New literary agent Rachel Horowitz seeks Middle Grade and YA fiction, plus memoirs with teen protagonist and some commercial women's fiction

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli,
represented by The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency

19 West 21^st Street,
#201
Brooklyn, NY 10010

And

21 Melliss Avenue

Kew, Richmond TW9 4BQ

http://www.thebentagency.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

Since Jenny Bent left Trident media in 2009, the Bent Agency has grown into a mid-size trans-Atlantic agency with ten agents. But it’s still a young agency, and most of the agents there are actively looking for authors. 

Rachel Horowitz just joined the team on November 1, 2017, and like all new agents, she needs authors. Rachel represents commercial children’s fiction and accessible literary children’s fiction and also select commercial women’s fiction or memoir with a teen protagonist.

Rachel has spent two decades in publishing most recently at as a children’s literary scout at Maria Campbell Associates and before that as Director of Rights and Co-Editions at Scholastic.  She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and was a two-time fellow at the Breadloaf Writing Conference at Middlebury College in Vermont. She tweets here.

“I’m a cultural omnivore,” says Rachel, “and love to binge-watch a new show, devour magazines, see a new artist; I love literature that reflects what’s happening today in an entertaining way. Yet my first love is children’s books. I believe that children’s literature, more than any other genre, has the potential to influence and change lives for the better. I particularly admire the way Suzanne Collins, Philip Pullman, and JK Rowling celebrate the underdog and show children and adults that appearances can often be deceiving.

“For YA, I appreciate authors like Rainbow Rowell, Elizabeth Lockhart, and Teresa Toten for the way they touch on class and social dynamics in a smart, compelling way that’s also authentically teen.

“I’m looking for well-crafted middle-grade stories that have heart, humour, and adventure, and for YA: romance with an authentic voice and stories that reflect what teens are grappling with today – girl power, body image, family dynamics, race relations.

“I’m also looking for memoirs and fiction that feature a teen protagonist and can be read by adults; The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thomas Walker are good examples. 

"Finally, I love to laugh out loud – if your story can mix pathos with humor, it it’s beautifully told and cinematic, and if I can think of five people who should read it right now – we could be a great team.

Query Rachel at: horowitzqueries@thebentagency.com

Include the title of your project in the subject line and paste the first ten pages of your book into the body of your email (no attachments).

Author Hannah Mary McKinnon

If you’re interested in and finding an agent or publisher (someday soon or down the road), don’t miss From the Horse’s Mouth ~ Strategies for Getting Published, with literary agent Stacey Donaghy, House of Anansi Press editor Douglas Richmond, and Simon & Schuster managing editor Patricia Ocampo on Saturday, Dec 2, 2017, at Ryerson University in Toronto (see here).

You’ll also be interested in our How to Get Published mini-conference, with literary agent Martha Webb, author Hannah Mary McKinnon, and HarperCollins editor Michelle Meade on Saturday, Nov 18,2017,  in Guelph (see here). This mini-conference is currently full, but to get on the waiting list, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca.  A space may open up!

Also, this fall, Brian will lead How to Build Your Story on Saturday, Nov 25, 2017 in Burlington with author Hannah Mary McKinnon (see here).

In the new year, Brian will lead Writing Great Characters on Saturday, January 27, in Mississauga (see here) and a Writing and Revising on Saturday, February 10, in Guelph (details to come), and How to Write a Bestseller with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong on Saturday, March 24, in Caledon at the Bolton Library (see here).

Also in the new year, Brian will again offer a full range of weekly writing classes, from introductory to intensive:

Exploring Creative Writing, offered at two times:

Thursday mornings, Jan 25 – March 29, in Oakville (see here)

and Friday afternoons, Feb 2 – March 23, in  Toronto (see here).

Writing Personal Stories,  Thursday afternoons, Jan 25 – March 15 in Burlington (see here).

Intensive Creative Writing, offered at three times:

Tuesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:45 p.m. Jan 16 – March 20, at Appleby United Church, in Burlington (see here)

Thursday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m., Jan 18 – March 22, at Appleby United Church in Burlington (see here)

and Friday mornings, 10:15 – 12:45, Jan 19 – March 23, Glenview Presbyterian Church in Toronto (see here)

See details of all six classes offered in the new year here.

For details or to reserve a spot in any workshop, retreat, or weekly course, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

Hey, everyone.

On Wednesday afternoons, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., throughout the month of November, a whole warren of writers are gathering at the Burlington Central Library to bang out novels, short stories, memoirs – wild words of all sorts – and to swap advice, encouragement, and tales of the writing life. And you're invited. Come for one Wednesday or for all of them. And, yes, it’s absolutely free.

More details here. ~Brian

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 tips: Always check out the labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. Also, if you're searching for a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.