Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Picture Book Party Submission Day 2018 and Twitter Party




The agent round will be April 4th - 6th. See the list of agents here

Please be a follower of this blog. You can click the "Join this Site" button in the left sidebar. Or if that is stubborn and won't work, you can subscribe to my newsletter or follow @Michelle4Laughs on twitter. I imagine I will be tweeting hints as well as partying!

You may send two entries for different manuscripts in separate emails. That's two and only two, whether you have multiple pen names or multiple email addresses. Please be honest and not send more. Only one entry will be chosen per person. If you send two, still only one will be picked. Any attempt to cheat will result in entries thrown out (and sadly it has happened in the past.) 


You will receive a confirmation email for the first submission. Usually nothing will go out for the second submission. That's perfectly normal. Do not expect to get a confirmation email for your second submission. Yahoo just doesn't work that way. Have confidence that if the first got through, the second did also. 

On March 27 at 4:00 pm EST the submission window opens. Do not send early or your entry will be deleted. You may resend at the correct time if this happens. I'm recycling an email address as I already have too many. Please send your entry to SunversusSnow at yahoo dot com

You should receive a confirmation email. If you do not get a receipt for you FIRST submission, please contact me on twitter before resending. (Please don't ask about second submissions.) We want to get a good count of entries and duplicates make that harder. The window will stay open one hour. 

This contest is only for finished and polished manuscripts. It has to be ready to go out to agents.

The Format:

Subject Line of your Email: PBParty: Title

Example:  PBParty: Hot Tub Santa

Inside the email please bold where bolded in my example. Single space with spaces between paragraphs. Use Times New Roman or equivalent font and the size should be 12. 

(Here's a trick to keep your paragraph spacing: copy and paste your entry into your email and then put in the line spaces. They seem to get lost when you copy and paste. It may look right but sending scrambles the spacing.)

Name: Sharon Chriscoe
Twitter Handle: @extracleansanta (optional)


Title: HOT TUB SANTA
Genre: (Here please tell us what type of picture book this is) Example: Board Book, Bedtime Rhyme, Nonfiction, Biography, etc. or List Chapter Book If this is OWNVOICES, please say so here!
Word Count: xxx (round to nearest ten, hundred for chapter books)

Query:

Your entire query letter here. Include your comps, bio, greeting, closing. Please be sure to note diversity and ownvoices in the query as well. (You may use whatever you want for a greeting. Dear Agent. Dear Michelle and Sharon.) 

Here is your chance to make your entry shine and make the agent fall in love with your words. 

First 50 Words:

Include your first 50 words for a picture book, 100 words for chapter books. Do not stop in the middle of a sentence. You may go over by one or two words to finish a sentence but not more than five. Single space and put spaces in between paragraphs. You may center or tab if appropriate.

For short picture books, less than 50 words may be submitted. Any count under 50 is allowed.


Art notes do count toward the 50 words. 
Also I will delete parts of entries after the contest ends, if requested. For those writers uncomfortable with their work being out there for all to see.  


Bonus: You may attach one illustration to your email to show an example of your artwork. If you don't have artwork, don't worry. 


Messed up formatting won't hurt you, but forgetting to include some part of the entry will. Double check before sending.




Now for the twitter party fun! Visit daily under the hashtag #PBParty to meet and greet and scout out slush hints. Here are the suggested topics for each day to get you going, but feel free to start your own on twitter. Just remember to be kind and be inclusive. 



Tuesday, March 27th  PM: Tell us what genre you write and when you entered. Then share your muse. What gives you inspiration to write? All day: What qualities make a picture book beg to be read over and over again? from Margo.

Wednesday, March 28th
  AM: Do you listen to music when your write? Have word count goals? Set aside BIC time (behiney in chair)? Share your daily writing routine. PM: If you could spend one day exploring the imagined world of a certain illustrator, which illustrator would you choose and what world/book of theirs would you explore? from Stacy Burch.

