New Literary Agents 12 / 16 / 2015

2 More New Agents Seeking Submissions NOW

Click on any name below to see the full mini-profile on the GLA Blog (with submission instructions). Good luck querying! 

1. Rob Kirkpatrick of The Stuart Agency

He is seeking: His specialties include memoir, biography, sports, music, pop culture, current events, history, and (on a very select basis) literary fiction.

2. Rachel Burkot of Holloway Literary

She is seeking: Rachel is drawn to voice-driven fiction, particularly in young adult; quirky, three-dimensional, flawed characters, including and especially secondary characters; beautiful writing; books that explore good people in morally complicated situations; and complex, detailed plots. Rachel is interested in representing: Women's fiction; Upmarket/book club fiction, i.e., Emily Giffin, Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain; Young adult (no fantasy or paranormal unless it's very light); Contemporary romance, i.e., Kristan Higgins; Category romance with unique, memorable plots, i.e., Natalie Charles; Southern fiction; "Dark" women's fiction/thrillers, i.e., Gillian Flynn or Mary Kubica; Urban fiction; Literary fiction.

Science Fiction Writing

Dear Readers,

Here's something good to read about SiFi writing.

Science Fiction Writing: It's About the Fiction Not the Science
The single biggest trap of writing science fiction is focusing on the science, not the fiction. Here's how to avoid that trap. 
Read more ...

New Agents Seeking Writers and More Resources

2 New Agents Seeking Submissions NOW Click on any name below to see the full mini-profile on the GLA Blog (with submission instructions). Good luck querying! 1. Tara Carberry of Trident Media Group She is seeking: Tara is building a client list of authors at all stages of their careers. She is primarily seeking women's commercial fiction, romance, new adult, young adult, and select nonfiction. 2. Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary & Media She is seeking: Jaida is open to all middle grade and young adult titles, although she has a particular love for quirky, dark stories (The Mysterious Benedict Society, Coraline, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library). For Adult Fiction, she loves those with strong mystery, high fantasy, or religious undertones (The Westing Game, A Discovery of Witches, A Game of Thrones, The Da Vinci Code). She's also open to picture books by author-illustrators with completed dummies.

14 Literary Agents Seeking Adult Science Fiction Novels NOW  In celebration of my three new books released this September, I'm doing a lot of special lists of agents seeking queries right NOW. My most recent list (on the Writers in the Storm Blog) is 14 Literary Agents Seeking Science Fiction Novels NOW. All the 14 agents listed below personally confirmed to me as of October 2015 that they are actively seeking science fiction submissions for adults NOW. (This is not YA/MG sci-fi. That will be a different list). Some gave personal notes about their tastes while some did not. Good luck querying! 1. Paula Munier (Talcott Notch Literary) Notes: "High concept only." How to submit: E-query editorial [at] talcottnotch.net with "Query for Paula: [title]" in the subject line. 2. Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary) Notes: "Word count under 120,000." How to submit: Send query, synopsis, and first 25 pages to query [at] deemuraliterary.com. No attachments please. See the full list here.

"How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent" -- Dec. 7 Agent One-on-One Boot Camp (w/critique) with Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency How do you hook an agent right away, keep them hooked, and make the most of your new publishing relationship? In this Boot Camp that starts Dec. 7, "How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent," you'll learn how to get a literary agent's attention through a great submission, and also how to navigate the process of working successfully with an agent. You'll also work with an agent online to review and refine your all-important query letter and the first five pages of your novel. This Boot Camp will cover a range of important questions: -- What keeps an agent reading? What makes writing jump off the page? -- What are the most common Chapter 1 mistakes that make them stop reviewing your submission? -- What are the steps you need to give your query and manuscript the best possible shot? -- What are the turn-ons and turn-offs when it comes to queries? -- How do agents make judgment calls? -- And much more. The best part is that you'll be working directly with a knowledgeable and experienced agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work. ( Sign up for the Dec. 7 boot camp here.) Here's how it works: On December 7th, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agents at the Dijkstra Literary Agency. It will explain the submission process of submitting to an agent, what they find appealing in a query letter and what an author-agent relationship looks like from the inside. You will also be notified by email which agent you'll be working with by Monday evening. From 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (PT) on December 8th and 9th, instructors will be available to answer questions and provide additional feedback via the Writer's Digest University message boards. Only registered students can access these boards. After listening to the presentation and participating in the discussion sessions, you'll be able to revise your query & first 5 double-spaced pages as necessary. Instructing literary agents will spend the next three weeks reviewing their assigned critiques and providing feedback as to what works and what doesn't. AGENT INSTRUCTORS 5 agents from Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: Elise Capron, Jill Marr, Thao Le, Roz Foster, and Jessica Watterson. (Sign up for the Dec. 7 boot camp here.)

