March 2017 Picture Book Party Agents

Introducing the agents for the March Picture Book Party. They are an impressive bunch! 

To see how to format your entry, check out this post. Submission is Sunday, March 26th at noon! We are only taking the first 250 entries.



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Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management



It was when Clelia first read Charlotte’s Web in the first grade that she got hooked by the magic of books. Her love of children’s books carried through adulthood and she is delighted to dedicate her life to bringing quality books and stories to young (and whimsical adult!) readers. 
Clelia is originally from the suburbs of New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Boston College. She received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and practiced law as a corporate litigator in New York City. 
In 2011, she decided to dedicate her career to books and reentered graduate school at Emerson College, where she received a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing. While she was studying publishing and taking creative writing courses at Emerson, Clelia gained firsthand experience in the publishing industry working in the children’s book division at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and in academic books at Oxford University Press.  She also taught academic writing and research courses to freshman students as a graduate student faculty member at Emerson College. 
Clelia acquires picture book, middle grade and young adult books. She is particularly interested in developing her nonfiction clientele. With apologies, Clelia is no longer accepting new adult fiction queries at this time.
To find out more about Clelia, check out her blog at www.cleliagore.com. She also tweets tips, news and musings related to writing and publishing at @MadmoiselleClel.

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Lauren Spieller of TriadaUS

Literary Agent Assistant Lauren Spieller comes to TriadaUS with a background in literary scouting and editorial consulting. She has a sharp editorial eye, and is passionate about author advocacy. Lauren is seeking Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, as well as select Adult fiction and non-fiction. Whatever the age category or genre, Lauren is passionate about finding diverse and underrepresented voices.
In MG, she’s drawn to heartfelt contemporaries, contemporary fantasy and magical realism, and exciting adventures. Some of her recent favorites are Rules for Stealing Stars, George, The Thing About Jellyfish, Wonder, Hour of the Bees, and Rooftoppers. In YA, she’d love to find authentic teen voices in any and all genres. She is especially fond of fantasy, magical realism, and space operas; contemporary stories with a hook; and anything with a feminist bent. A few favorites include Dumplin’, Scorpio Races, An Ember in the Ashes, OCD Love Story, Six of Crows, The Raven Boys, and Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.
In Adult, Lauren is seeking commercial fiction, particularly female-driven psychological thrillers (a la Lauren Beukes and Gillian Flynn), and immersive literary fantasies, such as The Night Circus, The Miniaturist, and A Darker Shade of Magic. She is also interested in female-driven Upmarket General Fiction, especially if it's funny or has a touch of magical realism (note that she is NOT looking for Romance), and unique non-fiction with an existing platform. She's particularly hungry for counter culture books, cocktail books with a twist/theme, or narrative nonfiction with a unique hook (if you’re the next Lindsey West, Roxanne Gay, or Lauren Duca, she wants to hear from you). 


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Tracy Marchini of Bookends Literary

After four years as a Literary Agents Assistant at Curtis Brown, Tracy Marchini left to pursue her own editorial business and to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. Her editorial clients have gone on to secure representation, sell books to traditional publishers, win awards and become bestsellers. She’s looking forward to being able to work with her BookEnds clients throughout their careers and to (hopefully!) see them grow as authors in the same way.
Growing up, Tracy made it a personal goal to read every Nancy Drew Case Files in her school’s library and still has a soft spot for a good girl detective story. As an adult, she loves the sense of possibility in children’s and young adult literature – and can still empathize with the soul-crushing feeling that is mandatory gym class.
As a children's author, her picture book debut Chicken Wants A Nap will be published in August by Creative Editions.
You can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TracyMarchini.
Tracy is looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, magical realism, historical fiction, and non-fiction. She is also looking for picture book illustrators and author-illustrators.
She is not a good fit for YA horror, true crime, hard sci-fi, or high fantasy. At this time, she is not looking for board books or early chapter books.

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Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann

Jessica Sinsheimer has been reading and campaigning for her favorite queries since 2004. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she went east for Sarah Lawrence College and stayed for the opportunity to read soon-to-be books for a living.
“Now an Agent at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, she’s developed a reputation for fighting office members to see incoming manuscripts first—and for drinking far too much tea. Her most recent sale is RIPPER, a paranormal/historical YA novel, about a Victorian girl who takes down Jack the Ripper–and its sequel.
“Always on the lookout for new writers, she is most excited about finding literary, women’s, and Young Adult fiction, and—on the nonfiction side—psychology, parenting, self-help, cookbooks, memoirs, and works that speak to life in the twenty-first century.

