New Agent Alert: Margaret Danko of Paper Over Board of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency
Originally from the heart of the south, Margaret Danko received her BA from Oberlin College before continuing on to pursue an MFA from Temple University. While there, she climbed the ranks to become an editor of TINGE Magazine, publishing fiction, essays, and poetry. She has worked as a freelance editor and media consultant on projects with a variety of authors and publishers, including assisting Kim Perel of Paper Over Board at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
(20 literary agents actively seeking writers and their writing.)
She is now building her own list with Paper Over Board. A lover of the dark, the quirky, and the fantastical, Margaret has a keen eye for projects that take unexpected turns or are told from unusual perspectives.
Margaret believes that all books, whether on an emotional level or through a physical call to action, should move their readers, and she is passionate about empowering authors to find the voice and the story that will engage and inspire each and every person who picks up their books.
Currently Seeking
Margaret is actively looking for attention-grabbing voices, literary fiction with teeth, historical fiction with a dash of magical realism, fresh literary and commercial suspense, spooky contemporary and fantasy YA, narratives with a deep sense of place and history, quirky and heartwarming family stories, and rom-coms full of charm and whimsy.
(5 elements that all good rom-coms should include.)
She is also interested in nonfiction in the areas of humor, lifestyle, popular science, health/wellness, true crime, politics, and current affairs.
How to Submit
Submissions should be emailed and addressed to Margaret Danko at submissions@paperoverboard.com.
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Writing strong first pages requires a great hook, a strong voice, and a clear premise. The first sentence should immediately catch the reader's attention, while the subsequent text should leave the reader wanting to dive further into the pages of the manuscript. But making the first pages of your story absolutely un-putdownable takes practice, patience, revision, and an eye for detail. Which is why we're here: to discuss what to do (and not to do) to make your opening pages stand out.