Day 3 of Paying It Forward Series
Day 3 of my annual PAY IT FORWARD week. This week I will be sharing the information I received at the Rutgers One on One Mentoring Conference. I hope you find it helpful!
*remember to always follow submission guidelines. Some editors and agents are only taking unsolicited subs from conference attendees (and they do check).
· sorry, wasn’t able to post yesterday due to illness. Back on track today : )
Ty King, Literary Agent Assistant, Writers House. Ty King has worked at Writers House since 2008 as the assistant to senior literary agents, Kenneth Wright and Rebecca Sherman. Ty works with a diverse client list, including PB author/illustrators through MG/YA fiction and nonfiction authors and several adult nonfiction clients. Upcoming titles Ty has worked on include SIREN by Tricia Rayburn (Egmont, July 2010), 4-U by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Little, Brown, 2011) and INTENTIONS by Deborah Heiligman (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2011). Ty is open to books across all age ranges and is particularly interested in humorous MG fiction/nonfiction and high-concept fantasy/adventure series for MG/YA audiences. She is also looking for graphic novels for the MG audience and interested in adult narrative nonfiction. Ty is a graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a member of the SCBWI and The Young to Publishing Group.
Diane Landolf, Editor, Random House Children’s Books. Diane is looking for MG and YA novels and standalone chapter books. She has edited the Heck series; the Century Quartet (Book 11, Star of Stone, is out this fall); many titles in the A to Z Mysteries series: the medieval historical, The Book of the Maidservant, by former Rutgers mentee, Rebecca Barnhouse (Yay, Rebecca!); and Rebecca’s next book, a historical fantasy called The Coming of the Dragon, out this fall. She is interested in MG and YA novels across all genres, with a particular interest in quirky or dark fantasy/speculative fiction and literary titles. For YA, a strong voice is what she looks for most. For contemporary MG, she loves stories where kids are smart and figure things out, especially by working together. For historical, she prefers pre-20th century. The older the better! Diane will accept submissions of chapter books and novels only (no PBs, please) from attendees for three months after the conference.
Sarah LaPolla, Associate Literary Agent, Curtis Brown, LTD. Sarah is interested in YA fiction ranging from literary coming-of-age stories to urban fantasy and science fiction. She loves complex characters and engaging narrators, and would love to see stronger female protagonists in YA. Sarah is always looking for YA with crossover appeal, but is also open to representing high concept MG. Sarah would not be the best match for writers of PBs, poetry, or early-reader chapter books. She recently worked with Book Arts Bash by providing feedback to the winners of their annual contest for homeschooled authors, and is a member of Young to Publishing.
Kate Lee, Agent, International Creative management. Kate represents MG and YA fiction. She is agent to Anna Carey, author of the Eve trilogy (forthcoming from Alloy), Lesley M. M. Blume (Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters; Tennyson; and Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, & Other Nasties: A practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate), Robin Palmer (Cindy Ella; Geek Charming; Little Miss Red; and the Lucy B. Palmer series), Tom Dolby (Secret Society series), Tina Wells (Mackenzie Blue series), as well as award –winning YA author Crissa Jean Chappell (Total Constant Order), among others. She is currently interested in high-concept YA fiction with a commercial bent, NG fiction (both boy-and –girl-driven), and is probably not the best match for PBs and smaller, more character-driven projects.
Alvina Ling, Senior Editor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Alvina acquires children’s books for all ages (baby-teen), with a particular interest in literary fiction and books with multicultural themes. She is interested in both genre (including science fiction, fantasy, and mystery) and contemporary fiction, and is a fan of beautiful and/or funky PBs with unique illustration styles, as well as trade nonfiction books. Some of her recent publications include the NY Times bestselling PBs Shark vs Train by Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld, The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young; Eggs by Jerry Spinelli; The Newbery Honor winning Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin; North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley; Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, and The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. Before starting at Little, Brown in 1999, Alvina was a bookseller, and has always been a life-long lover of children’s books. She is not open to receiving submissions post-Rutgers.
Julia Maguire, Assistant Editor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Julia has worked on PBs as well as novels, both MG and YA. She has edited the PBs 1 Zany Zoo and the upcoming How Do You Hug a Porcupine?, both GM Spoonful of Stories contest winners. She has also assisted in editing The Talent Show by Dan Gutman, Crescendo, the sequel to the NY Times bestseller Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han and Elixir by Hilary Duff. She is looking for literary as well as commercial MG and YA fiction with a strong voice that is grounded in reality, but she is not averse to paranormal, provided there is a strong emotional center. Julia is not the best match for science fiction or fantasy.
Elena Mechlin, Agency Assistant, Pippin Properties. After a few years in marketing, Elena found the perfect position from which to pursue her love of all things children’s literature at Pippin properties. At Pippin, she’s lucky enough to be reading all incoming queries and loves the treasure hunt! She has also been instrumental in the editing of various upcoming projects, both PBs, Mg, and YA. Elena loves funny PBs, is typically averse to rhyming texts, likes goofy MG, and is on the hunt for some hot YA! If you’d like to submit to Pippin, please email your query to info@pippinproperties.com.
Come back tomorrow for more info. By the way, I’d love for you to follow me on twitter (writergirlrowan). At the end of the Pay It Forward series of posts I will award a sparkling jewelry prize to one of my new followers : )
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