Thursday, March 29th     AM: How do you handle writer's block? How many drafts do you write before finished? PM: What three things should every picture book writer know?- from Mindy Weiss.

Friday, March 30th  AM: Animal, vegetable, mineral. Tell us if your MC is human or something else. PM:
What are your top tips for getting that word count down?

Saturday, March 31st     AM: What picture/chapter book gives you the warm fuzzies? And shout out some books with diversity to spread the word on them! PM: What is your go-to picture book to gift children? And why? From Rachel Tomlinson

Sunday, April 1st  AM: What picture book character would you like for a best friend? What picture book do you remember fondly from your childhood? PM:
Picture book manuscripts (even good ones) get rejected a lot. What are your strategies for dealing with hearing the word "no"? Chocolate? A drink? Chewing a towel? From Betsy J.


Monday, April 2nd     AM:
Are you the type to have a book spring into your head, write it down quickly and then take a long time editing your words?....or, do you spend a long time meticulously planning and drafting? From Rachel Tomlinson.  PM: Who has helped you through the writing and querying process? Time to share your thanks. 

Sharon and I are not sure when the picks will be announced, but it should be around Monday. We are so excited for the fun to start. As you've probably noticed we have a great group of agents and editors.


Good luck everyone!  

Friday, March 16, 2018

Announcing Query Kombat 2018

We're back and with Kara Reynolds filling in for Laura this year. Read about Kara here. Welcome to the team, Kara! 





Bloggers Kara, Michael, and Michelle are back again to bring you the sixth annual Query Kombat tournament, and second year of the QK Forum!

Contest Mission: To showcase the work of diverse and talented novelists, while providing a learning environment that unites the writing community through knowledge, kindness, and a little friendly kompetition.


The Basics: (updated from previous years. Read carefully.)

Query Kombat will host 64 kombatants in a single-elimination, tournament style query-off. Entries will go head to head(one on one) with one another until only ONE entry remains. There will be a total of six rounds in Query Kombat. 64 entries in round one, 32 in round two, 16 in round three, 8 in round four, 4 in round five, and 2 in round six.

Unlike traditional tournaments, we won't be using tournament brackets. Entries will be matched up based on target audience and genre. We'll continue grouping that way until it's no longer possible.

If you secure a spot in the tournament, your query and the first 250 words of your manuscript (to the end of a complete sentence) will be pitted against another query and first 250 words. Judges will read each match-up and vote 'Victory' on the best entry. Remember, this is subjective. Considering last year, votes may come down to personal tastes.

The entry with the most ‘victories’ at the end of the round will advance to the next round until only one champion remains.

The agent round will be held after the first round. That mean the top 32 entries will make it to the agent round.

Of course, there's a twist!

The agent round will be conducted in secret. And by secret, we mean TOP SECRET. Entrants won't know who requested what—or how much—until they are eliminated from the tournament.

On the plus side, winners of the first round will be able to update their entry prior to the agent round. So any feedback the judges give can be implemented before the agents see your work.

We have 21 agents on board so far. We're hoping to double that number before the Agent Round kicks off in June so get your entries ready!



Who’s Invited to Submit:

The Query Kombat Tournament is open only to unagented writers seeking representation. Your manuscript must be complete, polished, and ready to submit.

If your manuscript has been in the agent round of another major contest within the last four months, you are not eligible to participate in Query Kombat. Please don’t try to sneak in. The QK team includes about a hundred industry professionals, and a few hundreds of spectators. Someone will notice and inform us. If you're unsure if a contest qualifies as major, contact us through Twitter before submission.

Submissions for MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted (Sorry we aren't accepting Picture books or Chapter Books this year.). Only one entry per person. Do not attempt to submit more than one entry by using different email accounts. Again, the QK family is huge. Someone will notice.

Submissions:

The submission window will open on May 16th at 9:00 AM Eastern time and close on May 18th at Noon.

