Five agents at New Leaf Literary seek all kinds of fiction, including picture books, YA and adult novels, plus assorted nonfiction

New Leaf Literary & Media

110 West 40th Street, Suite 410
New York, NY 10018

http://www.newleafliterary.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. ~ Brian

New Leaf Literary is a young agency, led by Joanna Volpe who was previously with Nancy Coffey Literary. Joanna represents all kinds of fiction, from picture books to adult, and like all five agents at New Leaf, she's taking on new clients.

Joanna’s picture book taste is the most eclectic, ranging from sweet to fun to smart to quirky. For other fiction (both adult and children's) she has an affinity for stories that have a darker element to them, whether they be horror, drama or comedy. She's not the kind of reader that needs a romance in her novels, though she does appreciate a good one. 

On the nonfiction side her tastes are much more specific.  For children she looks for topics that captivate kids: biographies, animal-related stories, all sciences and history, etc. Joanna also has an affinity for morbid, weird or offbeat topics. In her adult nonfiction tastes she tends toward all things geek-related, foodie books, travel books, and general pop-culture and pop-science. 

Overall, she's looking for anything that highlights under-represented characters. More diversity, please!

Read 20 Questions with Joanna here. 

Query Joanna at: query@newleaflitrary.com   

Include up to 5 double-spaced sample pages within the body of the email. Please include "Query – Joanna Volpe" in the subject. No attachments.

Pete Knapp, is the newest member of the team (having joined the agency July 6). As with all new agents, Pete is hungry for new authors. He represents authors of middle grade and young adult fiction, as well as fiction and select nonfiction for the adult market. Previously he was at the Park Literary Group. Visit Pete’s website here.

Query Pete at: query@newleaflitrary.com   

Include up to 5 double-spaced sample pages within the body of the email. Please include "Query - Pete Knapp" in the subject. No attachments.

Kathleen Ortiz is the Director of Subsidiary rights, overseeing audio, translation and digital rights for the agency's titles. She is also a Literary Agent and is actively seeking to sign more authors and illustrators, specifically fresh, new voices in YA and animator/illustrator talent. In YA she gravitates more toward beautiful and exceptional world building as well as contemporary stories whose main characters stay with the reader far beyond the pages. She would love to see a beautifully written YA set within other cultures and experiences. 

On the illustration side, she loves animator/illustrators and their unique way of storytelling.

Query Kathleeen at: query@newleaflitrary.com   

Include up to 5 double-spaced sample pages within the body of the email. Please include "Query – Kathleen Ortiz" in the subject. No attachments.

Suzie Townsend is the agency’s Director of Literary Services and is also a literary agent. She represents all brands of children's and adult fiction. She is actively looking to build her list. In adult, she's specifically looking for new adult, romance (all subgenres), fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy) and crime fiction (mysteries, thrillers). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects.

Suzie loves strong characters and voice driven stories that break out of the typical tropes of their genres.

Query Suzie at: query@newleaflitrary.com   

Include up to 5 double-spaced sample pages within the body of the email. Please include "Query – Suzie Townsend" in the subject. No attachments.

Mackenzie Brady Watson joined New Leaf Literary as an agent in 2014. Previously, she'd been an agent at Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency and before that an intern at Farrar, Straus & Giroux and FinePrint Literary Management.

Mackenzie was a microbiologist in her pre-publishing life, so she's always on the hunt for projects that bring new facets of science to light. She is endlessly fascinated by the human body, especially the heart. Her taste in nonfiction extends beyond science books to memoirs, lost histories, epic sports narratives, and gift/lifestyle books. She's looking for nonfiction for all ages. She is particularly interested in projects with a strong narrative and a female bend.

If you've written the next Brain on Fire, The Power of Habit, Random Family, The Boys in the Boat, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Autobiography of an Execution, or Young House Love, she wants to see it. 

On the fiction side, Mackenzie only represents select upmarket commercial/literary adult and YA projects. Her favorite novels range from philosophical and charming (read: The Submission, Station Eleven, The Spectacular Now) to downright dark and gritty (read: The Dinner, We Were Liars, We the Animals). She also represents illustrators with or without book projects of their own.

In the end, all she wants is to be told a good story.

Query Mackenzie at: query@newleaflitrary.com   

Include up to 5 double-spaced sample pages within the body of the email. Please include "Query - Mackenzie Brady Watson" in the subject. No attachments.

Full submission guidelines here.

Yasemin Ucar

Brian Henry will lead a "Writing for Children & for Young Adults," workshop with guest speaker Yasemin Ucar, Senior Editor Kids Can Press, Saturday, Sept 12 in Toronto (see here).

He’ll also lead How to Get Published" workshops in St. John, NB, on Saturday, Oct 3 (details here), and in Hamilton on Saturday, Oct 17, with Rachel Letofsky of the Cooke Agency (see here). 

Other upcoming workshops, include "How to Write Great Characters," Saturday, July 18 in Kitchener (see here) and "Writing Your Life" Saturday, August 15 in Midland (here).  

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

But the best way to grow as a writer or to get your manuscript ready for publication is with a weekly class. This fall, Brian will offer a full line-up of six weekly courses for beginners through advanced. See details of all six fall courses here or individual courses…

“Exploring Creative Writing,” Thursday afternoons, Sept 24 - Nov 26, in Mississauga (see here).

“Writing Personal stories,” Thurs mornings, Oct 8 - Nov 26, in Oakville (see here)

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, Sept 30 - Dec 2, in Burlington (here).

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Thursday evenings, Sept 24 - Dec 3, in Georgetown (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Tuesday afternoons, Sept 15 - Dec 8, in Burlington (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, Sept 16 - Dec 16, in Burlington  (here).

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

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Brampton, 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.