Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary, seeks middle grade & YA fiction

Molly Jaffa has been an assistant at Folio Literary Management since 2008 and is now building her own client list, as part of Folio's push into children's literature.  Folio also recently recruited the well-respected children's literary agent Emily van Beek. (More about that here.)

Molly is seeking: middle grade and young adult fiction. "I’m looking for books that challenge the reader intellectually and emotionally, from the high-concept and fantastical to the frank, fresh, and contemporary," says Molly. "I love fiction set in another country, time, or place (real or imagined!) that opens up a rich new world for the reader to discover. Stories featuring characters with strong passions, talents, or smarts—or characters in search of theirs—resonate with me. I’d also like to see: Edgy YA that’s not afraid to explore complex social issues, historical fantasy, smart adventures (I’d love a modern-day Indiana Jones with a female protagonist!), dystopian fiction, and—most importantly—books with a voice that makes the reader think, 'This narrator gets me.' "

Molly is also seeking nonfiction for women. "I’m looking for books that explore social issues relevant to women of all ages," she says. "Think Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters; The Purity Myth; Pledged; The Morning After; Enlightened Sexism.

What I’m not looking for: "Adult fiction, memoir, diet/fitness, religious/inspirational, or YA with vampires and/or zombies (unless they’re part of a larger, well-developed fantastical universe– think Cassandra Clare’s books)."

Query her at: molmolly@foliolit.com
Include your query letter and the first ten pages of your manuscript in the body of the email. "I will always respond within two weeks with a pass or a request for more material," says Molly. "If you haven’t heard from me in that time, please resubmit, as your query may have been lost."

More about Folio here.
Folio home page here: http://foliolit.com/
Folio Jr (devoted exclusively to representing children’s book authors and artists) here.

Brian Henry has a "How to Get Published" workshop coming up in Burlington on February 19 with agent Alisha Sevigny of the Rights Factory (see here). On May 7, he'll be hosting the "From the Horse's Mouth" seminar at Ryerson University, where one of the guest speakers will be Marilyn Biderman (details to come). Brian also has a few "Writing for Children and Young Adults" workshops coming up: on January 29 in Kitchener (see here), on February 26 in Barrie (see here), and on March 5 in Toronto (see here).

For information about all of Brian's writing workshops and creative writing courses, see here.