30 Literary Agents Seeking Diverse Books — Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books (Part 2)
(This is Part 2 of 3.) 30 literary agents seeking diverse books in the genres of young adult, middle grade and picture books. All the agents listed below personally confirmed to me as of October 2015 that they are actively seeking diverse kidlit submissions NOW (young adult, middle grade, picture books). This is Part II of III.
In celebration of my three new books released this September, 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, fantasy agents, horror agents, and women's fiction agents. Below find a list for 30 agents seeking diverse books for children/teens NOW.
(This post is so big I broke it up into 3 sections. This is Part II. See Part I here and then see Part III here.)
- When Clowns Attack: A Survival Guide is an anti-clown humor book that teaches you how to defend yourself against these red-nosed bozos who plague us. It's a perfect gift for that clown-hating friend in your life. (It almost makes a heck of a white elephant gift.) Find it on Amazon or through Barnes & Noble or anywhere else books are sold. Beware clowns.
- The 2016 Guide to Literary Agents is a big database of agents -- who they are, what they want, how to submit and more. Find it in the Writer's Digest Shop or anywhere else books are sold.
- The 2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market has oodles of markets (agents, publishers, etc.) for writers & illustrators of children's books -- from picture books to middle grade to young adult. Find it in the Writer's Digest Shop or anywhere else books are sold.
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All the agents listed below personally confirmed to me as of October 2015 that they are actively seeking diverse kidlit submissions NOW (young adult, middle grade, picture books). Some gave personal notes about their tastes while some did not. Good luck querying!
Important note: After this list went live, several agents have commented that they felt snubbed by being "excluded" from the list, but please understand that this is not meant to serve as any kind of complete list of agents seeking diverse kidlit. There are lots of agents out there seeking diverse kidlit. This list is just a simple blog post -- a grouping of 30 where the listed agents personally confirmed to me in October 2015 through chit-chat emails that they would like to be on such a list and were currently open to subs. If you are an agent and want to be added to this list (or included in the next installment), just tweet me @chucksambuchino and I will be happy to include. No one is excluded from any lists.
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11. Andrea Somberg (Harvey Klinger, Inc.)
Genres: young adult and middle grade.
How to submit: E-query andrea [at] harveyklinger.com. Put "Query: [title]" in your subject line. Paste the first 5 pages of your novel after the query in the email. No attachments.
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12. Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency)
Genres: middle grade, young adult.
How to submit: Send all queries to nicole [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title).” Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail.
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13. Carlie Webber (CK Webber Associates)
Genres: middle grade, young adult.
Notes: "I would like MG and YA books about LGBTQ and Jewish characters, and characters with learning difficulties."
How to submit: To submit your work for consideration, please send a query letter, synopsis, and the first 30 pages or three chapters of your work, whichever is more, to carlie [at] ckwebber.com and put the word "Query" in the subject line of your email. You may include your materials either in the body of your email or as a Word or PDF attachment. Blank emails that include an attachment will be deleted unread. E-mail queries only.
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In her guide, WRITING PICTURE BOOKS, author Ann Whitford Paul discusses the picture books market, creating characters, point of view, plotting, tips on writing rhyme, and more—all the lessons beginning and experienced writers need in order to write great picture books that will appeal to both editors/agents and young readers/parents.
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14. Taylor Haggerty (Waxman Leavell Literary)
Genres: middle grade, young adult.
How to submit: taylorsubmit [at] waxmanleavell.com. "To submit a project, please send a query letter via email. Do not send attachments, though for fiction you may include 5-10 pages of your manuscript pasted in the body of your email. Due to the high volume of submissions, agents will reach out to you directly if interested. The typical time range for consideration is 6-8 weeks."
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15. Katie Grimm (Don Congdon Associates)
Genres: middle grade, young adult.
Notes: "I'm looking for previously mis- or underrepresented voices."
How to submit: E-query dca [at] doncongdon.com. Put "Query for Katie: [title]" in the subject line. No attachments. Paste your query and first chapter into the email.
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16. Maria Vicente (P.S. Literary)
Genres: middle grade and young adult.
How to submit: query [at] psliterary.com with “Query for Maria” in the subject line. “Do not send attachments. Always let us know if your manuscript/proposal is currently under consideration by other agents/publishers. If you don’t receive a response to your query within 4-6 weeks, it means a no from the agency.”
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17. Brent Taylor (Triada US)
Genres: middle grade and young adult.
Notes: "I seek diverse stories, including LGBTQ."
How to submit: E-query brent [at] triadaus.com. Please include the first ten pages in the body of the email.
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18. Melissa Edwards (Aaron Priest Literary)
Genres: middle grade and young adult.
How to submit: queryedwards [at] aaronpriest.com. "The query letter should describe your work as well as your background. Please do not send attachments. However a first chapter pasted into the body of an e-mail query is acceptable. We will get back to you within four weeks, but only if interested."
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19. Mary C. Moore (Kimberley Cameron & Associates)
Genres: Young adult sci-fi and fantasy.
Notes: "Particularly female lead fantasy. If you're submitting urban fantasy, please no vampires, angels/demons, or werewolves."
How to submit: Follow the instructions on her Submissions Page.
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20. Taylor Martindale (Full Circle Literary)
Genres: middle grade fiction and nonfiction, young adult fiction and nonfiction.
Notes: "I'm seeking diverse characters and stories written by diverse authors."
How to submit: Contact Taylor through the agency's online submission form. (If you are querying Stefanie Von Borstel of FCL [also on this list], do not query Taylor.)
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Chuck Sambuchino is a former editor with the Writer's Digest writing community and author of several books, including How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack and Create Your Writer Platform.
