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  • Guide to Literary Agents

Fiction Agents

A growing list of literary agents who represent novelists and genres of fiction: literary, commercial, genre, and more.

Literary Agent Interview: Ann Behar of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency

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“Agent Advice” (more than 170 interviews so far!) is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Ann Behar of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. Ann holds M.A. in English Literature and a J.D. from the University of San Diego Law School. With the birth of her two daughters, Ann waited a few years before jumping into the literary agency business where she found her English degree and law degree to be equally valuable. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

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“Agent Advice” (more than 170 interviews so far!) is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill Marsal is a founding partner of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and has been in the publishing industry for over 15 years. Jill also has a strong legal background and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She practiced as an attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for five years. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Melissa Flashman of Trident Media Group, LLC

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“Agent Advice” (more than 150 interviews so far!) is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Melissa Flashman of Trident Media Group, LLC. Melissa grew up in Kentucky, graduated from Wesleyan University, and studied in the Ph.D. program in English at Johns Hopkins. She worked as an assistant at International Creative Management (ICM) before joining Trident Media Group. You can find Melissa on Twitter here. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: J.L. Stermer of N.S. Bienstock

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“Agent Advice” is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features J.L. Stermer of N.S. Bienstock, a full-service talent agency with a division dedicated to developing literary projects, where she handles both nonfiction and fiction authors. She previously served as literary agent and contracts director with the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Born and raised in New York City, and a graduate of Columbia University, she currently resides in Manhattan solidifying that she is forever a city girl through and through. Read more

Amazing Giveaway: A Free Pass to the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference (Feb. 16-19, 2012) Worth $745

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This is amazing news. Writer’s Digest has 1 free pass to giveaway to a random commenter for a full registration pass at the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference (Feb. 16-19, 2012). (Wow!!) Make sure you read this entire post to see all the details of the giveaway, as there are some things you need to do to formally enter. To enter, you will need to comment on this post, and spread the news a bit via social media. (Update: Joan Swan won the pass. Congrats to Joan! Joan will be guest blogging about her travels here on my GLA Blog following the event.) Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency

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“Agent Advice” is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else. This installment features Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency. Nicole is a member of AAR, ACFW, RWA, and Mensa. She holds degrees in biology, psychology, and behavioral neuroscience. She also Tweets.

She is seeking: romance, mainstream suspense, thrillers, mysteries, young adult, inspirational, science fiction/fantasy, and action/adventure. Read more

More Than 60 Agents Will Be Taking Pitches at the 2012 Writer’s Digest Conference

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The 2012 Writer’s Digest Conference (Jan. 20-22, 2012) is coming up fast and promises to be a blast. We have incredible presenters lined up to instruct, fun sessions to attend, and, of course the gigantic Agent Pitch Slam that features the largest gathering of literary agents (more than 60 literary agents this year!) at any writing conference in the country. Last year, we had about 55, but the conference attendance was so outstanding that we felt lines were too long for each agent. That’s why our solution this year is “more agents, more time.” Read on. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC

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This interview features Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC. Mere days after graduating from New York University with a B.A. in English Literature, Jessica began her publishing career in 2001 as an editorial assistant at Harlequin Books. There, she had the opportunity to acquire and edit a wide array of women’s fiction, specializing in historical romance, romantic suspense, and inspirational romance. The agency has a blog. Find Jessica on Twitter here.

She is seeking: women’s fiction, erotica, urban fantasy/paranormal, single title and category romance submissions. She has a special fondness for historical romance and romantic suspense. Read more

My Adventures in Myrtle Beach … and Dallas

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I have been traveling a lot in the past few weeks, and have recently presented at writers conferences in both South Carolina and Texas. Both were a lot of fun. I am a huge advocate of writers conferences, and I still believe they are a great opportunity to meet publishing pros, make writer friends for life, and get educated about the craft and business of writing. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency

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This installment features Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. A freelance copyeditor, Dawn reviewed mysteries for years before starting Blue Ridge Literary Agency in January 2009. She lives in Lynchburg, Va., where she also facilitates a local writers’ group and is very active in her church. Although she read mysteries for fun, she handles most types of fiction and children’s fiction. She also blogs and Tweets.

