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Anjali Singh started her career in publishing in 1996 as a literary scout. Most recently Editorial Director at Other Press, she has also worked as an editor at Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Vintage Books. She is is best known for having championed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis after stumbling across it on a visit to Paris. She has always been drawn to the thrill of discovering new writers, and among the literary novelists whose careers she helped launch are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Samantha Hunt, Preeta Samarasan, Zoe Ferraris, Victoria Patterson, Natalie Bakopoulos, Enid Shomer and Brigid Pasulka. As a literary agent, she is looking for new voices, character-driven fiction or non-fiction works that reflect an engagement with the world around us, literary thrillers, memoirs, YA literature and graphic novels. She is a member of the International Committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival.

1. What is it about a manuscript that excites you?

A voice that I instantly want to spend time with; clean, clear, propulsive writing; a subject I’ve never encountered before!

2. What is on your wish list?

More books by minority voices, and books about all those hyphenated-American and international experiences we still see so underrepresented in books and other mainstream media. I don’t have any control over this, but I’d love to see more editors of color in general.

3. What are some of your favorite authors/books and why do you love them?

I feel like such a fraud having a favorite author after so many years in publishing, where I’ve so rarely had a chance to read more than one book (and often only in MS) of a writer I admire. But what made me fall in love with books and reading were Laura Ingalls Wilder (whose books I’m currently rereading to my 7-year-old-daughter), C.S. Lewis, Judy Blume, Madeleine L’Engle, Nancy Drew, and Paule Marshall. More recently, I’ve really enjoyed “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead, “Eleanor and Park” by Raindow Rowell and “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart.

4. What are some things you love to see in a query?

A sense that the writer knows why she’s querying me, has read some of the authors I’ve published and feels an affinity for them, and also has a good sense of how to pitch a story and hook a reader in a line or two. A good pitch makes you feel so excited to read a book. And a good pitch lets the agent know that the author knows why she wrote her book and why it might be interesting to someone else. It also helps if the writer is well-read in the genre they’re writing in, and knows (and is spot-on about) which successful writers she sits alongside.

5. What are some of the worst things you've seen in a query?

I think the worst thing is wasting an agent’s time, and by that I mean not doing your homework, seeing who that agent is and what they represent. I feel you should only query an agent or an agency if there’s some specific reason you think your book would fit on their list


6. What makes you a great agent?

When I’m excited about a project, I can’t contain my enthusiasm, and want to tell everyone I meet about it--and I think that works to the benefit of the book and the author. I’ve also been a literary scout and an editor, so I feel like I have a good sense of what publishers are looking for, both here and abroad, of how various-sized publishing houses work from the inside, and know how to work with an author to polish a manuscript ahead of submission, which I hope gives my authors a better shot when their book or proposal lands on editors’ desks.

7. Are you an editorial agent?

Yes, absolutely.

8. Character, world, or plot?

Do I really have to choose one?! I think the world is a bonus, but for me you really have to nail character and plot.

9. What do you like to do for fun?

I like to read aloud to my daughters (7 and 3), cook (I’m very good at creative repurposing of leftovers) and bake, hike in the mountains or body-surf at the beach, and do the Sunday Times crossword.

10. Coffee, tea, wine, chocolate, or any other vices?

Tea, definitely good strong tea. Or Chai (only the authentic Indian kind)

11. What advice do you have for writers getting ready to query you?

Hone your pitch—read the cover copy of the books you see yours sitting alongside and see if you can find a way to describe your story without giving everything away, but setting up the story just enough so that a reader’s curiosity will be piqued, and that even if they’re really, really busy, they won’t be able to resist just dipping in. . .

12. What genres are you drawn to most?

I have a soft spot for coming-of-age and memoir, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what knocks my socks off going forward.

13. Which is more crucial: emotional connection or current marketability?

Emotional connection, and the skill to know how to keep readers engaged and turning the pages—those are the two biggest keys for me.

