Eleven agents at Greenburger Associates seek new authors

Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

55 Fifth Avenue 
New York, NY 10003 

http://www.greenburger.com/

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  ~Brian 

Greenburger Associates has been around for more than 80 years. It brought Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Franz Kafka, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to American audiences. It continues to represent heavyweight authors, particularly financial heavyweights, such as Dan Brown. 

Altogether the agency has thirteen agents, eleven of whom are open to queries. There are also four associate agents. For new authors, these are you best bets:

Alex Reubert is pursuing books that, either by style or story, demand he keep reading.

For fiction that includes debuts, stories of love, family epics, and coming-of-age, at any age. He loves world literature and wants to see more books published in the U.S. that are not set in the U.S. He is eager to read and represent voices that have been historically de-centered. Thrillers and speculative stories that skew literary are welcome, as is any narrator looking back and trying to make sense of their life. 

For nonfiction, he’s interested in memoir, psychology, narrative, philosophy, literary studies, art history, pop science, and cultural studies. The memoirs might be playful in the way they arrange time, the essays written in an undeniable voice. He's also seeking poets and musicians that have ventured into prose. Writers that instill a sense of curiosity and wonder in others, no matter the subject, should get in touch and tell him about their work.

Alex joined the scouting department of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates at the start of 2019. Prior to the agency, he worked as a bookseller at WORD Bookstores and interned with New Directions and W.W. Norton & Company. Originally from Georgia, he lives in Brooklyn where he enjoys walking through parks and going to delis. 

Query Alex at areubert@sjga.com 

Put “QUERY: Project Title” as the subject line. Paste the first 10 pages of your project into the body of your email.

Bailey Tamayo is seeking middle grade, YA, and adult speculative fiction, fantasy, sci fi, horror, and anything in between—especially when the genre is a unique setting for the deeply human stories underneath.

She is drawn to poignant coming of age narratives like The Graveyard Book, I Am Not Okay With This, and any given Ghibli film. Her favorite stories are those that are gently heartbreaking, hopeful, or (ideally) both. She enjoys sharp humor, lyrical prose, lovable and complex characters, and rich worldbuilding. 

She is eager to advocate for underrepresented authors, and especially to explore these viewpoints through horror, such as Welcome to Night Vale, The Magnus Archives, and Mexican Gothic. Some of her favorite authors/creators are Neil Gaiman, Emily St. John Mandel, Taika Waititi, Noelle Stevenson, Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, and ONE.

Bailey joined Greenburger Associates after internships with Writers House and the Carol Mann Agency. She is now an associate agent and the assistant to Matt Bialer, aiding him with his talented list of fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, literary, and nonfiction authors. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Writing, Literature & Publishing and Communication Sciences & Disorders.

You can find Bailey on Twitter @baileymeitamayo

Query Bailey at btamayo@sjga.com

Put “QUERY: Project Title” as the subject line. Attach your full manuscript.

Iwalani Kim is seeking adult upmarket and literary fiction and select narrative nonfiction.

In fiction, she loves coming-of-age narratives, family dramas, and stories that challenge systems of power. She gravitates toward lush prose, wry humor, irreverent characters, and a sense of yearning. 

In nonfiction, she is looking for literary memoir and cultural criticism. She is particularly drawn to food writing, deep dives into subcultures, and writing that complicates the idea of ‘paradise’ or explores progressive movements such as prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition. Some of her favorite authors include Jesmyn Ward, T Kira Madden, Raven Leilani, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, and Ling Ma, and she would love to consider any manuscripts in a similar vein. 

She is passionate about championing the work of underrepresented authors and would especially love to work with Pacific Islander writers.

Iwalani joined Sanford J. Greenburger Associates in 2018 after interning at Ayesha Pande Literary, Don Congdon Associates, and Kweli Journal. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i and graduated from Vassar College with degrees in Political Science and German Studies. As the senior assistant and foreign rights liaison to agency president Heide Lange, Iwalani has the pleasure of working with Heide’s extraordinary clients such as Dan Brown and Brad Thor. She continues in that role as she builds her own list, further honing her negotiation and editorial skills under Heide’s mentorship.

