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| Where the Past Begins, by Amy Tan, represented by Sandra Dijkstra |
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to brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian
The Sandra
Dijkstra Agency is an American west
coast agency with eight agents, representing everything from picture books to
adult fiction, romance and fantasy/sci-fi to literary fiction, plus a lot of
serious nonfiction. Quick Brown Fox readers might be especially interested in
these four agents, all of whom are looking for authors:
Jennifer Kim is a junior agent at the
Dijkstra Agency. In addition to actively building her own list, she provides
support to the team at SDLA.
A graduate from the University of California Irvine, Jennifer
holds a B.A. in English Literature and Spanish Literature, and spent a year
studying Spanish literature and culture at the University of Barcelona. She
also works as a bookseller, having done so since 2012.
She represents middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction.
In YA
Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Jennifer is looking for multicultural projects featuring
multi-dimensional, even flawed protagonists from diverse backgrounds. She
enjoys unique, high concept stories, with strong world building and
character development. She especially appreciates atmospheric settings.
In contemporary
YA, Jennifer is looking for unique, uncommon teen stories with an authentic
voice. She enjoys stories that tackle themes of being an outsider,
displacement, race, sexuality, and self-discovery, and is particularly drawn to
bicultural characters and stories centered around subcultures,
countercultures, and found families.
In the Middle
Grade realm, Jennifer is drawn to stories that don’t shy away from scary or
tough subjects. She enjoys witty, whimsy stories, and values tales of
friendship, families and found-families, and discovery. She is particularly
drawn to stories that feature characters with unique and interesting hobbies or
skills.
In the adult
market, Jennifer is particularly drawn to eccentric, unusual stories. She
values a distinct narrative voice and memorable characters and settings, and is
drawn to travel narratives, historical fiction, coming of age stories, family
sagas, stories of displacement, and magical realism.
In general,
Jennifer loves literary writing, with challenging themes and characters. She is
excited to add writers of diversity (including, but not limited to, all
ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental and physical health, and socioeconomic
status) to her client list.
Please
note that Jennifer is specifically not interested in picture books, romance,
memoir, business books, cookbooks, poetry, religious/spiritual books,
screenplays, self-help, or mystery/thriller/suspense.
Include the word “Query”
in your subject line. For fiction, include a 1-page synopsis and the first 10–15
pages of your manuscript. Full guidelines here.
Jessica Watterson has been with the Sandra
Dijkstra Literary Agency since 2013.
A graduate of the University of California at Irvine, Jessica has
immersed herself in books and literature from the time she could first read.
While in college, she started an indie review blog that featured author
interviews and reviewed several self-published books that eventually ended up
on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Jessica represents romance, woman’s fiction, cozy mysteries, young adult
fiction, and select author illustrated picture books.
Jessica is always on the hunt for new and diverse projects, and is most
interested in all genres of romance. She's drawn to fun, fresh voices, and
character driven stories that keep a reader turning the page needing to know
what happens next. Independent heroines are a must, in addition to well
realized heroes who aren't alpha-holes. Some of her favorite authors
include: Kristen Ashley, Jennifer Armentrout, Jeaniene Frost, Amy Harmon, and
Colleen Hoover.
She also loves Women’s Fiction that concerns itself with elements of
life that can greatly change one’s perspective and outlook on cultures and
experiences.
Jessica is also open to select Cozy Mysteries that feature fun and
independent heroines that can take what life throws at them with aplomb and a
bit of humor.
On the YA side, she is looking for just about anything that aligns
itself with fantasy, contemporary, lgbtq reads, and of course a bit of romance
thrown in is never a bad thing in her opinion.
She is also interested in select author illustrated picture books that
capture the fun and joy of reading between adults and children.
Please note that Jessica is specifically not
interested in: middle grade, non-fiction, memoir, cookbooks,
poetry, short stories, screenplays, self-help, or religious/spiritual books.
Include the word “Query”
in your subject line. For fiction, include a 1-page synopsis and the first 10–15
pages of your manuscript. Picture Book Writers please include the full manuscript
text pasted below your query letter. Please send all items in the body of the
email, not as an attachment. If you have one, attach a full dummy in pdf
format that includes 1-2 color samples, and link to online portfolio. Full
guidelines here.
Jill Marr is an agent at the
Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
She graduated
from SDSU with a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor
in history. She has a strong Internet and media background and over 15 years of
publishing experience. She wrote features and ads for Pages,
the literary magazine for people who love books, and continues to write book
ads for publishing houses, magazine pieces, and promotional features for
television.
After writing
ad copy and features for published books for years, she knows how to find a
project’s "hook" and sell it.
Jill is
interested in commercial fiction, with an emphasis on mysteries, thrillers,
romantic suspense and horror, women's commercial fiction and historical
fiction.
