New Agent Alert: Ayla Zuraw-Friedland of the David Black Agency
New literary agent alerts (with this spotlight featuring Ayla Zuraw-Friedland of the David Black Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.
Ayla Zuraw-Friedland joined the David Black Agency in 2019. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant and assistant editor at Beacon Press in Boston, and as a development editor for encyclopedias at Oxford University Press. She received her BA in English and Creative Writing from Connecticut College in 2015, and her writing can be found in GAY the Magazine and Publishers Weekly.
Currently Seeking
I am interested in acquiring adult literary fiction and nonfiction that inspect queerness, disability, race, class, and community in fresh new ways. I have a soft spot for short story collections with magical elements, and essay collections that look at identity through an interesting and specific cultural lens (motorcycles, rock climbing, pottery, you name it). Some pitches I've read and loved: a memoir of coming out as trans later in life, a case against high school football from a sociological standpoint, a collection of essays about mental health and climate change, a novel about immigrant ghosts.
A few of my favorite contemporary writers are Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, Hanif Abdurraqib, Helen Oyeyemi, Daniel M. Lavery, Raven Leilani, Candice Carty-Williams, Kacen Callendar, Alexander Chee, Akwaeke Emezi, and Samantha Irby.
How to Submit
Writers can submit via Query Manager.
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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.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