14. Why did you become an agent?

I think it suits my personality (which is generally pretty outgoing) and feels like the natural next step in a career where I began as a literary scout and then worked as an editor at four different publishers. So much of any career is luck, and timing. I was very lucky when I stumbled on Persepolis, but it also grew out of my admiration of French and my connection to foreign rights, through scouting. What I really loved about scouting was the sense of being an outsider in publishing, and working in a small, intimate office, and where so much of what you did involved personal relationships. I wanted to be an editor, but I also ended up mostly working for big corporations, in an age of massive insecurity, lay-offs and conglomeration—and none of that sat well with me, particularly after I became a parent. The most exciting thing to me about being an agent is getting to wear different hats. It’s rare to be an editor who gets to work on literary and commercial projects, adult and young adult, graphic novels and serious non-fiction, and I was tired of having to fit myself into a relatively small box. As an agent, particularly on the small, boutique agency side, you can really spread your wings, work on the projects that you are most drawn to, and take advantage of the wide range of publishers that are out there. It all feels much closer to my scouting roots, but I also get to bring the skills I learned as an editor to the table. I also feel extremely lucky to get to be affiliated with an agency that, while representing writers of all stripes, is known for championing minority and multicultural authors. And now I get to hopefully make my mark too. I think the greatest reward will be helping an author, who might not have otherwise, reach an editor and find a wide readership.

Jen Hunt graduated from the University of Reno, Nevada with an English Literature degree and an

While Jen doesn’t want to limit herself, she is actively seeking

Sue Miller comes to Donaghy Literary with enthusiasm and experience in the industry. She graduated with a degree in English Literature from York University in Toronto, as well as a certificate in publishing, from Ryerson University. Sue previously worked in children's publishing with Scholastic Canada. Upon connecting with publisher, Fernanda Viveiros, of Fidalgo Books, she was asked to host the Luso Reading Vox series at Dundas West Fest in Toronto. After spending time with these authors, she realized that representing an author and their work is exactly where she wanted her publishing career to be.

Sue began her career with DLG as an intern before moving into the role of Associate Agent. Prior to joining DLG, Sue interned for Bree Ogden during her time at the D4EO agency. She dabbles in writing and has edited short stories for other writers. An admitted social media junkie, Sue is always interested in the latest platforms for networking and relationship building within the industry. This led her to complete her Digital Marketing Management certificate from the University of Toronto. When it comes to her genre preferences, Sue is partial to romance, young adult, new adult and adult contemporary novels.

Sue is seeking new and exciting voices as she begins to build her client list.

She is excited to discover diverse new author voices.

And now the interview!

Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary

Natalie: Mentioning it’s a NaNo book! NaNo is a great accomplishment for a writer; but it isn’t something that pulls in an agent.

Sara Megibow of KT Literary

Sara: The biggest query mistake I see after NaNo is submissions from writers who have done a great job finishing their books but not a great job of researching agents.

It’s an amazing thing to write a book in a month - all writers should be given a huge high five for this accomplishment! Next up is, of course, editing and polishing the book to make it really ready. And then there’s the research step:

#1 = Know your genre

#2 = Make a list of agents who represent books in your genre (research at www.agentquery.com or Writers Digest Guide to Literary Agents to find agents-by-genre)

#3 = Vet the agents before preparing your final submissions list. Three great places to research legitimate agents:

• Writers Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/
• Preditors & Editors: http://pred-ed.com
• AAR: http://aaronline.org

#4 = Each agent has a different submissions policy. Take your list of legitimate agents and go to the agency website for each and every one of them. First, look at the agency’s books and clients to triple check they are currently selling and representing books in your genre. Then, read the submission guidelines carefully and be prepared to follow them.

#5 = Craft a meticulous query letter. Need query help?

• Read here: http://ktliterary.com/category/ask-daphne/about-my-query/
• Or here: http://queryshark.blogspot.com
• Or here: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/successful-queries

#6 = NOW start submitting query letters.

Write the Book. Edit the Book. Research.
These three steps will decrease mistakes and rejections.

Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary

Jaida: Over-editing. It's just as bad as under-editing!