Jill is also looking for nonfiction by authors who are
getting their work published regularly and who have a realistic sense of the
market and their audience. Jill is looking for non-fiction projects in the
areas of science, history, narrative nonfiction, sports, politics, current
events, health & nutrition, pop culture, humor, music, and very select
memoir.
Please note that Jill is
specifically not interested in: YA, children's
books, sci-fi, romance, screenplays, graphic novels, poetry, novellas or
anything involving unicorns
Include the word “Query”
in your subject line. For fiction, include a 1-page synopsis and the first 10–15
pages of your manuscript. For nonfiction, include a book proposal. Full
guidelines here.
Thao
Le is
a literary agent at the Dijkstra Agency since 2011. She also handles the
agency’s daily financial operations and select contracts.
Thao represents middle grade, young adult, and adult romantic
leaning Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, and Light Sci-Fi, plus select Picture
Books by author-illustrators.
In YA and
Middle Grade, she’s currently seeking contemporary stories that are witty,
heartfelt, and authentic. She's especially drawn to stories about family and
friendships from the POV of diverse protagonists. She’s a fan of young
characters who are passionate about the arts, sports, STEM, activism, and geeky
fandoms. She adores stories with a touch of magic and whimsy, and is a fan of
mythology and fairytales.
In the Adult
SFF realm, she’s a fan of character driven contemporary fantasy, near future
science fiction, and romantic space operas. She is particularly excited about
stories with fresh twists to common genre tropes, such as what Seanan McGuire’s Every
Heart a Doorway does with portal fantasy. Some of her favorite
authors are: Diane Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, Robin McKinley, Naomi Novik, and
Juliet Marillier.
Her favorite
romantic tropes are: hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers, slow burn,
forbidden/doomed romance, dating/marriage of convenience, grouchy curmudgeon
and bubbly optimistic, mistaken identities, and she is a sucker for beta second
male leads who steal the show (and hopefully the heroine’s heart!).
In the
picture book realm, she's excited to work with illustrators who write their own
picture books and is most drawn to art that is emotive and vivid. Her tastes
tend towards stories that are character driven, witty, progressive, and ends
with a twist. Some of her favorites include books by Jon Klassen, Minh
Le, Cale Atkinson, and Kate Beaton.
In general,
she loves beautiful literary writing with a commercial hook and tight plotting.
She is actively seeking underrepresented voices (including, but not limited to,
all ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental and physical health, and
socioeconomic status) to her client list.
Thao is NOT looking for: non-fiction, adult literary fiction, adult general
fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, memoirs, poetry, religious/spiritual books,
screenplays, or short stories.
Query Thao at: http://QueryMe.Online/1186
Include the word “Query”
in your subject line. For fiction, include a 1-page synopsis and the first 10–15
pages of your manuscript. Picture Book Writers please
include the full manuscript text pasted below your query letter. Please send all
items in the body of the email, not as an attachment. If you have one, attach a full dummy in pdf format that includes 1-2 color
samples, and link to online portfolio. Full guidelines here.
 |
| Paige Sisley |
If you’re interested in getting published, soon
or somewhere down the road, don’t miss upcoming How to Get Published workshops on Saturday, Aug 18, in Collingwood with literary agent
Paige Sisley (see here) and
Saturday, Nov 17, in Mississauga with literary agent Stephanie Sinclair (see here).
If you’re interested in Writing
for Children & for Young Adults, Brian
Henry will lead a mini-conference with Yasemin Uçar, senior
editor at Kids Can Press, children’s author Kira Vermond, and YA author Tanaz
Bhathena, Saturday, Sept 22, in Oakville (see here), a Writing
Kid Lit weekly course on Friday afternoons, Oct 5 – Nov 30 in Toronto
(see here), and
a Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshop
Saturday, October 12, in Sudbury (see here).
For
updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops
and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and
scroll down).
Also coming
soon: Writing Conflict: Fight scenes, Dialogue scenes
& Love scenes, Saturday, Sept 15, in Toronto (see here), and Writing
and Revising, Saturday, Sept 29, in St. Catharines (see here).
New: November
at the Briar’s Writing Retreat, Friday, Nov
2 – Sunday, Nov 4. Three days to put up your feet, recharge your creative batteries,
and get some great writing tips – all in the supportive company of your fellow
writers. Details here.
This September, Brian is leading a full roster
of courses, Introductory to Intense (Details of all six courses here):
And Intensive Creative Writing, offered in
three locales:
To reserve a
spot in any workshop, retreat, or weekly course, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
See
Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops, weekly writing
classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie,
Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph,
Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, New
Tecumseth, Oakville, Ottawa, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor,
Woodstock, Halton, 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.
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