We will have email confirmation. If you don't receive it within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via twitter and let us know. Kontestants will be revealed on May 25th, and the tournament will kick off on June 1st.

In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow the follow guidelines will be considered.

In the event that we receive more than the available 64 spots (this is highly expected), Michelle, Kara, and I will savagely attack the slush pile in attempts to build the best team. We will pick (and announce) three alternates in case a submission is disqualified.

Entries should be sent to: QueryKombat (at) gmail (dot) com.

Formatting Guidelines: (Please follow strictly)

Font: Times New Roman (or an equivalent), 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No (I repeat: NO!) indentations.

Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll: Adult Erotica)

For the nickname, make it as unique as possible so that there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament (or an abbreviated version if it's too long) so keep it PG-13 and try to have it relate to your story in some way.

In the body of the email (with examples):

Name: Michael Anthony
Email address: myboyfriendwasbittenbyashark (at) gmail (dot) com.
Twitter Handle: @Michelle4Laughs

**If you do not have a Twitter handle, please consider getting one. We rely on it heavily for announcements, special events/prizes, and general/emergency kombatant communications. #QueryKombat is also a great source for up-to-date information.

Title: Eunuchs and Politics
Entry Nickname: I Fell in Love with a Ken Dahl
Word count: 75K
Genre: Adult Erotica (If Ownvoices please list here)

Query:

Barbara B. Doll seems like a woman who has it all. From the perfect body to a hundred-million social media followers, success seemed all but assured for her. And after being elected into the U.S. Senate while on a spacewalk on Mars, the sky wasn't even the limit.

However, despite her immense successes, something seemed to be missing from her life. She could never quite pin down what it was, until she met Ken Dahl.

Ken is funny, good-looking, and may have ties to the Illuminati--all the qualities Barb looks for in a man. She is intensely drawn to his shiny hair, chiseled body, and mysterious ways. When he offers to teach her snorkling, they hit it off instantly. Everything in their relationship was perfect until Ken confesses he lost his genitalia in a freak clogging accident ten years ago. When Barb sees his techie replacement parts, she is stricken with a fearful curiosity. Ken soon introduces her the plethora of pleasures to be had with his collection of cybernetic attachment, winning her heart from the fear of uncharted sexual territory.

But then the video of Ken's clogging accident surfaces on the web and goes viral. Memes flood the  internet, instantly making Ken Dahl famous. Shaken by the anticipated political fallout of being revealed as his girlfriend, Barbara is face with the choice of walking away from everything she spent her life trying to achieve, or from the one thing she always felt was missing.

***THIS is NOT a PITCH but your FULL QUERY. You may include greeting and closing. Comp titles may be included. No bios!!

First 250:

Words, words, and more words.
___

Do not include the chapter title.

Do not include a bio.

If the 250th word puts you in the middle of a sentence, you may go up to 258 (absolute max limit) to finish that sentence. To clarify: 258 words is the max first page word count allowed by a kontestant. 250 words are to only be exceeded if the 250th word divides a sentence.

Both Pages and Google Docs will return incorrect word counts if you use hyphens, em-dashes, or ellipses. Microsoft Word counts correctly.

Please use this site to give you an accurate word count if you are concerned about your standard word counter: https://wordcounter.net/. If you must, count by hand. Hint: A properly hyphenated word is one word. Words separated by an em-dash or ellipse are two words.

All queries submitted are FINAL.
We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. You have several weeks to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.


Host Blogs:

Because the immense amount of work ahead of us, the tournament will be hosted on three separate blogs. In order to enter the contest, you MUST follow Michael, Michelle, and Kara's blogs (Twitter is cool, too). All three blogs will host the first round and agent round. The second round will be hosted by Kara and Michelle. The third round will be hosted by Michael. The fourth round will be hosted by Michelle. The fifth round will be hosted by Michael. The final round will be hosted by Kara.

Have no fear, each blog will have links to all rounds so you will not get lost.