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Laura Biagi of Jean V. Naggar Literary

Laura is seeking adult fiction, young readers' books, and nonfiction.
In adult fiction, she is particularly interested in literary fiction, magical realism, fabulist/absurdist fiction, culturally thematic fiction, upmarket women's fiction, psychological thrillers/mysteries that break the genre mold, literary historical fiction, and debut authors. She is drawn to strong voices, complex narrative arcs, and dynamic and well-developed characters.
In the young readers' realm, she is seeking young adult novels, middle grade novels, and picture books. She loves YA and middle grade with a magical tinge and vivid writing, absorbing contemporary stories, unique fantasies, literary scifi, and psychological twists. She also looks for titles that incorporate high concept, dark/edgy, social, cultural, and humorous elements. She is drawn to funny, quirky picture books with heart, as well as any book that challenges the way we typically view the world.




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Natashca Morris of Bookends Literary

Natascha spent most of her childhood in a leather chair with her nose in a book. Formerly an editorial assistant at Simon & Schuster, her passion for books across genres and her desire to finding amazing talent drove her to make the transition from editorial to literary agent.
Her editorial philosophy stems from the idea that all books should be well written and entertaining.  Some of her favorite authors include Molly Idle, Sherwood Smith, Ann Rinaldi, Sabaa Tahir, and Meg Cabot. Check out her Pinterest for a quick look at her favorite books. https://www.pinterest.com/nataschamor...
A Texas native, Natascha can often be found hunting for the best Tex-Mex in New York. Outside of reading, she is interested in urban farming and cooking.
You can follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SoCalledYALife
Natascha is primarily looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, historical fiction, and narrative non-fiction. She is also looking for artists that speak to her creatively.
She is not a good fit for adult literary fiction, horror, true crime, or serious nonfiction.

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Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media

Mark Gottlieb’s focus on publishing began at Emerson College, where he was a founding member of the Publishing Club, later its President, overseeing its first publication and establishing the Wilde Press.
After graduating with a degree in writing, literature and publishing, Mark began his career with the Vice  President of Berkley Books (Penguin), working with leading editors.
His first position at the Trident Media Group literary agency was in foreign rights, selling the books of clients around the world. Mark later worked as Executive Assistant to Robert Gottlieb, Chairman of Trident, with responsibility for organizing/managing diverse authors and their complex business transactions. He next assumed the position of audio rights agent. Since Mark has managed the audio rights business, the annual sales volume has more than doubled. Mark showed great initiative and insight in identifying talented writers.

In passing the Audio Department's torch, Mark is building his own client list of writers. He is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources that are available to Trident. Since that time he has ranked as high as #1 in Agents on publishersmarketplace.com in Overall Deals and other individual categories.

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Uwe Stender of Triada US Literary

Literary Agent Dr. Uwe Stender is a Full Member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives). He is interested in all kinds of non-fiction and fiction. In non-fiction, he is completely open to any project, from Memoir, Pop Culture, and Health to How-to, Gardening, History and everything in between, including non-fiction for children. In Children's fiction, he is looking for YA, MG and PBs. In adult fiction, his tastes trend towards Women's Fiction, Psychological Suspense, and Mysteries.  As an immigrant to the USA himself, he is always eager to bring projects from underrepresented voices into the world. So surprise him, his tastes are eclectic, and he may just love what you wrote!

His favorite five novels right now are: Six Four, Caraval, Eleanor And Park, High Fidelity, and Wonder.