Sara:  Nope - to me it’s not a turnoff at all. I adore NaNo and think it’s a wonderful way to support writers. THE DARWIN ELEVATOR - New York Times bestselling epic science fiction from debut author Jason M. Hough was a NaNo book. When submitting to me, feel free to mention NaNo in any query - whether it is 2015 NaNo book or NaNo book from years ago.

Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content

Melissa: Not for me. But it's not necessarily a "turn-on," either. What matters to me is the quality of the writing and story, however the manuscript came to be written. 

Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary

Jaida: Nope. But if the revisions aren't really extensive and are more like line edits, then that's a turn-off for sure.

What is "too soon" when it comes to querying a NaNo manuscript?


Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Lit

The same year it’s written. The end of the year really starts to fizzle in terms of submissions – most agents and editors are looking to clear desks in time for the New Year rather than take on more. So, it’s to an author’s interests to take the time to revise rather than rush.

I’d also say it’s too soon if it hasn’t been through at least several revisions (including author and beta reads).





Sarah Megibow of KT Literary

Great question! Rather than thinking about “too soon” or “too late” for a NaNo manuscript, think in terms of “when is it 100% ready?”

In theory, a writer might finish a manuscript in 30 days and have it 100% polished and ready to go on December 1. That’s unlikely but heck - anything is possible! In general I would recommend typing “the end” on November 30 and then planning a hefty amount of time for editing and polishing. “Too soon” is the date in which a manuscript is submitted for publishing consideration before it has been fully edited and polished.

Here’s my process = I read query letters and look for superior craft plus a unique concept. I would never reject a query on Dec 1 just because the writer finished typing it the day before. However, I will always pass on a query that doesn’t demonstrate superior writing. Finish the book and then make sure it’s edited and polished. Then, send the query letter and don’t worry about the date.




Melissa Nasson of RPC Content

A manuscript should be complete, fully fleshed out, and as polished as possible before querying agents. The time required will vary from person to person depending on individual circumstances, so I can't say that there's any amount of time where I'd necessarily say "whoa, too soon!"...except maybe early December. Finishing a manuscript is an amazing accomplishment and super exciting, and there's an urge to get it out there ASAP, but taking the extra time and attention to fully develop and polish your work can make a world of difference when it comes time to query.

2.  Predators and Editors: Want to find out if an agent you just heard about is on the up & up? Want to see if there have been any past issues reported? That's exactly what you should and can look up on this site. It will either give you peace of mind or something to ask about if you get to the phone call stage. 

3. The Writer's Digest New Agency Alerts:  A great way to see spotlights/interviews with new agents in the industry.

4.  Literary Rambles: A great writing blog with lots of agent spotlights to check out. You can read interviews and also find links to other sites where you can connect with them. Stalk the agents! They want to know you did your homework. 

5.  Publisher's Marketplace: I know that a membership is costly, but it may be worth it. Either way, you can get info on agents, agencies, and recent sales by browsing the list at this link. 

Is there anything you’ve seen too much of in a submission? Lately, I’ve seen a lot of car crashes, which seems like an odd trend. On a more micro level, I see a lot of sample chapters that start with an over-written description of action, combined with a cliché (or many cliches). Here are two invented examples: “My eyes surveyed the landscape, which was dry as a bone.” or “My skin begins to sweat bullets.” In those two cases, the first problem is that the author is overthinking and overwriting. (You don’t need to specify that your eyes are looking; we know that you look with your eyes.) And the second problem is the cliché. Read your work out loud to yourself, especially the first page or the sample chapter, and take notice of anything that sounds unnatural as you say it. If it’s unnatural to your ear when you read it out loud, it will be unnatural to your reader’s ear as well. 

What is it about a manuscript that excites you? I’ve always read for an escapist thrill and that hasn’t changed even though I’m 33 years old now, and I no longer have to read with a flashlight under the covers. The manuscripts that excite me are the ones where I feel like the author is telling the truth to the point where I forget there’s an author at all, and I’m completely engrossed in the reality of the characters and the world. I appreciate writing that’s in service to the story and the characters, rather than the other way around.


