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 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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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 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 Kids, The Curious Kid's Science Book, A 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.
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.
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