Five agents at P.S. Literary Agency seek authors, including Maria Vicente the only agent in Atlantic Canada

P.S. Literary Agency

20033 – 520 Kerr Street
Oakville, Ontario, L6K 3C7 

CANADA
http://www.psliterary.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 P.S. Literary Agency is a relative newcomer to the agenting world, having been established by Curtis Russell in 2005, so all its agents are actively looking for authors. P.S.  represents literary and commercial fiction, Young Adult and Middle grade fiction and picture books, and nonfiction.

P.S. is headquartered in Oakville (a suburb of Toronto), but one of its associate agents Maria Vicente is located in Saint John, NB, making her the only literary agent in Atlantic Canada. Geography doesn’t matter a lot these days, but for writers in Atlantic Canada or our national capital region, it’s good not to have to go all the way to Toronto to have coffee with their agent.  

Maria Vicente ~ Associate Agent

Maria is dedicated to managing authors’  literary brands for the duration of their careers and providing support to her clients through all stages of the writing and publication process.

Her reading preferences vary across categories and genres, which is reflected in her client list. She is actively looking for young adult, middle grade, illustrated picture books, literary fiction with a touch of genre, and nonfiction projects in the pop culture, design, and lifestyle categories. She has affinities for literary prose, strong character development, original storytelling formats, and anything geeky.

Maria’s website, MariaVicente.com, includes articles about publishing and writing for current and potential clients. You can find more information about the categories Maria represents, as well as an up-to-date wish list, here.

Query Maria at: query@psliterary.com 
Query on. No attachments unless specifically requested.

Carly Watters ~ VP, Senior Literary Agent. 

Representing debut authors and bestsellers, Carly is drawn to emotional well-paced fiction, with a great voice and characters that readers can get invested in, and platform-driven nonfiction.  

Specifically, she is actively looking for Literary, Upmarket and Commercial fiction, World literature, smart Women’s Fiction and Book Club books, Literary Thrillers, LGBT, and nonfiction in the Health, Wellness, Cookbook, Narrative, Lifestyle, Memoir, Humour, Pop science and Pop psychology and Business Categories.

Carly is based in Ottawa (and she’s the only literary agent in Ottawa). She blogs here.

Query Carly at: query@psliterary.com 
Query on. No attachments unless specifically requested.

Eric Smith ~ Associate Agent

Eric was previously the social media & marketing manager at Quirk Books in Philadelphia, A frequent blogger, Eric’s ramblings about books appear on BookRiot, The Huffington Post and more. He is the author of Inked (Bloomsbury Publishing) and TheGeek’s Guide to Dating (Quick Books).

Eric is eagerly acquiring fiction and nonfiction. He’s actively seeking out new, diverse voices in Young Adult (particularly sci-fi and fantasy, but also thrillers and mysteries). In nonfiction, Eric is interested in Cookbooks, Pop Culture, Humour, essay collections, and blog to book ideas. You can view his detailed manuscript wish list here.

Query Eric at: query@psliterary.com 
No attachments unless specifically requested.

Kurestin Armada ~ Associate Agent

Kurestin began her publishing career as an intern with Workman Publishing and spent time as an assistant at the Lofts Agency before joining P.S. Literary.

She holds a B.A. in English from Kenyon College and a publishing certificate from Columbia University. Kurestin is based in New York City.

Kurestin is actively acquiring Upmarket and Commercial Fiction, Magic Realism, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alternative History, Historical Fiction LGBTQ (any genre), select Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Mystery, including mystery with element of science fiction or fantasy, and Romance.

In nonfiction, Kuristin is looking for Design, Cooking, Pop Psychology, Humour, Narrative Nonfiction, Photography, and Pop Science.

Query Kurestin at: query@psliterary.com 
No attachments unless specifically requested.

Curtis Russell ~ President & Principal Agent

Curtis began his publishing career a decade ago as proprietor of a micro-press. In 2005 he crossed to the other side of the desk and founded the P.S. Literary Agency. 

Curtis is currently acquiring both fiction and nonfiction. In terms of fiction, he is seeking Literary, Commercial, Romance, LGBT, New Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade novels, and Mysteries & Thrillers.

In terms of nonfiction, he is looking for Business, History, Politics, Current Affairs, Memoir, Health, Wellness, Sports, Humour, Pop science and Pop psychology.

Query any agent at P.S. Literary at: query@psliterary.com 
No attachments unless specifically requested.  Limit your query to one page and include...
Paragraph One – Introduction: Include the title and category of your work (i.e. fiction or nonfiction and topic), an estimated word count and a brief, general introduction.
Paragraph Two – Mini-synopsis: A concise summary or overview of your work.
Paragraph Three – Writer’s bio: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background (awards and affiliations, etc.).

Full submission requirements here.

Rachel Letofsk

Brian Henry will lead a How to Get Published workshop in Hamilton on Saturday, Oct 17, with Rachel Letofsky of the Cooke Agency (see here). 

Also, Brian will lead a Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshop on Saturday, March 5, in Burlington, with Monica Pacheco, literary agent with The McDermid Agency (see here).

Other upcoming workshops, include , and How to Make Yourself Write, Saturday, Oct 24, in Guelph (see here) and Saturday, Nov 28, in Mississauga (see here), You can write great dialogue, Saturday, Nov 7, in Oakville (see here) and Saturday, Nov 21, in Ingersoll (see here), How to Build Your Story, Sunday, Nov 22, in Windsor (see here), and Writing Your Life, Saturday, Dec 5, in Burlington (details 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, there is still space in one class:

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

Starting in the new year, Brian will be offering a full range of courses for both beginning writers and more experienced writers. (Details here.)

Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Jan 28 – March 31, (no class March 17), in Burlington

Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday afternoons, Feb 2 – March 29, (no class March 15) in Burlington

The Next Step in Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Jan 20 – March 30 (no class March 16), in Burlington

Intermediate Creative Writing, Thurs evenings, Jan 21 – March 31, (no class March 17), in Georgetown

Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Jan 20 – March 9, in Burlington

See details of all six classes here.

To register or for more information, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian Henry's 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, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.