What is on your wish list? Right now, I’m actively acquiring young adult, new adult, women’s fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, and accessible literary fiction. Across all those genres, I’m looking for well-drawn, relatable characters and a high-stakes story. That could mean a character in a dangerous situation or just high emotional states. I’d love to see a story in any of those genres that deals with food or with music, as those are two passions of mine.


What are some of your favorite authors/books and why do you love them?Roald Dahl has been my favorite author since I learned to read and he still holds the number one spot. I poured my heart into a letter to him when I was nine years old and got a letter back from his estate that he had just passed away. That was heartbreaking, of course, but it taught me something beautiful about great stories—they live on into eternity with or without the authors who created them. I really like bad kids or extraordinary kids who buck the system. That explains the Roald Dahl loyalty but extends to my other favorite books and authors, too—from Salinger’s Franny & Zooey and Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon to The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg and everything John Green has ever written, but particularlyLooking for Alaska.

First let's introduce the newest members of our AYAP Team who've helped with the contest:

Lindsey Hodder is our new Communications Intern and Technical and Workflow Coordinator. She helps keep the contest sidebars up-to-date, helps coordinate Monday Round-Ups, and spreads the word about the goodness that is Adventures in YA Publishing by representing the team across the web, as well as curating a soon-to-be-instigated roundup of the best writing posts found each week.



Lindsey writes speculative fiction. She's also recently completed a postgrad thesis on the wonders of escapism, which pretty much sums up her love of YA. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia, though she's often overheard attempting to convince her long-suffering partner to follow her around the globe.

She tweets about writing, life, and Super Secret Projects at @lindseyhodder.






Sam Taylor is the New Releases Intern. She documents all the YA new releases shared weekly on the blog and represents the Adventures in YA Publishing team by interacting with writing and bookish blogs all across the web.



Sam developed a voracious appetite for YA lit when her teen sisters introduced her to their favorite books. Now she writes her own YA manuscripts, when she's not devouring books and manga or playing the violin. Sam lives in Connecticut with her husband and cat.



You can find her on twitter at @jsamtaylor.



Sandra Held is our Marketing Manager and Outreach Coordinator. She is planning some fun new features that she hopes to introduce to the blog soon, and coordinates our outreach across social media.



She spends her time obsessing over her favorite YA reads, stalking Pinterest for the newest inspiration, and taking meticulous notes at the movies. After all, there's nothing better than discovering a great story!






Anisaa is the Graphics and Imaging Intern for AYAP and YASeriesInsiders.com. She creates beautiful graphics and images, along with managing the AYAP Instagram, which you can follow at @ayaplit.


Anisaa is a modern-day drifter who has live and traveled all over the east coast. Through her travels, she developed a strong passion for writing, and a slight shoe obsession. Recently, she just graduated with a degree in Journalism with minors in PR and English. When she's not reading, she can found binge-watching Netflix, daydreaming, playing video games and finishing up her YA manuscript. The quote she lives by is "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."



You can read her awesome tweets @lanisavida



Agent Judges:


Moe Ferrar of Bookends, LLC


Becoming a literary agent was fitting for the girl who, as a small child, begged her dad to buy her a book simply because "it has a hard cover." Growing up, she had a hard time finding YA books outside of Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine, and instead tackled Tom Clancy or her mom's romance novels. Though her career path zigzagged a bit—she attended college as a music major, earned a JD from Pace Law School, then worked various jobs throughout the publishing industry—Moe was thrilled to join the BookEnds team in May of 2015 as a literary agent and the foreign rights manager.

A Pennsylvania native, she is the proud owner of one rambunctious guinea pig who is a master at stealing extra treats. When not reading, she is an avid gamer and always awaiting the next Assassin's Creed release.

You can contact Moe directly at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/inthesestones.

Moe is interested in science fiction and fantasy for all age groups (no picture books). She loves a bit (or a lot!) of romance in her fiction, so the right contemporary or historical romance will spark her interest. She's LGBTQ friendly, so send her that male/male erotic romance in your back pocket! At this time she's not looking for nonfiction, women's fiction, or cozy mysteries.




