Three new Canadian literary agents seeking commercial fiction: Middle grade, Young adult, New adult, and Adult

Sue Miller

Donaghy Literary Group

6 – 14845 Yonge Street

Suite 123

Aurora, Ontario

Canada

http://www.donaghyliterary.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

The Donaghy Literary Group is based in Canada, with a team of three agents to choose from. They’re primarily focussed on commercial fcition and are always interested in new and upcoming talented writers. 

  

Sue Miller is a new associate agent. She comes to Donaghy Literary with enthusiasm and experience in the industry. She graduated with a degree in English Literature from York University in Toronto, as well as a certificate in publishing, from Ryerson University. Sue previously worked in children's publishing with Scholastic Canada. Upon connecting with publisher, Fernanda Viveiros, of Fidalgo Books, she was asked to host the Luso Reading Vox series at Dundas West Fest in Toronto. After spending time with these authors, she realized that representing an author and their work is exactly where she wanted her publishing career to be.

Prior to joining DLG, Sue interned for Bree Ogden during her time at the D4EO agency. Sue dabbles in writing and has edited short stories for other writers. An admitted social media junkie, Sue is always interested in the latest platforms for networking and relationship building within the industry. This led her to complete her Digital Marketing Management certificate from the University of Toronto. When it comes to her genre preferences, Sue is partial to romance, young adult, new adult and adult contemporary novels.

Sue is seeking new and exciting voices as she begins to build her client list.

Her Interests:

·         YA – any sub genre (think Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Cynthia Hand, Stephanie Perkins, Colleen Hoover) 

·         Urban Fantasy (think Sandy Williams, Patricia Briggs, Karen Marie Moning)

·         Urban Fantasy/Fantasy/ Science Fiction/ Dystopian - mash-ups (think Laini Taylor, Samantha Shannon, Pierce Brown, Andy Weir)

·         Contemporary Romance (think Jamie McGuire, Rachel Gibson, Jay Crownover, K.A. Tucker, Colleen Hoover)

Her wish list:

·         YA or Contemporary romance - fun and smart (not silly) and/or heart breaking, with angst, romantic, sometimes dark

·         YA contemporary, authentic voices representing urban life (think Treasure E. Blue), multicultural (example: Canadian/Afro-Latino etc.), social change (think Heidi Durrow, R.J. Palacio) 

·         Literary & Commercial fiction that mashes genres together such as, The Night Circus

      ·         Contemporary Romance with memorable characters that I'll fondly refer to throughout                  my life!

Query Sue at: sue@donaghyliterary.com  

In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, and genre

Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your double-spaced manuscript below that. No attachments.

Valerie Noble is based in the U.S.  She loves science fiction and fantasy (think Kristin Cashore and Suzanne Collins), but she reads everything; for her, it’s more about the writing and less about the genre. Valerie is seeking Young Adult and New Adult in the following areas:

Science fiction

Fantasy

Historical fantasy

Historical fiction

Valerie is generally not interested in romance or paranormal.

Query Valerie at: query@donaghyliteary.com

In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, genre, and “Valerie Noble”

Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your double-spaced manuscript below that. No attachments. 

Stacey Donaghy began her career with the Corvisiero Literary Agency in New York, where she wore many hats, from team manager and trainer to intern to agent.

Stacey is seeking Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade fiction. She also wants authorized biographies / compelling stories by celebrities, music industry professionals, pop culture, film/TV. Not seeking general nonfiction or memoir unless you’re a rock icon or celeb.

Fiction with list:

Romantic suspense

LGBT stories stand-alone or series; would love to see m/m or f/f, no BDSM

Mystery, all ages (but not cozies)

Contemporary romance (she loves smart and edgy characters)

Thrillers of all kinds

Romance with varying heat levels

Erotic romance ~ must have lots of sexual tension and a well-developed story

New adult, must fit into adult contemporary genre. No more bad boy tattooed rockers; this has been done and done and is now retired. Your New Adult novel must be unique, not a duplicate of what’s out there.

In middle grade, “I’m looking for quirky, not cute”

Young adult: wants lower, mid and upper YA, but no sci-fi, fantasy or historical

No dystopian, paranormal or supernatural 

Query Stacey at: query@donaghyliteary.com

In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, genre, and “Stacey Donaghy”

Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your double-spaced manuscript below that. No attachments.

Full guidelines here.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
by Louise Rennison, one of the authors
Yasemin Ucar has worked with

Brian Henry will lead a "Writing for Children & for Young Adults," workshop with guest speaker Yasemin Ucar, Senior Editor, Kids Can Press, on Saturday, September 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 "Fall Colours Writing Retreat," Sept 19 - 21, in Algonquin Park (see here), "Writing Your Life," Saturday, September 26 in Brampton (see here) and Saturday, Dec 5, in Burlington (details to come), and "How to Make Yourself Write," Saturday, October 24 in Guelph (see 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 may be 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 here's the schedule... 

Literary agent Rachel Letofsky

“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, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.