She is seeking: mysteries, cozy mysteries, thrillers, urban fantasy, romance (no erotica), sci-fi, women’s, general, historical, Christian, young adult, middle-grade, and young readers. She does not seek: poetry, scripts, short stories, children’s picture books, memoirs, nonfiction, or screenplays. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency

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This installment features Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency. Deidre established The Knight Agency (TKA) in 1996 after working in the entertainment industry.

She is seeking: romance, nonfiction, literary fiction, young adult and middle grade lists with debut or established authors. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Eric Ruben of Ruben Literary Agency

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This installment features Eric Ruben of Ruben Literary Agency. An attorney with more than 20 years of experience, Eric has a B.A. in Political Science from Union College, and a J.D. from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. His long career as an award-winning performer and writer, appearing in major motion pictures, television commercials, national print advertising campaigns, and Off-Broadway theatre, gives him a unique perspective that benefits his clients. He also blogs and Tweets.

He is seeking: He is open to all genres of story, but especially seeks romance, erotica, graphic novels, health, and cooking. He does not seek: inspirational. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Taylor Martindale of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

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This installment features Taylor Martindale of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Taylor is a proud graduate of The College of William and Mary and holds a BA in English, with a minor in Hispanic Studies. She was the Copy Chief of her college newspaper for three years and occasionally does freelance writing for a local paper. Before joining SDLA in Summer 2009, Taylor was the Submissions Coordinator at Bliss Literary Agency, Intl. She also Tweets.

She is seeking: She is most interested in acquiring young adult fiction—specifically gritty contemporary and unique paranormal/urban fantasy. She also accepts children’s picture books, commercial fiction, women’s fiction, and multicultural fiction. She does not want business, political, or science books; cookbooks, or self-help. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Katie Shea of Donald Maass Literary (formerly Caren Johnson Literary)

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This installment features Katie Shea of Caren Johnson Literary Agency. A published writer herself, Katie began working in the literary industry in 2008 as a reader with FinePrint Literary Management. She also assisted agents at Folio Literary Management and Langtons International Agency. She holds BA from Marist College and is now ecstatic to be building her own client list at CJLA. She also Tweets.

She is seeking: nonfiction in the areas of diet, health & wellness, travel, narrative nonfiction, and memoir. She also holds a strong interest in beautifully written literary fiction, commercial adult fiction, and women’s fiction. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Deborah Grosvenor of Grosvenor Literary Agency

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This installment features Deborah Grosvenor of Grosvenor Literary Agency. Formerly with Kneerim & Williams, Deborah reopened Grosvenor Literary Agency in January 2011. With more than 25 years’ experience in the book publishing business as an agent and editor, she has edited or represented several hundred books—and her best-known fiction acquisition is Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October.

She is seeking: Grosvenor is interested in narrative nonfiction in the categories of history, biography, politics, current and foreign affairs, memoir, food, health, the environment and travel. For fiction, she is simply interested in great storytelling, especially in an historical context.
Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Lisa Leshne of LJK Literary Management

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This installment features Lisa Leshne of LJK Literary Management. Lisa joined LJK in 2008 and has over 20 years experience in the publishing business, including co-founding The Prague Post, the largest English-language newspaper in Central Europe.

She is seeking: Lisa is especially interested in nonfiction, memoirs, literary and popular fiction, sports, business, political and popular culture topics, as well as some children’s books.
Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Sandy Lu of L. Perkins Agency

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This installment features Sandy Lu of L. Perkins Agency. Sandy holds BAs in psychology and sociology from Queens College, with minors in music, business, and Japanese. Prior to becoming an agent, she attended the Ph.D. Program in Social and Personality Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and worked as a business/operations manager in the theater industry.

