Literary agent Lydia Blyfield of Carol Mann seeks new authors: Adult, YA and MG and nonfiction

Carol Mann Agency
55 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
http://carolmannagency.wordpress.com/

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Lydia Blyfield is the newest member of the team at the Carol Mann Agency and like all new agents, she’s looking for authors. Lydia is originally from England where she studied PR and Communications, before gaining a B.A. in English and American Literature at New York University. Lydia is looking for edgy, modern fiction and timely nonfiction in the areas of business, self-improvement, relationship and gift books. She is particularly interested in female voices and experiences.

“I’m open to Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade,” says Lydia.” I’m looking for edgy and enchanting page-turners written with a light hand. I always enjoy complex female characters, and have a thing for unreliable narrators.

“I love fiction that explores social issues or is inspired by the headlines, like ROOM by Emma Donahue and THE HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown, but I also like to escape the real world with magical realism such as NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro, THE NIGHT GUEST by Fiona McFarlane and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman (suspending disbelief must be effortless!) 

The Scarlet Letter Society
by Mary T. McCarthy, a client of
the Carol Mann Agency

“I’m also looking for psychological thrillers/mysteries set in small communities or dysfunctional family units like THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins or GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn (no CIA/FBI/MI5 style thrillers, please.)

“In YA I’m looking for big hooks and modern themes such as WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler and THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher, and clever crossovers such as MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs.

“In MG I’m looking for diversity and smart takes on difficult issues such as R.J. Palacio’s WONDER, and THE THING ABOUT LUCK by Cynthia Kadohata, as well as spooky tales like GOTH GIRL by Chris Riddle.”

In nonfiction, Lydia says: “I’m looking for books that inspire me to achieve something positive personally or professionally such as #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso and YOU ARE A BADASS by Jen Sincero. I’m interested in books that tackle social issues, particularly feminism and women’s issues such as FULL FRONTAL FEMINISM by Jessica Valenti and EVERYDAY SEXISM by Laura Bates. I’m also looking for modern sex and relationship books like THE NEW I DO by Susan Pease Gadoua and Vicki Larson. I enjoy most things on the Urban Outfitters book table and am always looking for blogs, Tumblrs and Instagram profiles with book potential.”

Query Lydia at: querylydia@carolmannagency.com

For fiction, include the first 25 pages. For nonfiction, include a query and a synopsis of your project; include your bio, target audience and competitive titles. “Hook me with a strong concept and your platform. If you have an Urban Outfitters-worthy blog/Twitter/Instagram please include site stats.”

For information about the other agents at Carol Mann and what they’re looking for, see here.

Anne Shone

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops in Windsor (for my American readers, that's just across the river from Detroit), on Sunday, May 31, with Martha Magor Webb of the Anne McDermid Agency (see here) and in Mississauga on Saturday, June 20, again with Martha Magor Webb (here).  

Brian will also lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” workshop with Anne Shone, Senior Editor at Scholastic Canada, on Saturday, May 2, in Oakville (see here).

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Other upcoming workshops, include “Secrets of Writing a Page-turner,” Saturday, April 11, in Peterborough (here), Saturday, May 23, in Barrie (here) and Saturday, June 6, in Georgetown (here), “Writing & Revising” Sunday, April 12, in Ottawa (here),  and “How to Build Your Story,”  Saturday, April 25, in Thessalon (here), Saturday, May 9 in London (here) and Saturday, May 30 in Guelph (here).

Martha Magor Webb

The spring session of Brian’s weekly creative writing courses begins in April See details of all five weekly courses, for beginning to advanced writers, here.

Exploring Creative Writing” will be offered Wednesday evenings in Burlington (see here), “Writing Personal Stories” on Tuesday afternoons in Mississauga (here), “The Next Step in Creative Writing” on Thursday evenings in Georgetown (here) and “Intensive Creative Writing” on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington (here) and Thursday afternoons in Burlington (here).

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

For more information or to reserve a spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.