Follow Iwalani on Twitter @IwalaniKim

Query Iwalani at ikim@sjga.com

Put “Query: [your book’s title] by [your name]” in the subject line. Paste the first few chapters into the body of your email.

Abigail Frank is passionate about stories for young people, especially those that are hilarious, poetic, quietly heartbreaking, and/or swoon-worthy, and she cares about voice, above all. She gravitates towards picture books that feel entirely original, chapter books with big personalities, and novels about unforgettable teens falling in love. 

She is committed to advocating for the work of authors and artists with marginalized identities, and she’s actively looking for stories that allow young readers to recognize themselves in the books they love. She is also looking for select adult projects, including narrative nonfiction (especially if it explores pop culture, healthcare, or higher education) and rom-com-y commercial fiction. You can view her wishlist here.

Abigail joined the Greenburger team in 2017 after interning at Writers House. Formerly an assistant to Brenda Bowen, she now assists Faith Hamlin with her extraordinary and eclectic list of clients. Abigail graduated with a degree in English Literature from Swarthmore College and worked in healthcare before pursuing her passion for books. Find her mostly retweeting @abigailcrfrank

Query Abigail at afrank@sjga.com

Put: “QUERY – project title” in the subject line. Attach your full manuscript or proposal. If you are a visual artist, also include a link to your portfolio.

Sarah Phair, Agent: Sarah represents a range of fiction and nonfiction authors writing for the adult market. 

In fiction she focuses on books by women, for women, ranging from commercial, to upmarket and literary. If you would read it in your book club or take it on vacation, it might be a good fit for Sarah’s list. She particularly loves: family sagas, female friendship, complex psychological suspense, campus novels, anti-heroines, and a good love story.

In nonfiction her areas of interest include feminist issues, millennial topics, pop culture, and anything about food. She is especially interested in projects analyzing the future of media consumption, how and what we eat, agriculture, and housing. 

Sarah joined Greenburger Associates in 2019. Originally from Mississippi, she moved to New York in 2010 to pursue a career in publishing. She worked at Trident Media Group for six years, acting as audio agent and foreign rights agent before building her own list. Sarah also has a M.A. in British and American Literature.

Query Sarah at sphair@sjga.com

Put “QUERY – project title” in the subject line. Paste the first 10 pages into the body of your email.

Literary agent Olga Filina

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to Get Published  workshop with literary agent Olga Filina of 5 Otter Literary, Saturday, Sept 25. Details here.

If you’re especially interested in writing for children or for young adults, don’t miss out Kid Lit workshop, Saturday, Oct 2, with guest Anne Shone, executive editor, Scholastic Books (see here). 

Beyond that, Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape...

September ~ Weekly classes ~ Still room in one class:

In-Person: Writing Personal Stories, 9 weeks of creativity and companionship. Wednesday evenings, Sept 29 – Nov 24, in Burlington. Details here.

Online: Writing for Children and for Young Adults, Saturday, Oct 2, with guest Anne Shone, executive editor, Scholastic Books (see here). 

Online: How to Write Great Characters, Saturday, Oct 16. Details here.

Writing Retreat:

Lake Joseph in Muskoka: Writing Retreat at Sherwood Inn Resort.  Join us for a writers’ getaway at one of Ontario’s most elegant inns. Friday, Oct 23 – Monday, Oct 25.   Details here. Note: This retreat is now full. Next fall, we’ll offer two retreats at Sherwood to accommodate everyone. In the meanwhile ... 

The dock at Arowhon Pines on a misty Algonquin morning

We arranged an end of summer retreat Sept 10 – Sept 13 at The Briars on Lake Simcoe and we'll also offer an end of  winter retreat at the Briars if people are interested – let me know! Also, we'll have our usual spring retreat at Arowhon Pines in Algonquin Park, May 27 – May 30, 2022. See details or our 2020 retreat at Arowhon retreat here. If you’re interested in any upcoming retreats, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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