Susan Hawk of the Bent Agency



Before agenting, I spent over fifteen years in children's book marketing at Penguin, Henry Holt and North-South Books, where I was lucky to work on many different books ranging from Eric Carle's Baby Bear, Baby Bear to Betsy Partridge's This Land Was Made for You and Me, to Nancy Werlin's Black Mirror, as well as the work of Mary E Pearson, Richard Peck and Joan Bauer. I also worked as a children's librarian and bookseller, and remember still the satisfaction of putting just the right book into a child's (or teenager's) hands.

While at Penguin, I also worked for a time in Dutton Editorial, acquiring select picture book and YA projects for that list. My favorite part of that time was reading new submissions -- finding something wonderful and imagining where it can go was thrilling to me then and remains so now.

I handle books for children exclusively: picture books, chapter books, middle grade and YA, fiction and non-fiction. The projects I represent share powerful and original writing, strong story-telling and a distinctive, sometimes off-kilter voice. In middle-grade and YA, I'm looking for unforgettable characters, rich world-building, and I'm a sucker for bittersweet; bonus points for something that makes me laugh out loud. I'm open to mystery, fantasy, scifi, humor, boy books, historical, contemporary (really any genre). In picture books, I'm looking particularly for author-illustrators, succinct but expressive texts, and indelible characters. I'm interested in non-fiction that relates to kid's daily lives and their concerns with the world. I'm actively looking for diversity in the stories and authors that I represent. My favorite projects live at the intersection of literary and commercial.

For more information please visit Susan Says, and check the Bent Agency blog for periodic updates to my wish list.


Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Agency



Sarah Negovetich is fully aware that no one knows how to pronounce her last name, and she's okay with that.

Her favorite writing is YA, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty, it's accurate if not exactly motivational.

Sarah's background is in Marketing. FYI, your high school algebra teacher was right when they told you every job uses math. She uses her experience to assist Corvisiero authors with platform building and book promotion.







Amaryah Orenstein of GO Literary


Amaryah Orenstein is the founder of GO Literary. As a literary agent, she is thrilled to help writers bring their ideas to life. Aiming to give voice to a broad range of perspectives, Amaryah represents a wide array of literary and commercial fiction (including YA), narrative nonfiction, and academic titles. She is actively seeking works that wed beautiful writing with a strong narrative and tackle big issues in engaging, accessible, and even surprising ways. Amaryah began her career at the Laura Gross Literary Agency in 2009 and, prior to that, worked as an Editorial Assistant at various academic research foundations,





Ammi-Joan Pacquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency




Joan is a Senior Agent with EMLA, working from her home office in Massachusetts as the "East Coast branch" of the agency. She represents all forms of children's and young adult literature, but is most excited by a strong lyrical voice, tight plotting with surprising twists and turns, and stories told with heart and resonance that will stand the test of time.

An EMLA client herself, Joan is also the author of numerous books for children, most recently the picture books Ghost in the House(Candlewick, 2013) and Petey and Pru and the Hullabaloo (Clarion, 2013), and the novels Paradox (Random House, 2013) and Rules for Ghosting (Walker, 2013).—Her next novel, Princess Juniper of the Hourglass, is forthcoming from Philomel in July 2015. When she is not on the phone, answering email, or writing, you will most likely find Joan curled up with a book. Or baking something delicious. Or talking about something delicious she's baked. Really, after books and food, what else is there worth saying?




Saba Sulaiman of Talcott Notch Literary Services



Saba Sulaiman is the newest member of Talcott Notch Literary Services, a boutique agency located in Milford, CT. She joined the team after working as an editorial intern at Sourcebooks, where she worked primarily on their romance line. She's looking for up-market literary and commercial fiction, romance (all subgenres except paranormal), character-driven psychological thrillers, cozy mysteries, and memoir, both in adult and YA. She's also actively looking for MG. Follow her on Twitter @agentsaba






Author Judges:



Dhalia Adler: I'm an Associate Editor of mathematics by day, a Copy Editor by night, and I do a whole lot of writing at every spare moment in between. I've also been a Production Intern and Editorial Assistant at Simon & Schuster, a Publicity Intern at HarperCollins, and a Fashion Intern at Maxim. (I'm kind of into that whole publishing thing.)