She is seeking: In fiction, she is looking for dark literary and commercial fiction, mystery, thriller, psychological horror, paranormal/urban fantasy, historical fiction, and YA. In particular, she is looking for historical thrillers or mysteries set in Victorian times, and she has recently fallen in love with steampunk. Her nonfiction areas of interest include narrative nonfiction, history, biography, memoir, science, psychology, pop culture, and food writing. She also has a particular interest in Asian or Asian-American writing, both original and in translation, in both fiction and nonfiction.
Read more

Conference Spotlight: PennWriters Conference in Pittsburgh, May 13-15, 2011

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A large and awesome writers conference that is coming up fast is the annual PennWriters Conference. This year it’s held in Pittsburgh on May 13-15, 2011—so if you live anywhere near southwestern Pennsylvania, definitely check this event out. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management

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This installment features Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management. Vickie has a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University. Her blog, Navigating the Slush Pile, covers all issues of publishing and gives valuable advice to new and seasoned authors.

She is seeking: YA contemporary & adult fiction in the following areas: dystopian, steampunk, fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal, and cozy mysteries. In nonfiction: narrative, humorous memoir, healthy living, cookbooks with a strong platform, and current events. She loves all things weird, fantastical, morbid, and romantic, and she has a special love of unique plots, dark themes, strong characters, an engaging voice, and witty humor. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency

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This installment features Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. Russell is a graduate of Brandeis University. He started within days as an apprentice to “the most colorful and successful agent of his era,” Scott Meredith, and he made his first sale within a month.

He is seeking: In fiction, his passion lies within novels that stretch the bounds of reality. A novel needs to take him some place you can’t get to in a car, whether it be the past, the future, a fantasy world, an alternate historical track, a world in which our world touches another that is hidden or rarely seen, or one which has been changed by some new technology, event, or idea. In nonfiction, he seeks strong, serious books on almost any subject—as long as they teach him something. He’s interested in science, history, journalism, biography, business, memoir, nature, politics, sports, contemporary culture, literary nonfiction, etc.
Read more

My Adventures in … Reno (2011)

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I just got back from the 2011 Reno Writers Conference at Truckee Meadows Community College. I have to praise organizer Kathy Berry for putting together a smooth event that had its best … Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Holly McGhee of Pippin Properties, Inc.

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This installment features Holly McGhee of Pippin Properties, Inc. After a twelve-year career in book publishing, with positions ranging from assistant to advertising-and-promotion director to executive editor, Holly founded Pippin Properties, Inc. The author of the Dessert chapter book series as well as the upcoming Mitchell’s License (under pen name Hallie Durand), her fascination with making books began in 1991, when she was appointed Associate Publisher for Michael di Capua’s imprint at HarperCollins.

She is seeking: children’s, middle-grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction as well as the some adult projects.
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Agent Advice: Kimberly Shumate of Living Word Literary (Part II)

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This installment features Kimberly Shumate of Living Word Literary. (This is part II of her interview. See Part I here.)

She is seeking: Adult fiction, YA fiction, Christian living, dating/marriage, parenting, self-help, apologetics, health, inspirational, environmental, social issues, pop-culture, women’s issues, and men’s issues.
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Literary Agent Interview: Kimberly Shumate of Living Word Literary (Part I)

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This installment features Kimberly Shumate of Living Word Literary.

She is seeking: Adult fiction, YA fiction, Christian living, dating/marriage, parenting, self-help, apologetics, health, inspirational, environmental, social issues, pop-culture, women’s issues, and men’s issues. No cookbooks, children’s books, science fiction or fantasy, memoirs, or poetry. No simultaneous submissions, please. Read more

Literary Agent Interview: Doug Grad of the Doug Grad Literary Agency

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This installment features Doug Grad of the Doug Grad Literary Agency. After spending 22 years as a senior editor at four major New York publishing houses, Doug opened his own agency in May 2008.

He is seeking: narrative nonfiction, military, sports, memoir, thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, young adult fiction, romance, music, business, home improvement, cookbooks, self-help, science and theater.
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