The GLA Blog's Current Book Giveaways  Comment on either (or both) of these awesome & helpful guest columns for your chance to win free books from the authors. 1. "7 Ways to Fix a Messy Manuscript" -- guest column penned by Trina St. Jean. Trina is giving away a copy of her debut novel BLANK (April 2015, Orca Book Publishers). 2. "How I Got My Literary Agent: Camille Griep" -- guest column by sic-fi/fantasy author Camille, who isgiving away a copy of her debut novel LETTERS TO ZELL. "How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience" -- Dec. 3 Webinar with eMedia Guru Jane Friedman  Many writers hear that they should start blogging to build their platform, help them get published, or sell more books. But is blogging right for you and your career? If so, what should you blog about? And perhaps most importantly, how can you do it effectively and without wasting important time you could spend on paying work? This live webinar -- "How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience" -- covers the best practices of worthwhile blogging and how it can make a difference to the growth of your author career. You'll learn the secrets of shareable & spreadable content, the best ways to get new readers, and how to attract more opportunities (and improve your writing skills!) by posting great content. It's also critical to understand how online writing is different from print-based writing, so you'll get a crash course in how to write blog posts that are online-reader and SEO-friendly (optimized for search engines), to increase your blog's discoverability and traffic over time. It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, and lasts 2 hours. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: -- 4 key benefits to blogging -- How to begin developing a content strategy for your blog -- 7 principles every blogger should follow -- The best practices of professional bloggers (those who do it for a living) -- Do's and don'ts of writing for an online audience -- How to write post headlines that get clicks and shares -- The basics of SEO (search engine optimization) that anyone can understand -- How to use categories and tags -- How and why to use images-and where to find them for free -- Using site analytics to improve your blog over time -- Adding email/RSS functionality to your blog -- How to begin monetizing your blog INSTRUCTOR Jane Friedman is the former publisher of Writer's Digest and has been a professional blogger since 2008. Her blog at JaneFriedman.com receives more than 100,000 visits per month and has won multiple awards. Jane currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia. (Sign up for the Dec. 3 webinar here.) Agent-Conference Opportunities There are plenty of opportunities for writers to meet agents face to face at writers' conferences and pitch their work in 2016. Remember: Meeting agents in person is a great way to get past the slush pile. If an agent is interested in your work and requests a sample or book proposal, you can write "Requested Material" on your submission, making sure it gets a fair read and consideration. Know that there are two types of conferences. There are general writers' conferences, that address a variety of subjects, and then there are specialized conferences, which usually tend to focus on a single genre-such as western, romance, or mystery. You will find both kinds in this list below. Writing Conference of Houston, Feb. 6, 2016, Houston, TX Attending agents: Paul S. Levine (Paul S. Levine Literary); Patricia Nelson (Marsal Lyon Literary); Rachel Brooks (L. Perkins Associates); Tricia Skinner (Fuse Literary); and Eve Porinchak (Jill Corcoran Literary). San Francisco Writers Conference, Feb. 11-14, 2016, San Francisco, CA Attending agents: This large conference usually has 20-30 agents in attendance. Check the website for the large, growing list. Alabama Writers Conference, February 19, 2016, Birmingham, AL Attending agents: Julie Gwinn (The Seymour Agency); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary); and Lauren MacLeod (Strothman Agency). Atlanta Writing Workshop, February 20, 2016, Atlanta, GA Attending agents: Cherry Weiner (Cherry Weiner Literary); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Pamela Harty (The Knight Agency); Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary); and Sally Apokedak (Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency). Tampa Writers Conference, March 25, 2016, Tampa, FL Attending agents: Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency); Marlene Stringer (Stringer Literary Agency); Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency); Saritza Hernandez (Corvisiero Literary); and Amanda Leuck (Spencerhill Associates). Fort Lauderdale "Get Published" Conference, March 26, 2016, Fort Lauderdale, FL Attending agents: Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency); Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary); Greg Aunapu (Salkind Literary); Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary); Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary); and Cricket Freeman (The August Agency). Philadelphia Writing Workshop, April 9, 2016, Philadelphia, PA Attending agents: Alyssa Eisner Henkin (Trident Media Group); Adriana Dominguez (Full Circle Literary); Marie Lamba (Jennifer De Chiara Literary); Eric Smith (P.S. Literary); Mackenzie Brady (New Leaf Literary); and Jordy Albert (Booker Albert Literary Agency). Writing Conference of Cleveland, June 4, 2016, Cleveland, OH Attending agents: Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary); Moe Ferrera (BookEnds); Mallory Brown (TriadaUS); Vicki Selvaggion (Jennifer De Chiara Literary); Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary); and Fred Tribuzzo (The Rudy Agency). NYC Writer's Digest Conference, August 12-14, 2016, New York, NY Attending agents: Our pitch slam is the centerpiece of the day, and will always have at least 50 attending literary agents.