I'm the author of the Daylight Falls duology (consisting of Behind the Scenes and Under the Lights), the upcoming Just Visiting, and the NA novel Last Will and Testament. For information on those books and where you can buy them, check out My Books!

I live in New York City with my husband and our overstuffed bookshelves, and you can find me on Twitter at @MissDahlELama and blogging at B&N Teens, The Daily Dahlia, and YA Misfits. Come say hi!








Holly Bodger: A long-time resident of Ottawa, Canada, I have been working in publishing since I graduated with an English degree from the University of Ottawa.

I am represented by Lauren MacLeodof The Strothman Agency, LLC. My debut novel, 5 TO 1, was released on May 12, 2015 from Knopf Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House).





Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She fell in love with words and never stopped delighting in them. She’s the author of SIBA Book Award nominated Compulsion, book one in the romantic Southern Gothic trilogy, the Heirs of Watson Island, which was a Fall ’14 Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Bookstores Alliance, a Kansas State Reading Circle selection, Goodreads Best Book of the Month and YA Best Book of the Month, and an RT Magazine Best of 2014 Editor’s Pick. The second book in the trilogy, Persuasion, will be published in October 2015.

She’s also the founder of AdventuresInYAPublishing.com, a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and YASeriesInsiders.com, a site devoted to the discovery and celebration of young adult literature and encouraging literacy through YA series.

From her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, children, and a lopsided cat, she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she’d love to visit. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.



Erin Cashman is an attorney specializing in non-profit law. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College and earned her law degree at Boston College Law School. Her debut YA fantasy novel, THE EXCEPTIONALS, was named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book. She primarily writes YA and middle grade fantasy while eating chocolate and drinking tea. She is also the Workshop Manager of The First Five Pages Workshsop, a free monthly workshop open to writers of Young Adult fiction, Middle Grade fiction, and New Adult Fiction who want to jumpstart their careers as aspiring authors. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and three children. Find her on her Website and on Twitter.




Lisa Gail Green lives with her husband the rocket scientist and their three junior mad scientists in Southern California. She writes books so she can have an excuse to live in the fantasy world in her head. She likes to share these with readers so she's represented by the lovely Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content. She has a parrot but would most definitely get a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.

SOUL CROSSED, Of Demons & Angels Book One is available now. Book 2 -- SOUL CORRUPTED comes out September 9th.






Kimberley Griffiths Little was born in San Francisco, but now lives in New Mexico with her husband and three sons in a solar adobe home on the banks of the Rio Grande. Her award-winning writing has been praised as "fast-paced and dramatic," with "characters painted in memorable detail" and "beautifully realized settings."

Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell and makes way too many cookies while writing.

She's stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland; held baby gators in the bayous/swamps of Louisiana, sailed the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria.

Kimberley's Awards include: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011 & 2014, Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist.






Joy N. Hensley is a former middle school teacher. She used to spend her twenty-minute lunch breaks hosting author Skype chats for her students. Once upon a time she went to a military school on a dare. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, finding as many ways as she can to never do another push-up again.







S.A. Larsen grew up in one of New England’s smaller communities surrounded by family and the influence of tight-knit relationships with nearby towns. Through her love of dance, athletics, and writing, she expressed her hopes, and dreams, being involved in shows and the theater. She began creating quirky worlds at an early age, more attracted to telling stories through illustrations (elementary scribblings >_<). In middle school and high school this morphed into exploring her world through creepy and eerie tales, stretching her vivid imagination as she shared frustrations and misunderstandings as a teen with a world she figured would never ‘get’ her. And today, she’s just fine with being misunderstood.