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Alyssa Jennette of Stonesong Literary

Alyssa Jennette joined Stonesong Literary in June 2015 after interning at Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. As a result, she has unique insight and expertise when it comes to design-heavy or illustrated works. Alyssa is a very editorial agent; she finds a lot of joy in shaping stories alongside the author and delights in building long-term partnerships.
Alyssa represents children’s and adult fiction and picture books, and has dabbled in humor and pop culture nonfiction. She is especially drawn to diverse voices, ensemble casts, and thorough world-building, plus any book with a format that is specific to the story and gives it its own context.Alyssa Jennette represents children’s and adult fiction and picture books, and has dabbled in humor and pop culture nonfiction. She values diversity, ensemble casts with distinct voices, and formats that are specific to the story and give it its own context.In children’s books/YA, she likes sophisticated middle grade, magical realism or urban fantasy, secret societies, and unreliable narrators. She would love a teen noir in the vein of the film Brick, or a Clueless-esque “teen movie” update of a classic story.In adult fiction, she likes literary fiction full of wit and wordplay that may border on the absurd/surreal (bonus if it includes footnotes), smart psychological or supernatural Suspense/Mystery/Horror, or beautifully crafted historical fantasy in the vein of JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL.
Alyssa is open to graphic novel submissions. She is not looking for historical fiction, romance, or women’s fiction.______________________________________________________________________________

Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Marisa A. Corvisiero is the founder of the Corvisiero Literary Agency and our Senior Literary Agent. During the few years prior to starting her own agency, Marisa worked with the L. Perkins Agency, where she learned invaluable lessons and made a name for herself in the industry. She is also a Literary Consultant, Speaker, Author and an Attorney practicing law with a focus on Corporate Law and Estate Planning in New York City. 

Ms. Corvisiero received her Bachelors in Business Administration in International Business and Marketing from Hofstra University in 1995, where she was the President of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity Chapter, and the President of the Pre Law Society during her last year. Ms. Corvisiero received her Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law in 2000, and earned Pace University School of Law's prestigious International Law Certificate for her studies in International Law. During her legal studies, she held several Board positions on the Student Bar Association, where she was also the Treasurer of the Environmental Law Society, the Chair of the Social Committee, and the Co-Editor of the Pace University School of Law Year Book in 1999 and 2000. 

She is fluent in Italian and Spanish, and has some working knowledge of Portuguese and Japanese.Marisa seeks creative stories with well developed plots and rich characters with unique voices.

For Adults, New Adults, and Young Adults she will consider  Contemporary Romance, Thrillers, Adventure, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, or any combination thereof. 
For Middle Grade age she likes very unique concepts in Fantasy, Adventure and Science Fiction.
She loves Picture Books with special stories to deliver a subtle non didactic message. (Illustrations not needed.) 
She especially enjoys Christmas, time travel, and space science fiction themed stories. 
In non-fiction, she enjoys out of the box and high concept spiritual, self-improvement, science, and business books for all ages. Yes, that includes business books for kids! They are needed.______________________________________________________________________________

Melissa Edwards of Stonesong Literary Melissa Edwards joined Stonesong as a literary agent in August 2016. Previously, she was a literary agent at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, where she managed the foreign rights for a 40-year backlist. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt Law School, Melissa began her career as a litigation attorney before transitioning into publishing. She is a tireless advocate for her clients and a constant partner during the publication process and beyond.Melissa represents authors of children’s fiction, adult commercial fiction, and select pop-culture nonfiction. She is looking for warm and timeless middle grade fiction and accessible young adult fiction. For adults, she is looking for fast-paced thrillers and smart women’s fiction. She can be found on Twitter @MelissaLaurenE, where she often tweets her active Manuscript Wishlist requests under #MSWL.Melissa Edwards represents children’s fiction and adult commercial fiction, as well as select pop-culture nonfiction.Her authors include Doug the Pug (St. Martin’s Press and HarperDesign), Amanda Morgan (Such a Good Girl, Simon Pulse), Brenda Rufener (Where I Live, HarperTeen), Flora Ahn (Pugling Rivalry, Scholastic), Julie Aitcheson (Cross, Harmony Ink), Megan Westfield (Lessons in Gravity, Entangled), Brigit Kelly Young (Roaring Brook), and Phoebe Stone (Scholastic), among others.Melissa is looking for children’s literature with heart, especially in middle grade. She enjoys children’s books that kids will self-select and return to time after time. For young adults, she is interested in seeing fun, commercial fiction in all genres, particularly romance, thriller, and fantasy.Melissa is currently highly interested in developing her adult commercial fiction list. She has a particular eye out for youthful and vibrant women’s fiction.Melissa is not the best choice for horror, historical fiction, or literary fiction.