner Literary), Sally Apokedak (Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency),
Latoya C. Smith (L. Perkins Agency), Vanessa Eccles (Golden Wheat
Literary), Marisa Corvisiero (Corvisiero Literary), Janell Walden
Agyeman (Marie Brown Associates), Eric Smith (P.S. Literary), Elizabeth
Copps (Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc.), Elizabeth May (Kensington
Publishing), Kristy Hunter (The Knight Agency), and more to be
announced.
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Attending
Agents: The attending
agents are from The Seymour Agency and The Tobias Agency. Additional
attending publishers companies include Sourcebooks, Tor/Forge,
Doubleday, and Entangled Publishing.
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Attending
Agents: Elana Roth
Parker (Laura Dail Literary Agency), Paul Stevens (Donald Maass
Literary). Sara Megibow (KT Literary), Jennifer Wills (The Seymour
Agency), Janna Bonikowski (The Knight Agency), Kirsten Carleton
(Prospect Agency), Elizabeth May (Kensington Publishing), Alice
Speilburg (Speilburg Literary), Michael Caligaris (Holloway Literary
Agency), Lesley Sabga (The Seymour Agency), and more to be announced.
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Attending
Agents: Vanessa Robins
(Corvisiero Literary Agency), Damian McNicholl (Jennifer De Chiara
Literary Agency), Elizabeth Copps (Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc.), John
Willig (Literary Services), Adriana Dominguez (Full Circle Literary),
Marie Lamba (Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency), Eric Smith (P.S.
Literary), Kelly Peterson (Corvisiero Literary Agency), and more to be
announced.
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Attending
Agents: Noah Ballard
(Curtis Brown, Ltd.), Mark Gottlieb (Trident Media Group), Eric Myers
(Dystel and Goderich Literary), Roseanne Wells (Jennifer De Chiara
Literary); and possibly more to come.
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Attending
Agents: Lauren MacLeod
(The Strothman Agency), Elizabeth Copps (Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc.),
Julie Gwinn (The Seymour Agency), Michael Caligaris (Holloway Literary
Agency), Alice Speilburg (Speilburg Literary), Cate Hart (Corvisiero
Literary), Laura Crockett (Triada US Literary), Lesley Sabga (The
Seymour Agency), and more to be announced.
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Attending
Agents: Last year in
2016, we had more than 60 attending agents there to take pitches and
meet with writers. We hope to again bring you 60+ in 2017.
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