Pitch Wars … announcing the agents!

The agent round isn’t until January 22, but I thought it would be fun to announce the agents now, so you can see all the fabulousness waiting for you if you are chosen by one of our amazing mentors. So grab some popcorn, sit by the fire, and warm your toes while you get to know the agents for Pitch Wars. (Submissions for Pitch Wars is now closed. The mentor’s picks will go live on January 22-23 for the agents to make requests. Please join us and see how the winners do!)

Louise Fury represents young adult, middle grade, new adult, commercial fiction including romance, and select nonfiction. She’s looking for writers with a unique voice and an unforgettable story. She’s particularly drawn to stories with a strong protagonist. In young adult, she looks for manuscripts that are written with an unforgettable voice—this can be deep, dark and gritty or literary, lyrical and emotional. She’d love to find a young adult novel that has a bone-deep sense of danger that haunts her from page 1 and doesn’t let go of  her for days. She wants delicious adult romances with creative plots, sexy liaisons and unique characters who sweep her up in their love story. She wants to feel something unforgettable when she read your pages; manuscripts that she can’t stop thinking about.

“My favorite books are ones that keep me up all night  with characters that I can’t stop thinking about long after I’ve finished.”

After teaching high school English for several years, Suzie Townsend started publishing at FinePrint Literary Management in January 2009 and worked her way up from intern to agent. Now an agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, she represents adult and children’s fiction. She is actively looking to build her list. In adult, she’s specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens’ she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie  SUPER 8). She’s an active member of AAR, RWA, and SCBWI.

“I have the best job in the world. I read for a living and make author’s dreams come true.”

Nicole has been listed by Publisher’s Marketplace as a top dealmaker in the country, and named ACFW’s 2012 Agent of the Year. She loves discovering new talent and helping established authors to take their career to the next level. Do you have the next project to feed her book addiction? A smart, tight read she won’t be able to put down? A signature voice she’ll fight to represent?

HEA’s are a must for romance. Mainstream suspense, thrillers, mysteries, YA and inspirational novels are welcome. A consummate science geek and card-carrying Mensa member, Nicole would love to find the next greatscience fiction/fantasy novel or action/adventure masterpiece.

John Cusick joined Greenhouse in January 2013  after several years with a small New York agency, where he began as an assistant and rose to be an agent with a fast-developing client list. As well as being a YA author in his own right, John is a sought-after speaker on writing, both at writers’ conferences and via webinars. You can read his blog here:  http://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/.

What John is seeking: Fiction by North American authors, from Picturebooks and Middle Grade through Young Adult.  Particularly keen to see MG (and maybe YA) for boys. Fast-paced/thrilling/heart-breaking stories. Contemporary realism, historicals, speculative fiction, sci-fi and fresh fantasy, villains with vulnerabillity, bad decisions with best intentions, boldly imagined worlds, striking imagery, characters with histories, stories about siblings and about middle America.

Sarah LaPolla joined Bradford Literary Agency in May 2013. Prior to joining forces with Laura and Natalie, Sarah worked for five years in the foreign rights department at Curtis Brown, Ltd., and became an associate agent there in 2010. She received her MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from The New School in 2008 and has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Ithaca College.

Sarah represents YA and adult fiction. On the adult side, she is looking for literary fiction, science fiction, magical realism, dark/psychological mystery, and upmarket commercial and/or women’s fiction. For YA, she is interested in contemporary/realistic fiction that doesn’t shy away from the darker side of adolescence. YA sci-fi, horror, mystery, and magical realism are also welcome; and she would love to find a modern Judy Blume for the MG market. No matter what genre, Sarah is drawn to layered/strong characters, engaging narrators, and a story that’s impossible to put down.

Sarah is not looking for: picture books/children’s, inspirational/spiritual novels, romance, or erotica.

Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture  non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women’s fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ). Above all, she is looking for anything with an engaging voice, compelling narrative and authentic characters.

Always on the lookout for new writers, Jessica is  most excited about finding literary, women’s, and young adult fiction, and — on the nonfiction side — psychology, parenting, self-help, cookbooks, memoirs, and works that speak to life in the twenty-first century. Visit her company’s website for more details.

 

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg started her literary career as assistant to Laurie McLean in early 2012. By April Pam was promoted to Associate Agent at Larsen Pomada. In January of 2013 after selling twenty-one books in her first year of agenting Pam was promoted to agent. When Laurie McLean mentioned creating Foreword, Pam jumped at the chance to follow her  mentor and create a new agency together.

High concept young adult. Some of Pam’s favorite recent YA books are: The Masque of the Red Death, Cinder, Shadow and Bone, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Small Damages, and Insignia. Middle grade in these genres: fantasy, contemporary, literary. Pam’s recent favorite MG books are: The Peculiar, The Emerald Atlas, Storybound, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, and Icefall. Romance in these categories: historical and contemporary. Pam’s favorite romance titles released recently are: Loving Lady Marcia, Be My Prince, Rogue’s Pawn, and The Siren. Genre fiction: urban fantasy, paranormal, and epic/high fantasy.

