Three literary agents at David Black Agency seek commercial, upmarket and literary fiction, thrillers, middle grade and YA, plus nonfiction

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson,
represented by David Black Agency

David Black Agency

335 Adams Street

Suite 2707

Brooklyn, NY  11201

http://www.davidblackagency.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, and if you’r enot yet on my newsletter list, send me an email, including your locale to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca  ~Brian

The David Black Agency is a respectable mid-sized New York agency, with three agents looking for new authors, including brand new agent Deborah Hofmann:

Deborah Hofmann joined the David Black Literary Agency in December 2017 after a long career at The New York Times, where she served principally as the Editor of The New York Times Best Seller Lists. Years spent in this unique journalistic capacity have given her a panoramic perspective on the book industry in all its commercial aspects as well as familiarity with the strengths of virtually every publisher, retailer and platform.

In addition to her stewardship of the Best Seller Lists, Deborah wrote regularly for The Times on lifestyle, fashion, antiques and collectables, as well as profiles of creative personalities, entrepreneurs and leaders. Deborah’s recent essay, “Heavy Mettle,” was featured in an anthology edited by Elizabeth Benedict, “Me, My Hair and I,” (Algonquin Books, 2015).

Deborah welcomes first-time book authors with open arms, vision and verve. Areas of interest include commercial and literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, autobiography and memoirs, culture and the arts, humor, practical how-to skills and artisanal arts and crafts.

She is passionate about music and musicians, nature and travel, forensics, knitting and needlepoint. Deborah, a graduate of Barnard College, lives in Manhattan with her husband, Eric Asimov. 

Query Deborah at: dhofmann@dblackagency.com

Please summarize your book idea and include in the body of your email your proposal and, if appropriate, the first 50 pages (no attachments, please): 

Jenny Herrera joined the David Black Agency in 2015 after working at Fletcher & Company and Europa Editions, where she was an early advocate of Elena Ferrante. She went to college in Ohio, where she studied Philosophy, French, and Russian, and has master’s degrees in Philosophy and Social Sciences. 

She loves reading nonfiction books about big ideas and fiction that is thoughtful, unselfconscious, and authentic.

Jenny is actively looking for submissions in upmarket fiction, serious nonfiction, young adult, middle grade, and thrillers, as well as any book that breaks the mold. 

Recent books she loves include: An Ember in the Ashes, Sweet Bitter, The Hate U Give, My Life on the Road, Strange the Dreamer, Far From the Tree, and If We Were Villains. She perhaps consumes excessive amounts of coffee.

Jenny is temporarily closed to queries, but will begin accepting them after January 15th.  (It’s not unusual for agents to be closed for queries in December and early January. See “It’s not a good time to query an agent”). After Jan 15, check out Jenny’s bio page for how to query her here.

Sarah Smith joined David Black Agency in 2012 after beginning her career in book publishing at Trident Media Group. She grew up in Georgia and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated with highest honors in English and Creative Writing.  After college, she spent some time working and living in Argentina. 

Her interests, personal and professional, include cooking and eating great food, listening to and playing music, running across bridges, attempting to grow plants on her fire escape and reading good books by great writers. For three years, Sarah curated the weekly True Story: Nonfiction at KGB reading series at KGB Bar in the East Village.

Her nonfiction tastes lean toward memoir, biography, food and music writing, narrative history, and social studies, while her fiction tastes lean toward the literary. She lives in Brooklyn.

Query Sarah at: ssmith@dblackagency.com

Include the first three chapters of your manuscript pasted into the body of the email.

Full submission guidelines here.

Literary agent Martha Webb

If you’re interested in and finding an agent or publisher (someday soon or down the road), don’t miss the How to Get Published workshops on Saturday, Feb 24, in Oakville with literary agent Martha Webb (see here) and on Saturday, March 3, in St. Catharines with HarperCollins editor Michelle Meade and author Hannah Mary McKinnon (see here).

If you’re interested in Kid Lit, be sure to register for the Writing for Children and for Young Adults mini-conference on Saturday, April 21, in Waterloo with literary agent Barbara Berson, Simon & Schuster editor Patricia Ocampo, and Young Adult author Tanaz Bhathena (see here) and Writing Kid Lit weekly class, Thursday evenings, April 18 – June 13, in Burlington. For details or to reserve a spot, email: brianhenr@sympatico.ca

And don’t miss Writing Great Characters on Saturday, Jan 27, in Mississauga (see here),  Writing and Revising on Saturday, Feb 10, in Guelph (see here), How to Write Great Dialogue, Sunday, Feb 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, starting soon, Brian is offering a full range of weekly writing classes, from introductory to intensive:

Exploring Creative Writing, offered at two times:

Thursday mornings, 9:45 – 11:45 a.m. Jan 25 – March 29, in Oakville (see here)

and Friday afternoons, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Feb 2 – March 23, in Toronto (see here).

Writing Personal Stories, Thursday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m . Jan 25 – March 15, in Burlington (see here).

Intensive Creative Writing, offered at four 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)

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

And Wednesday afternoons, 12:30 – 12:45, Jan 31 – March 28, in Burlington (see here)

See details of all seven classes offered this winter here.

For more 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.

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.