Three agents at Canadian literary agency P.S. Literary seek authors; Maria Vicente promoted to full agent

Definitions of Indefinable Things
YA. by Whitney Taylor, represented by
Maria Vicente of P.S. Literary

P.S. Literary Agency

2010 Winston Park Drive

2nd floor
Oakville, Ontario, L6H 5R7 

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 was established by Curtis Russell in 2005. 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, while Carly Watters is in Ottawa. 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.  

Currently three of the five agents at P.S. are actively looking for authors:

Maria Vicente ~ Agent

Maria was recently promoted from associate to full agent. She’s 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.

In nonfiction, Maria is looking for projects for readers of all ages (both the children and adult markets); specifically, she’s interested in: pop culture, science, design, and lifestyle. “I expect any nonfiction book proposal to offer a new perspective on an entertaining topic,” says Maria.

In Young Adult, Maria is interested in a variety of genres: contemporary, magical realism, horror, mystery, light science fiction, and light fantasy. She’s always looking for diverse characters. and enjoys literary prose and a strong, unique voice. She’s currently looking for fun YA projects rather than issue-driven stories.

In Middle Grade, Maria is looking for all genres.  “Yes, really!” she says, including graphic novels (preferably illustrated).

In Picture Books, Maria is currently looking for projects that are high concept, written in prose (no rhyming text, please), and not didactic.

She also represents illustrated picture books, or even just professional illustrators. If you are  an illustrator or author/illustrator, please provide a link to your portfolio when sending a query letter.

Topics on Maria’s picture book wish list include: biography; other nonfiction topics; geek culture; and unusual animal protagonists. “I gravitate towards quiet, lyrical prose,” says Maria; “Kyo Maclear, for example.”

For more about Maria’s preferences and her current wish list and to read various articles she’s written about writing and querying, visit her website here.

Query Maria 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.

Simon & Schuster editor Patricia Ocampo

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).

In the new year, you’ll also be interested in our How to Get Published workshop with literary agent Martha Webb Saturday, Feb 24, in Oakville (see here).

And don’t miss Writing Great Characters on Saturday, January 27, in Mississauga (see  here) and a Writing and Revising on Saturday, February 10, in Guelph (see here), How to Write Great Dialogue, Sunday, February 11, in Windsor (see here), 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/locales:

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. Just stop by or you can read 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.