Agents and judges will be revealed soon. Questions can be left in the comments or asked via Twitter and we'll answer them as quickly as possible.

Donations:

For the last five years, the QK Crew has donated thousands of hours to the sole purpose of bring the writing community together every June for a query kontest like no other. Every year since our first, our family of agents, judges, mentors, and kontestants has grown, as has our love and hopes for the tournament's legacy and family we've built.

Please help support the QK Crew, who dedicate so many work and family hours to helping others achieve their dreams, and to bringing our beloved industry a little closer together.


Important Notices:

1. Disqualifications - The QK Crew reserves the right to disqualify any entrant, at any time, for any reason. That being said, the only time we will consider this option is if a kombatant does or says
something to blemish the spirit of the Query Kombat Tournament, its community, or its affiliates.

***Agent requests for a disqualified entry will remain unreleased and be deleted.

2. Drop-outs - If an entrant drops out before the agent round, an alternate from the same team will fill the open slot. If an entrant is disqualified after the agent round, the opposing entry will automatically advance to the next round. No alternates will be substituted following the agent round.

3. Donations - Donating is strictly voluntary; it does not increase or decrease a kontestants chances of being selected. Donating will not affect the judge's votes or agent requests. Donors will remain anonymous unless self-identified. Individuals unable or unwilling to donate will not be impacted in any way.




Best of luck in the tournament!












Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Picture Book Party Agents and Editors 2018



Introducing the agents and editors for the 2018 Picture Book Party. They are an impressive bunch! 

To see how to format your entry, check out this post. Submission is Tuesday, March 27th at 4:00 pm EST! The window will remain open for one hour.

Here are the agents and editors:

Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann


Jessica Sinsheimer has been reading and campaigning for her favorite queries since 2004. Now an Associate Agent at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, she’s known for #MSWL, ManuscriptWistList.com, #PubTalkTV—and for drinking far too much tea.
Always on the lookout for new writers, she is most excited about finding picture books, YA, upmarket genre fiction (especially women's/romance/erotica, thrillers, mysteries) and—on the nonfiction side—psychology, parenting, self-help, cookbooks, memoirs, and works that speak to life in the twenty-first century. She especially likes highbrow sentences with lowbrow content, smart/nerdy protagonists, vivid descriptions of food, picture books with non-human characters, and justified acts of bravery.






Alyssa Jennette of Strongsong

Alyssa Jennette joined Stonesong Literary in June 2015 after interning at Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. As a result, she has unique insight and expertise when it comes to design-heavy or illustrated works. Alyssa is a very editorial agent; she finds a lot of joy in shaping stories alongside the author and delights in building long-term partnerships.

Alyssa represents children’s and adult fiction and picture books, and has dabbled in humor and pop culture nonfiction. She is especially drawn to diverse voices, ensemble casts, and thorough world-building, plus any book with a format that is specific to the story and gives it its own context.

Alyssa Jennette represents children’s and adult fiction and picture books, and has dabbled in humor and pop culture nonfiction. She values diversity, ensemble casts with distinct voices, and formats that are specific to the story and give it its own context.

In children’s books/YA, she likes sophisticated middle grade, magical realism or urban fantasy, secret societies, and unreliable narrators. She would love a teen noir in the vein of the film Brick, or a Clueless-esque “teen movie” update of a classic story.

In adult fiction, she likes literary fiction full of wit and wordplay that may border on the absurd/surreal (bonus if it includes footnotes), smart psychological or supernatural Suspense/Mystery/Horror, or beautifully crafted historical fantasy in the vein of JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL.







Chrisa Heschke of McIntosh and Otis

CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children's Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s.

For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary, thriller/mystery, fantasy and horror. She looks for a compelling voice and a strong hook that will set a YA novel apart in the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism. For both YA and MG, she is interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind. In picture books she is drawn to cute, funny stories (as opposed to sweet and quiet) that will grab kids as well as the occasional nonfiction biography on a subject whose story has yet to be told.