Quinlan Lee brings to Adams Literary her experience as a published author of numerous books for young readers and more than 15 years of business and project management expertise. She has been a part of the  Adams Literary team since 2008, representing clients in all genres from picture books to YA. She enjoys meeting others who share her love of children’s literature and is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a founding board member of the Charlotte Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

Emily is a particular lover of all types of young adult and middle grade books. She wants to represent the kind of stories that will resonate with kids for the rest of their lives. She loves strong voices and unique characters, not knock-offs or trend chasers. Some of her favorite authors include Deb Caletti, Laurie Halse Anderson, Gary D. Schmidt, and Megan Whalen Turner. She thinks books are best when they make you laugh and cry.

Emily is also looking for a select list of commercial fiction which includes fantasy & science fiction, women’s fiction, new adult fiction, along with pop culture and humor titles. She is not looking for poetry, short stories, picture books or anything that is “publishable” and not amazing.

She has a great love for middle grade—bring on the whimsical, the imaginative, the dark/crass/wacky/hilarious. She’d love to find a historical MG that is also fun and exciting. She’d just love to find a beautiful, fun, thoughtful story that makes that first real step into adulthood seem brand-new, all over again. She’s also looking for exciting, high-concept YA novels (the creepier, the better!) as well as more beautiful, literary works that explore the coming-of-age theme. She tends to gravitate toward stories featuring offbeat, alternate-lifestyle protagonists who trailblaze their own weird and wonderful paths through life.

Adult: My adult list is narrower than my children’s list. What she’s really on the hunt for are juicy, well-researched historical novels. Her ultimate adult project wish list would include a
romantic historical with some unique fantasy elements, a literary, Beat-like coming-of-age, a thrilling survival tale with well-researched, back-to-the-land details, and a dark, witchy, semi-realistic novel (think a modern-day Practical Magic or Garden Spells). She’s pretty excited about the New Adult category. She loves stories set in the counter-culture, quirky love stories with a stand-out hook, and subtle twists of fantasy or magical realism. The one link she has throughout the many genres she’s interested in is humor.

 

Carly began her publishing career in London, England at the Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency and Bloomsbury PLC. She completed her BA in English Language and Literature at Queen’s University and her MA in Publishing Studies from City University London with a thesis on the social, political and economic impact of literary prizes on trade publishing. Never without a book on hand she reads across categories which is reflected in the genres she represents. Carly is actively looking for Literary and Commercial Fiction,
World Literature, Women’s Fiction, Literary Thrillers, New Adult, high-concept Young Adult, high-concept Picture Books, and up-market nonfiction in Health, Wellness, Memoir, Humour, Pop Science and Pop Psychology. 

 

She focuses exclusively on middle grade and young adult fiction. She’s looking for books that challenge the reader intellectually and emotionally, from the high-concept and fantastical to the frank, fresh, and contemporary. She loves fiction set in another country, time, or place (real or imagined!) that opens up a rich new world for the reader to discover. Stories featuring characters with strong passions, talents, or smarts – or characters in search of theirs – resonate with me. She’d also like to see: Contemporary YA that’s not afraid to explore complex social issues, historical fantasy, smart middle grade adventures, heartbreaking middle grade with beautiful writing, and good, old-fashioned YA romance.

 

Evan Gregory began at the agency in 2008 as an Assistant. He currently manages subsidiary rights for the agency in addition to his duties as an agent and general office manager. He is accepting clients, for more information see his listing at the Association of Authors Representatives.

Stefanie Lieberman joined the agency in 2005 after practicing intellectual property law at The Guggenheim Museum; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and the boutique entertainment firm Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Stefanie holds a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.

Stefanie is also actively seeking to represent writers offering fresh approaches to romance and young adult commercial fiction. She is particularly energized by manuscripts featuring strongfemale characters.

 

 

Rena Rossner, literary and foreign rights agent, is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars Program, where she double-majored in poetry and non-fiction writing. She studied at Trinity College, Dublin and holds an MA in History from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She worked at bookstores in four countries, has written extensively for The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post, and worked in PR, grant-writing, and website development at The Jerusalem Foundation. She is a writer of both fiction and poetry.

Zachary Shuster Harmsworth

Lana holds a B.A. with honors from Yale University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an M.A. with highest honors from the Emerson College Publishing and Writing program. She joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth in 2012, after working at the Perseus Book Group foreign rights department and the Kneerim & Williams Literary Agency.

At ZSH, Lana works closely with authors on a wide range of both fiction and nonfiction projects, and is committed to providing extensive editorial guidance. She is particularly interested in edgy YA, from gritty coming-of-age novels to contemporary fantasy and supernatural romance. She is also keen to represent thoughtful chick lit, literary thrillers, and well-crafted projects in the fantasy and mystery genres.

Natasha Alexis received her B.S. degree with honors from New York University. After working as a junior television development executive at Showtime Networks, she earned her J.D. from Northeastern Law School and practiced corporate law with a focus on intellectual property at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison in New York. In 2011, she joined the agency where she has been working with authors on a wide range of projects.

Alexis is currently seeking works of literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction. As a fan of popular culture and cosmopolitan trends, Alexis is keen to represent YA and adult fiction with an edge and fresh point of view, especially works featuring women and people of color.