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Tips on Writing a High Concept Story

Dear Readers,

Following are 3 articles from Writer's Digest. I got them in my e mail this morning. The particular article that I really want you to read is THE 7 QUALITIES OF HIGH-CONCEPT STORIES.

The 7 Qualities of High-Concept Stories Stumped by submission guidelines calling for "high-concept" romance, suspense, young adult or other popular fiction? These 7 qualifiers will help you gauge how (and where) your work fits in.  Read more ... How to Create Instantly (& Instinctively) Recognizable Characters Meeting characters in a novel is very much like meeting people in real life. When we start reading a book, it's as if we moved to a new town and were meeting a whole bunch of new people at the same time. Your job as a writer is to create that town and populate it with characters that live their lives before our eyes.  Read more ... Writing Tips from Robert Beatty, Bestselling Author of Serafina and the Black Cloak  Recently I had the honor of interviewing local author Robert Beatty to discuss his debut novel, Serafina and the Black Cloak. Myself and my children have enjoyed the novel immensely and I was thrilled when he agreed to give us a glimpse behind the scenes.  Read more ...

Literary Agents Seeking Fantasy Novels Now

Okay.

This will be my last post for today.

7 Literary Agents Seeking Fantasy Novels NOW 
In celebration of my three new books released this September (what an awesome autumn!), I'm doing a lot of special lists of agents seeking queries right now. I've already done lists on picture book agents, thriller agents, and women's fiction agents. Below find a list for agents seeking adult fantasy novels NOW. (Note that this list is for adult fantasy, not fantasy for kids or teens. That will be a different list.) 
Read more ...

Write a Compelling Short Film Script

Write a Compelling Short Film Script Jeanne Veillette Bowerman Online Editor ScriptMag.com This week's screenwriting tip is about writing a short film from writer/director Kim Garland. I've been honored to have Kim as one of our contributors for the  past few years and am sad to see her move on to other adventures, but her column,Write, Direct, Repeat, will live on the site. Be sure to catch up on  her great advice! There's still time to sign up for Kathy Berardi's online class Creating the Short Film.  It starts today, but as long as you register this week, you can still have access. ____________________  by Kim Garland For the most part, good writing is good writing, and the skills you’re developing to write feature scripts will also apply when you write shorts: a three-act structure  (but for shorts, simply think setup, conflict, and resolution); a universal theme; a clear dilemma and stakes; and an active protagonist. But there are challenges specific to writing a great short film that can be overcome  by understanding what makes shorts — and the audience for shorts — unique. Create a Dynamic Opening Scene If asked for just one piece of advice for creating a successful short film, I’d have to go with the old, “the shorter, the better” mantra. Because it really is true — most short films can be improved by making them a little shorter. But the one place where you can benefit from not trying to build in too much information  is your opening scene. Even though you have a limited amount of time to tell your story,  you don’t need to front-load your film with all of your setup at once. Use your opening to establish tone and introduce your characters in a fascinating way,  but don’t weigh it down with backstory and exposition. Entice your audience to want to  learn more. If the opening can double as a “before” shot of your protagonist’s life (i.e. before the  transformative event of your story), so much the better, but be sure even the most mundane life is portrayed in a curiosity-inducing way. Layer Your Storytelling...  Read more tips on writing short films...

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