Christa is not looking for any Adult fiction or non-fiction, paranormal or dystopian at this time.







Liza Fleissig and Ginger Harris-Dontzin of Liza Royce Agency

Liza Fleissig, with her partner Ginger Harris-Dontzin, opened the Liza Royce Agency (LRA) in early 2011. A cross-platform company providing development, representation, and strategic career management for clients in all media, their goal is to represent clients in all stages of their careers, from the most established to those developing their craft, as well as debuts. Both former partners in NYC based litigation law firms, Liza and Ginger bring a combined 40 years of negotiating experience to the field. This background, along with connections rooted in publishing, movies and television, allowed them to focus and build on a referral based clientele.

From picture books through adult projects, fiction and non-fiction, screenplays to stage works, LRA welcomes strong voices and plot driven works. Their inaugural books became available in stores January 2013.  Their first was an Edgar nominee, another was an Indie Next Pick, and two others were optioned for film. LRA’s success began right out of the gate.






Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management

It was when Clelia first read Charlotte’s Web in the first grade that she got hooked by the magic of books. Her love of children’s books carried through adulthood and she is delighted to dedicate her life to bringing quality books and stories to young (and whimsical adult!) readers.

Clelia is originally from the suburbs of New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Boston College. She received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and practiced law as a corporate litigator in New York City.

In 2011, she decided to dedicate her career to books and reentered graduate school at Emerson College, where she received a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing. While she was studying publishing and taking creative writing courses at Emerson, Clelia gained firsthand experience in the publishing industry working in the children’s book division at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and in academic books at Oxford University Press.  She also taught academic writing and research courses to freshman students as a graduate student faculty member at Emerson College.

Clelia acquires picture book, middle grade and young adult books. She is particularly interested in developing her nonfiction clientele. With apologies, Clelia is no longer accepting new adult fiction queries at this time.







Tracy Marchini of Bookends Literary

After four years as a Literary Agents Assistant at Curtis Brown, Tracy Marchini left to pursue her own editorial business and to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. With ten years of experience either at an agency or working as a freelance children's editor, she joined BookEnds in June of 2016 and is excited to grow her list of both award-winning and debut authors and illustrators.

Growing up, Tracy made it a personal goal to read every Nancy Drew Case Files in her school’s library and still has a soft spot for a good girl detective story. As an adult, she loves the sense of possibility in children’s and young adult literature – and can still empathize with the soul-crushing feeling that is mandatory gym class.

As a children's author, her picture book debut Chicken Wants A Nap will be published in August by Creative Editions.

Tracy is looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, magical realism, historical fiction, graphic novels and non-fiction. She is also looking for picture book illustrators and author-illustrators.

She is not a good fit for YA horror, true crime, hard sci-fi, or high fantasy. At this time, she is not looking for board books or early chapter books.






Pam Victorio of D4EO Literary Agency


Pam Victorio started her literary career as an assistant to an agent in early 2012. By April Pam was promoted to Associate Agent. In her first two years as an agent, Pam brokered 24 deals, with such publishers as Knopf, Scholastic, NAL, ACE, Grand Central, and others.

She joined D4EO in June 2014, where she will continue to build her list. She has a passion for genre fiction as well as children's lit.








Adria Goetz of Martin Literary Management

Adria Goetz is a Literary Manager, currently accepting queries for picture books, middle grade, young adult, as well as Lifestyle books, quirky gift books, Christian Living titles, and everything else under the Christian umbrella.

Prior to becoming a Literary Manager, Adria fostered her knack for developing creative work during her three years as an intern and assistant at Martin Literary & Media Management with Sharlene Martin and Clelia Gore.

Adria is a 2016 graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course in New York City, a six-week intensive course on all aspects of book, magazine, and digital media publishing. She is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle with a B.A. in English with a creative writing emphasis. Adria also worked for Washington’s Pierce County Library System for two years.

