Agent and Agency News
Open again, Open again, jiggety jig.
Jessica Watterson, Agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, is back open to queries.
Jessica is seeking:
Fiction: Romance (all genres); Women’s Fiction; YA
Nonfiction: Nope.
“Jessica is always on the hunt for new and diverse voices.”
Jessica is accepting queries via online form, here. Click here for the agency’s submissions guidelines.
Kelly Peterson, Junior Agent at the Corvisiero Literary Agency, is open to queries.
Kelly is seeking:
Fiction: Fantasy for MG, YA, NA, and Adult; add Romance for YA, NA, and Adult; and Science Fiction for MG and YA
Nonfiction: Nah.
“With books, there’s just something about strong female main characters holding their own against the world, in an environment that Kelly could never, in her wildest dreams, find herself living within. It tears at her heart and pulls at her soul, especially when the main character finds that she never needed another to complete her in the first place.”
Kelly is accepting queries via email at query@corvisieroagency.com. See submission guidelines here.
Courtney Miller-Callihan, Founder and Agent at Handspun Literary Agency, is open again to queries (well, to be fair, she has been since July, but we just picked up on it now).
Courtney is seeking:
Fiction: General; Historical; Women’s; Romance; Mystery
Nonfiction: Most everything except Religion and Spirituality
Courtney is accepting queries via email at query@handspunlit.com. For more information and submission guidelines, click here.
Submission Deadlines
Writers, you have between six and ten days:
World in Focus In Focus Art & Essay Contest—Submissions due Sunday, September 10th (Art and Writing Contest—$$ Prize)
Who: Ages 10-18
What: Art or essay. 1,000-word maximum. $100 CAD Prize
“To promote awareness of the vision problems individuals in third-world countries may face on a daily basis, due to their difficulty in accessing resources and care; To promote outreach in the youth community by allowing them to reflect on the topic of sight and its importance; To encourage youth to express their creativity, individuality and talents on a global stage“
To Submit: Submit via the online form, here. For guidelines and more information, click here.
Operation Awesome Pass or Pages Contest—Submission Window: September 11th-13th (Query Contest—Agent Evaluation)
What: Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy, query and first 250 words. Five randomly selected entries will be evaluated by an agent, with feedback given about why they’re passing, or why they’re requesting pages.
“Querying authors get a peek into agents’ minds as they go through their slush piles.“
To Submit: Submission online (once the submission window is open), here or here. For guidelines, prompts, and other information, click here.
VCU Cabell First Novelist Award—Submissions due Thursday, September 14th (Annual Award, $$ Prize)
Who: Authors with a first novel, published between January and June 2017
What: Must be a first novel, published originally in the US, no YA/Middle Grade. Winner receives $5,000.
“The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Symbolized by a three-dimensional compass, the award is a tribute to writers who have navigated their way through the maze of imagination and delivered a great read, taking the reader someplace new.”
To Submit: For complete submission details, click here. For more information and other guidelines, click here.
What Agents Want
Highlights from this week's #MSWL tweets…
Meg LaTorre-Snyder, Agent Apprentice at the Corivisiero Literary Agency
Meg wants some Disney by way of Burning Man: “I’d love a steampunk Beauty & the Beast retelling. (Bonus points for M/M or F/F romance.)” Source Tweet
Seeking:
Fiction: Fantasy; Historical fiction; Romance (with magical elements); Space opera; Steam punk; Thrillers (with magical elements)
Nonfiction: Negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full.
“She loves books written in third-person with multiple POVs, quirky, realistic characters, rich descriptions, and a unique inclusion of mythologies. (However, Meg does love first-person stories with a single POV as well, or any combination thereof!)“
Follow Meg on Twitter @MegLaTorre.
Lauren Spieller, Agent Assistant at TriadaUS
Lauren is looking for The Slammin’ Salmon cum Le Morte d’Arthur: “funny YA set in a Medieval Times-like restaurant. Give me performer hierarchy drama, kitchen secrets, and a love story to swoon over.” Source Tweet
Seeking:
Fiction: Middle Grade; YA; Select Adult
Select Nonfiction
“She’s particularly hungry for counter culture books, cocktail books with a twist/theme, or narrative nonfiction with a unique hook.”
How to submit: Lauren is accepting submissions via email at lauren@triadaus.com. Click here for submission guidelines and more info on what she’s looking for.
Follow Lauren on Twitter @laurenspieller
Leon Husock, Agent at the L. Perkins Agency
No, Leon, I’m sorry, I don’t: “You know that Shanghai/Hong Kong/British Raj aesthetic that’s a mash-up of Asian/South-Asian and Western culture? I love that.” Source Tweet Oh, good, I must not be alone: “For reference, see (among many other things) The Age of Shadows, a Korean spy drama set during the Japanese occupation of Korea.” Source Tweet
Seeking:
Fiction: Science Fiction; Fantasy; YA; Upper Middle Grade; Genre Mashups
Non-fiction: No, nah, man, this is not a good idea!
“…especially fantasy with non-Western European inspired settings and cultures.”
Ejusdem Generis
So writers, here’s the thing. The first line of your manuscript is super important. Check out this insight #StraightFromAnAgent in Literary Agent Mary C. Moore’s post, “Do Literary Agents Reject Your Submission After Reading One Line?”
Yes, I have rejected a submission based on the first sentence and yes, it happens more often than I’d like. But how could you possibly know from the first line? you ask.
Because it’s our job to know.
Sounds arrogant, sure. Believe me, I’ve been there on the other side, thinking it wasn’t fair that agents claimed they rejected a sub based on that first line. But after years of reading the slushpile, editing manuscripts, shopping clients, etc., I’ve been trained to see the level of prose based off that first line. Other agents will tell you the same.
Mary offers 10 things she determines about an author’s manuscript from its first line. Read the full article by clicking here.
Popular on the GSF Twitter Feed @freelancingrads:
- [UPDATE!! This live #askagent Instagram session with Carly Watters will be happening on September 6th at 4 pm Eastern Time.] “Instagram lovers: follow Agent Carly Watters to participate in her live
#pubtip /#askagent session in early September.” Source Tweet- Follow Carly on Instagram @CarlyWatters to participate in the session.
- Follow her (click here) and P.S. Literary (click here) for any updates.
- From our #MSWL retweets:
- “a futuristic Hijabi enchantress” – @RebeccaPodos (Source Tweet)
- “a TV-inspired rom-com” – @MelissaLaurenE (Source Tweet)
- “Female MMA fighter + Male Nurse Romance” – @ThaoLe8 (Source Tweet)
We just stumbled upon J.P. Beaubien’s YouTube Channel Terrible Writing Advice. The writing and the publication process is a tough one and sometimes we just need a good laugh. Check it out… but, please, please don’t follow his advice, especially on marketing your book: