New Agent Alert: Crystal Orazu of Context Literary Agency
New literary agent alerts (with this spotlight featuring Crystal Orazu of Context Literary Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.
Crystal’s love for novels first blossomed among the stacks of many Houston public libraries and it has grown stronger ever since. She hopes to represent and uplift authors whose stories allow readers to feel seen and heard in new and exciting ways.
Learn more at contextlit.com.
Currently Seeking
What moves Crystal above all else is simple, open, and honest writing true to an author's wild imagination or lived experience. Anything that brings equal measures of humor, introspection, or feelings of second-hand embarrassment appeals to her. She loves both sweet meandering stories as well as more fraught and thrilling narratives in both YA and adult fiction. Perspectives that make her question the way that she or others move in the world, as well as her assumptions/opinions of societies and systems (à la Black Mirror), are also welcome in her inbox.
Crystal is especially partial to narratives centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent persons that include joyful, romantic, or lighthearted elements (#ownvoices that aren’t solely issue driven). Crystal is also looking for middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction that explores interpersonal relationships amongst traditional/chosen family members and friends using either realistic or fantastical elements (especially from a first or second-gen immigrant perspective). Fun sleight of hand/heist/spy narratives like the Gallagher Girls series and darker stories along the lines of Coraline are also very welcome.
How to Submit
Send a short description, short bio, and 5-10 pages of text pasted into the body of the email to querycrystal@contextlit.com. I do not open attachments.
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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.
