Six agents at Don Congdon Associates seek new authors, especially YA and Middle Grade, but also many kinds of fiction and nonfiction

The Help by Kathryn Stockett,
represented by Congdon Associates

Don Congdon Associates

110 William St.

Suite 2202

New York, NY  10038

http://doncongdon.com/

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Don Congdon Associates was founded in 1983 by Don Congdon and his son Michael, who is now the president of the agency.  The agency has six experienced agents, all accepting new authors.  But two agents in particular are actively seeking Young Adult and Middle Grade novels:

Maura Kye-Casella started her career as an agent in 2001 with the Denise Marcil Literary Agency. She joined Don Congdon Assoiciates in 2008.

Maura is seeking literary works, horror (all ages), women’s fiction, multicultural voices, and any well-written novels with quirky characters and/or unique plots and settings. Maura is especially interested in works for both the Young Adult and Middle Grade markets.

In nonfiction, Maura is seeking narrative works (memoirs, adventure, true crime), books on pop culture, lifestyle sports, and fun, interesting works that fall into the humor category.

Query Maura Kye-Casella at: dca@doncongdon.com

Include “Query” and the agent’s full name in your subject heading. You may also paste the first chapter into your email. No attachments.

Katie Grimm joined Congdon Associates in 2007. She is actively seeking young adult novels, specifically “compelling, heartbreaking contemporary and fantastical high-concepts rooted in history.” In Middle Grade, she’s seeking “novels with a heartfelt timeless quality and a strange twist.”

Katie  is also the business manager and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writer and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In the adult market, Katie represents literary fiction, historical fiction, up-market woman’s fiction, cohesive short story collections, and mysteries with faraway or historical settings.

She also represents graphic novels and nonfiction, particularly memoirs that reveal greater social issues, narratives about dark times in human history, weird science, and off-beat topics explored through an academic lens or with a practical approach.

Query Katie Grimm at: dca@doncongdon.com

Include “Query” and the agent’s full name in your subject heading. You may also paste the first chapter into your email. No attachments.

Other agents:

Cristina Concepcion has been at Don Congdon Associates since 1996 and represents writers of crime fiction, narrative nonfiction, political science, journalism and history.  She’s also looking for novels outside the crime genre that aren’t too commercial or overly literary, but are readable, thought provoking and character driven.  

Michael Congdon represents, commercial and literary fiction, including novels of suspense, mysteries and thrillers, as well as a variety of nonfiction, such as history, military history, biography, memoir, current affairs and narrative non-fiction (adventure, medicine, science, and nature). 

Katie Kotchman is actively seeking new nonfiction clients with built-in platforms from whom she can learn something new. In fiction, she’s interested in representing women’s fiction, realistic young adult, literary fiction, and psychological thrillers.

Susan Ramer started at Don Congdon Associates in 1986.  She is looking for literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction (contemporary and historical, American in particular), and narrative nonfiction. For nonfiction, her interests include social history, cultural history, smart pop culture (music, film, food, art), women’s issues, psychology and mental health, and memoir with a distinctive theme. She particularly likes a narrative that combines a personal thread with reporting and analysis of a broader social or cultural issue.  In everything, Susan appreciates a sense of humor, especially when it’s on the dark side. 

Query any Congdon Associates agent at: dca@doncongdon.com

Include “Query” and the agent’s full name in your subject heading. You may also paste the first chapter into your email. No attachments. Full submission guidelines here.

Sylvia McNicoll, author of over 30
young adult and middle grade novels,
will be one of the guest speakers for
Kid Lit course starting in April

Brian Henry will be leading How to Get Published workshops on Saturday, Jan 28, in Toronto with Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy agency (see here) and on Saturday, April 22, in Midland, again with Stacey Donaghy (see here).
Note: If you're viewing this posting after March 11, 2017, see current How to Get Published workshops here (and scroll down).

Also, Brian will lead How to Build Your Story Saturday, Feb 4, in Mississauga (see here) and Saturday, Feb 11, in Caledon at the Bolton library (see here), Writing and Revising, Saturday, Feb 25, in Burlington (see here) and Saturday, March 4, in London (see here), and Writing With Style, Saturday, March 11, in Georgetown (see here).

Also, he'll lead How to Write a Bestseller on Saturday, Feb 18, in Guelph, with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong (see here).

And Brian will  be leading Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshops on Saturday, April 1, in Windsor (see here), on Saturday, May 13, in Caledon at the Bolton Library with Yasemin Uçar, senior Editor at Kids Can Press (details to come) and on Saturday, May 27, in St. Catharines with Anne Shone, senior editor at Scholastic Books (see here). Brian will also be leading a weekly Kid Lit class, Monday afternoons, April 10 – June 19, in Mississauga (here).

Note: For updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and scroll down).

For more information or to reserve a spot in any Saturday workshop or weekly course, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

To move closer to publication, your best bet may be a weekly course. Brian is currently offering a full slate of weekly classes, from beginner to advanced:

Exploring Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Jan 26 – March 30, Burlington Details here.

Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday mornings, Feb 9 – March 30, Oakville. Details here.

Intermediate Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Jan 18 - March 22, Burlington. here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, Jan 19 – March 23, Georgetown. Details here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons, Jan 31 – March 28, Burlington. Details here.

Extreme Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Jan 25 – March 15, Burlington. Details here.

See details of all six courses here.

To register of for more information for any of the above, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Navigation tip: For many more literary agents seeking authors, click on the Literary Agents button at the top of the page, just below the banner. To see only Canadian agents, click on the button in the right-hand column under More Content. To see only agents representing kid’s lit, click on the Children’s/YA agents button in the list of Labels below.