Adria looks for books that delight readers, that help inspire wonder and imagination, that foster deep empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings, that provide rich character representation of marginalized people groups, that explore issues of faith and how to apply Christ’s teachings to our own life, that celebrate women and the female experience, that ask nitty gritty questions and don’t settle for easy answers, that make readers pee their pants laughing, that make people disappointed when they have to close the book and go to bed, and books that add a touch of magic to readers’ lives.


Adria lives in an old Victorian home in the Seattle area (which she hopes dearly is haunted with a few friendly ghosts) with her high school sweetheart husband Alex and their two darling kittens, Maple and Mulberry.








Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary

Authors have always been Naomi Davis's superheroes. Growing up in Minnesota, she spent her elementary years pretending she was every character in every book she read. Now a mother, gardener, and beekeeper, Naomi loves meeting readers everywhere she goes and finding out what makes them love the books that sweep them away. A life-long writer and author-fanatic, she has a mild to moderate obsession with slippers, and sings in two philharmonic choirs.

Naomi's first steps into the world of publishing came in grade nine, when she was invited to job-shadow the Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper. She then tip-toed into the world of journalism, having an article published by a magazine in her senior year of high school. Since then, her joy in the literary industry has taken many forms: blogging, critiquing, and writing fiction. Naomi has a passion for helping authors develop stakes, voice immersion, and tension to a story's highest possible potential, and often tweets about strategies for accomplishing those goals on her Twitter @NaomisLitPix

After five years with Inklings Literary Agency, Naomi is elated to join the Bookends team and grow her client list. She seeks dynamic, character-driven middle grade, adult, and young adult titles in fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. LGBTQ+ elements and diversity in all fiction are a particular plus, and Naomi will consider picture books featuring those elements. Naomi is particularly passionate about finding new fantasy and sci-fi settings with unique magical structures that surprise the reader and change the rules readers associate with those worlds.






Cari Lamba of The Jennifer de Chiara Literary Agency

Prior to officially joining the team of agents, Cari Lamba interned for The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency for eight years. It wasn't long into her internship before she knew she wanted to join the publishing world and help writers bring their books to life. Cari graduated from Franklin and Marshall College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. She also studied literature at The Advanced Studies in England Program. She has experience as a bookseller and in publicity and content writing for online publications. Cari has been published in Writer’s Digest Magazine and has taught webinars for Writer’s Digest as well.

Prior to officially joining the team of agents, Cari Lamba interned for The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency for eight years. It wasn't long into her internship before she knew she wanted to join the publishing world and help writers bring their books to life. Cari graduated from Franklin and Marshall College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. She also studied literature at The Advanced Studies in England Program. She has experience as a bookseller and in publicity and content writing for online publications. Cari has been published in Writer’s Digest Magazine and has taught webinars for Writer’s Digest as well.
Children's:
I'm interested in middle grade fiction with wacky plots (Roald Dahl is a favorite of mine) and characters that drive the story. I would also like contemporary stories that are both humorous and heartfelt. While I am not interested in stories with high fantasy, I would welcome elements of the fantastic and otherworldly. I want novels that will resonate with children without being didactic.
Both fiction and non-fiction picture books are welcome. I'm looking for unique ideas with fun and quirky elements as well as sweet, endearing picture books. In non-fiction I'm especially looking for strong female role-models.
Adult:
I'm looking for commercial fiction with original plots and clever characters. While I'm not interested in romance novels, elements of romance are welcome. I also have particular interest in mystery/detective fiction, and novels with culinary ties. 
I'm NOT interested in science fiction, horror, high fantasy, Christian fiction, political novels, or books with extremely violent elements.

Twitter|Website




Natascha Morris of Bookends Literary

Natascha spent most of her childhood in a leather chair with her nose in a book. Formerly an editorial assistant at Simon & Schuster, her passion for books across genres and her desire to finding amazing talent drove her to make the transition from editorial to literary agent.

