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Welcome to the Get Published Weekly Roundup! This week we highlight new agent hires and promotions, notices of approaching writing and submission deadlines, highlights from the past week’s Manuscript Wishlist, and a couple of helpful articles at the end.
We’d love to hear your feedback. Please let us know what you think in the comments and if there are certain types of information you would like to see in the Roundup. Also feel free to tweet at us (@freelancingrads) with any ideas or questions. Have a great writing week!
Agents: New Hires & Promotions
Erin Young, Agent at Dystel, Goderich and Bourret
Erin Young has been promoted to Agent at Dystel, Goderich and Bourret. She is seeking:
Fiction:
Young Adult and Middle Grade: particularly fantasy, action adventure, and magical realism
Adult Fiction: weird literature (think Haruki Murakami or Kurt Vonnegut), mysteries and commercial thrillers
Nonfiction:
memoirs, biographies, sport & science narratives, and just about anything unusual
To Submit: Erin is accepting queries via email at eyoung@dystel.com. Click here to read the full submissions guidelines on the company website.
Submission Deadlines
Writers, you have until next week:
Query + 5 Page Critique Giveaway! — Submissions due by Saturday, July 15th (Free feedback on submissions material; random selection)
What: Justin Wells, Jr. Literary Agent at the Corvisiero Literary Agency, has a raffle open using the Rafflecopter random generator until July 15th. The prize? Critiques of a query and first 5 pages of a manuscript for 2 randomly selected winners. He prefers for everyone entering to have a finished manuscript, but if you are in the process of final edits and prepping for queries, that is fine too.
How to Enter: Click here for more information and to enter the contest via the Rafflecopter widget (desktop access only). You will need to provide your email do one of the following to enter 1) tweet about the giveaway; 2) follow Justin on Twitter; or 3) subscribe to Justin’s blog.
Natural Wonders Anthology: Time in Nature Can Change Your Life — Submissions due Saturday, July 15th (essay in an anthology)
What: Short stories (~1,200 and 2,000 words) dealing with finding peace about an issue, learning about yourself and others, connecting with your family, etc—while in nature or watching nature, etc. If you’ve had an epiphany while in the wilds or relating to the natural world, share your eye-opener or conclusion reached while in nature by writing an essay for this anthology. Your experiences can help others gain insight too. The book will provide a tranquil escape. Readers can enter the serenity of nature even on a lunch break, and feel a kinship with fellow nature lovers who also do their best thinking in the great outdoors.
To Submit: Submit by email to info@sowingcreekpress.com. For submission guidelines and more information on what they are looking for, click here.
“Of the essays received, the best so far are accessible in terms of feelings. They relate to family and relationships, jobs or illness. They hit universal human themes people can identify with or enjoy.”
Third Flatiron Anthology: “Strange Beasties” — Submissions due by Saturday, July 15th (Payment: 6 cents per word, essay in an anthology)
What: Short Stories (1,500 and 3,000 words). Description: “Are you itching to invent your own odd literary devices or creatures? Impress us, delight us, or scare us with the diversity of your fiendish creations. Creatures of the id don’t necessarily have to be monsters, but they do need to be strange. We’d fancy some ghostbusters and monster hunters too.”
To Submit: Submit by email to flatsubmit@thirdflatiron.com. For submission guidelines, click here.
What Agents Want
This Week on Manuscript Wishlist #MSWL…
Stacey Graham, Literary Agent at Red Sofa Literary
Stacey tweeted “There’s a book in this!” in reference to an article entitled: “Horse-Riding Librarians Were the Great Depression’s Bookmobiles.” Click here to read the full article. Source Tweet
Seeking in the following genres/categories:
Nonfiction humor with a strong platform (no dating memoirs)
Humorous fiction
Middle-grade with a great voice–especially funny and/or spooky
History (fiction or nonfiction) with a commercial hook. No 20th century pitches, please
Nonfiction that walks on the weird side (PB/MG/YA/Adult)
Romance
“I’m looking for books that entertain, educate, and engage readers — plus any other “e” verb that fits.”
Sara Megibow, Literary Agent at kt literary
Sara tweeted that she’d love a “query for a contemporary romance that thoughtfully includes infertility.” Source Tweet
Seeking in the following genres/categories:
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Romance
Erotica
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“Sara is LGBTQ-friendly and presents regularly at SCBWI and RWA events around the country.”
Kate McKean, Literary Agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency
Kate tweeted that she wants a book about the NBA in the ’10s: “If you’re a business writer with a strong platform and knows the NBA, email me.” Source Tweet
Seeking in the following genres/categories:
Adult Fiction: contemporary romance, contemporary women’s fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction set in the 20th Century, high fantasy, magical realism, and science fiction
Middle Grade and Young Adult: thriller, horror, romance, LGBTQ issues, contemporary fiction, sports, magical realism, fantasy, and science fiction.
Nonfiction (adults or children/teens): she represents books by authors with demonstrable platforms in the areas of he represents books by authors with demonstrable platforms in the areas of pop-culture, memoir, sports, food writing, humor, design, creativity, and craft.
She is NOT actively looking for, among other areas not listed above, novellas, poetry, screenplays or children’s picture books. If your manuscript features dragons, vampires, angels/demons, werewolves, FBI agents or amateur sleuths, she is not likely the best agent for your work.
Ejusdem Generis
- Genre matters! When querying agents or publishers, how you define (or not define) your genre can be a red flag for agents reading through your material. Click here for a helpful breakdown of genres and subgenres from Writer’s Digest. Also, if you think you’re book may qualify as a cross-over, check out this post by Literary Agent Mary C. Moore (click here).
- Curious about what hashtags you should be following on Twitter? Click here for some recommended hashtags to follow if you are seeking a literary agent (and instructions on how to follow hashtags using Tweetdeck). Not enough? Here is a list of 102 hashtags that may be of interest to writers (click here)
- Click here
to see a great graphic linking “The Big Five US Trade Book Publishers” to their many imprints.