Her deep love for writing children’s literature pushes her to explore the joys and angst of the young adult years, the awkward middle grade years, and the curious and sweet younger years of picture books. She lives in the land of lobsters, snowy winters, and the occasional Eh’ya, with her husband of over twenty years, their four children, and a playful bich-poo Gracie.
=
Her debut vineyard-set YA novel, MARKED BEAUTY, has just been acquired by ELYSIAN PRESS.




At sixteen, Kim Liggett left her rural midwestern town for New York City to pursue a career in both music and acting. While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kim sang backup for some of the biggest rock bands in the 80′s.

After settling down to have a family, she became an entrepreneur, creating a children’s art education program and a travel company specializing in tours for musicians.

She’s married to jazz musician Ken Peplowski, has two grotesquely beautiful teens, and a very neurotic dog that drags her through Riverside Park everyday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.




Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of six young adult novels: Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, Bittersweet, The Book of Broken Hearts, #scandal, and The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. Her books have been translated into several languages and have received numerous accolades, including ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, Girls’ Life Top 100 Must Reads, Indie Next List, Amazon Top Movers and Shakers, and nominations for YALSA Teens’ Top Ten and NPR’s Top 100 Teen Books. Her short works have appeared in the anthologies Dear Teen Me and Defy the Dark.

She’s a champion cupcake eater, tea drinker, tarot enthusiast, night person, and bookworm. When she’s not writing or reading at home in the Pacific northwest, Sarah enjoys hugging trees and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex. Fans can find her on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and at sarahockler.com.



Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then -- her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, is coming out Fall 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.

She can be found on Twitter at @seesarawrite and blogging over at the Valentines. She is represented by Charlotte Sheedy Literary.





Ron Smith is the author of HOODOO, available fall, 2015 from Clarion Books and is represented by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary Services. Say hello on his blog or on Twitter.








Liza Wiemer: I am the author of two non-fiction adult books, short stories, and newspaper and magazine articles. A pre-school to high school educator now writing YA fiction full time, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! And I'm a diehard Green Bay Packers fan.

For my author posts on writing and my upcoming YA novel HELLO?: http://www.LizaWiemer.com

Unique "job" experiences: I spent a summer selling popcorn in a Koepsell's popcorn wagon while listening to awesome music on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. I also know my way around a fender and a quarter panel and under the hood of a car. I spent a few years driving to accident scenes, scrapyards, hospitals, auto repair shops as a claims adjuster for an insurance company.

I started WhoRuBlog to address YA issues and share my passion for reading. http://www.whoRuBlog.com

Besides articles that address tough issues facing young adults, I have author interviews and book giveaways. Check them out. :D

*Moe is open to YA submissions. She's especially looking for SciFi and Fantasy, but will consider the right contemporary YA. 

1. What are some of the worst things you've seen in a query?

Most definitely. As I said in another interview recently, if you want the agent who can tell you where a comma goes or to take out a semi-colon, I’m not the agent for you. I’m much more into big picture things — what most people would call a developmental editor. I watch for plot, for characters, the overarching issues. I’m great for brainstorming and for figuring out how to make a stuck plot point work. I’ve always been the person my friends come to when they couldn’t figure their way around a plot! So that’s what I bring to the table. I’m hands-on and wanting to work with my clients to have the best possible and super-shiny manuscript!

3. Character, world, or plot?

Julia is a cardigan-wearing literary agent with a –sometimes unhealthy– love for books, sports, coffee, cake, romance, and eye candy. She hates the sound a pencil makes on paper, always (ALWAYS) has random numbers flying around her head, and her favourite pizza toppings are a combo of pineapple and black olives… just in case you were wondering.

 

1. What is it about a manuscript that excites you? 

Sounds corny, but don't give up… you will get an agent… it just might not be on your first book. There are soooo many stories out there about numerous agent requested revisions and resubmits that have finally landed someone an agent, and then a deal. So many famous authors actually wrote anywhere between 4-7 books before getting nabbed. You have to love writing, so you can happily write with the knowledge that it might never go anywhere. But if you can do that… and you keep writing and trying to better your writing, I thoroughly believe you WILL get an agent, and you will get a deal.