Her editorial philosophy stems from the idea that all books should be well written and entertaining.  Some of her favorite authors include Molly Idle, Sherwood Smith, Ann Rinaldi, Sabaa Tahir, and Meg Cabot. Check out her Pinterest for a quick look at her favorite books. https://www.pinterest.com/nataschamorris/

A Texas native, Natascha can often be found hunting for the best Tex-Mex in New York. Outside of reading, she is interested in urban farming and cooking.

Natascha is primarily looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, historical fiction, and narrative non-fiction. She is also looking for artists that speak to her creatively.

Asia Citro of The Innovative Press

Asia Citro has an M.Ed in Science Education and was a classroom science teacher for many years before becoming a work-at-home mom.  She is the blogger behind FunatHomewithKids.com in addition to being the owner/publisher at The Innovation Press, where she serves as part of the editing team.  She is also the author of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for KidsThe Curious Kid's Science BookA Little Bit of Dirt, the chapter book series Zoey and Sassafras, and Vroom Vroom Garbage Truck. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, The Chicago Tribune, Today, Disney Baby, MSN, King 5 TV, New Day Northwest, and Highlights, among others.  She lives near Seattle with her wonderful husband, two awesome children, and two destructive cats. 







Charlotte Wenger of Page Street Publishing

Charlotte Wenger is an associate children's editor for Page Street Kids, the new children’s division ​of Page Street Publishing. After growing up and attending college in Pennsylvania and Virginia, she worked for a Philadelphia-based publishing services company until shipping up to Boston, where she earned her MA in Children's Literature from Simmons College. During her master's program, she had internships at Charlesbridge (editorial) and Candlewick (sales), and between finishing grad school and joining Page Street Kids, she did editorial work for literary agent Rubin Pfeffer. She's also spent countless hours playing and reading with the many kids she's nannied and babysat over the years, who are a big motivation and inspiration for her work.

You can check out her manuscript wish list at http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/charlotte-wenger/ and find her on Twitter @WilbursBF_Char.









Roseanne Wells of JD Literary

Roseanne Wells joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency as an associate agent in 2012. Previously with the Marianne Strong Literary Agency, she has also worked as a proofreader and a special sales/editorial assistant. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with degrees in Literature and Dance. An avid reader, Roseanne discovered her passion for book publishing during her internship at W. W. Norton, and she approaches agenting as a writer's advocate, editor, and partner. She is a member of SCBWI and a volunteer for Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in Soho, NYC. You can find her on Twitter @RivetingRosie. 

In all categories, I'm eager to see diverse and underrepresented authors, marginalized stories, and crossing or blending genres.

Adult Non-fiction: I'm looking for authors who have a unique story to tell, have built a strong platform, and are dedicated to reaching their audience. I like narrative nonfiction, select memoir, science (popular or trade, not academic), history, religion (not inspirational), travel, humor, food/cooking, pop culture, and similar subjects. I'm also interested in fresh, modern self-improvement that not only inspires but energizes readers to action in this rapidly evolving world. 

Adult Fiction: I'm interested in strong literary fiction that emphasizes craft and style equally, and doesn't sacrifice plot and character for beautiful sentences; science-fiction and fantasy; con/heist stories, especially featuring art, jewelry, or tech; and smart detective novels (more Sherlock Holmes than cozy mysteries).

Children's: I'm eager to see diverse voices and marginalized stories, unique narrative structures that support the story, and unreliable narrators. I'm looking for young adult and middle grade of all genres that connect me to a strong main character and a singular voice. I'm also open to picture books, especially from author/illustrators. I love cranky, mischievous characters that grow throughout the narrative, and stories that are fun and hilarious for children (and the adults who will read them 500 times). Non-fiction picture books in STEM, science, arts, and biographies are a big plus for me. I'm not interested in rhyming picture books or overly sweet and sentimental stories.