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Agent and Agency News
Two new agents, and an established agent reopened to queries. Get moving!
Ali Herring, Agent at Spencerhill Associates
Ali is seeking:
Fiction: commercial YA and MG (esp. Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Adventure); Romance; Southern Women’s fiction; and Christian/Inspirational
Nonfiction: Nope.
"She’s a voracious reader of sci-fi, but not a huge fan of superheroes, vampires (except for Edward), witches, erotica or anything overtly dark."
Ali is accepting queries here. Click here for the agency's submissions guidelines.
Luba Ostashevsky, Agent at Ayesha Pande Literary
Luba is seeking:
Fiction: Give it a miss.
Nonfiction: Science; Current Events; History
"She is interested in nonfiction projects that can instill in readers a sense of wonder or transport them to a different time, or place or make the familiar new."
Luba is accepting queries via online form, here.
Patricia Nelson, Agent at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, is open again to queries.
Patricia is seeking:
Fiction: Upmarket and commercial Women's; 20th century Historical; Romance; YA; MG
Nonfiction: Not so much.
"She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters, including LGBTQ, in all genres that she represents."
Patricia is accepting queries via email at Patricia@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com. For more information and submission guidelines, click here.
Submission Deadlines
Writers, you've got a week or so:
Our Past Loves Past Loves Day Story Contest—Submissions due Sunday, September 17th (Very Short Story Contest—$$ Prize)
What: Short story about past love. 700-word maximum. $100 Prize
"What feelings arise if you allow yourself to be fully open to remembering that person?
What is it about that special someone that you still cherish?
IN PARTICULAR, how did that person's presence in your life change you and how you experience the world?"
To Submit: Submit via email at contest@ourpastloves.com. For guidelines and more information, click here.
Real Simple Good Read Essay Contest—Submissions due Monday, September 18th (Annual Contest—$$ Prize, Publication)
What: 1,500 word essay. Theme: What was the happiest moment of your life? Winner receives $3,000 and publication.
To Submit: Submission online here, or by post to Essay Contest, Real Simple, 225 Liberty Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10281. For guidelines and other information, click here.
SmokeLong Quarterly Kathy Fish Fellowship—Submissions due Wednesday, September 20th (Annual Award, $$ Prize, Publication)
Who: Authors who have published neither a chapbook nor any book-length work, and who have not been published in SmokeLong
What: Four samples of sub-1,000 word flash fiction (at least one unpublished). Winner receives $500, publication, and a year-long residency at SmokeLong.
"The fellowship honors Kathy Fish, a former editor here at SmokeLong, a fantastic writer herself, and a continuing champion of new and emerging writers."
To Submit: Submit via Submittable, here. For more information and other guidelines, click here.
What Agents Want
Tuesday is #MSWL day, so in deference we're only highlighting one request this week...
Laura Crockett, Associate Literary Agent at the TriadaUS Literary Agency
Laura's been watching PBS (or cable BBC, I guess. Or Netflix. TV is really easy to watch these days, huh?): "I'd love a YA/WF ms akin to BBC's Bletchley Circle -- intense, intelligent women coding, solving crimes, ending wars, and taking names." Source Tweet
Seeking:
Fiction: YA; Women's; Chick-lit; Fantasy
Nonfiction: Not at the mo.
Follow Laura on Twitter @LECrockett.
Ejusdem Generis
For all of you devoted Grad Student Freelancers Blog readers who are worried about whether your book is getting a fair shake on the NYT best sellers lists, the conservative publishing house Regnery has announced that they are no longer promoting or tracking their books with the venerable list.
NPR found out that the opacity of the Times' methodology has been frustrating to the publishing industry for a long time: click here.
Analysis by the Washington Post sticks up for the NYT, suggesting that Regnery's protest is little more than a "stunt": click here.
I'm about to write the Great American Novel, and so personally I'm very interested in how the NYT makes its decisions because I'll be on that list very soon (I know y'all probably have seen this, but it's a classic):