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| A Pinch of Phoenix by Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski, represented by Azantian Literary |
Azantian
Literary Agency
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Follow Brian by Email box to the right under my bio, and get each post
delivered to your Inbox. ~Brian
Azantian is a
two-person agency begun by Jennifer Azantian in 2014. Jennifer represents both
kid lit and adult lit, though currently she’s only looking for middle grade
novels and graphic novels. In February, 2019, Masha Gunic joined her at the
agency, and like all new agents, Masha needs authors.
Masha
Gunic started her career in publishing as an intern at
the Azantian Literary Agency and has since held internships at Red Fox Literary
and Writers House before working as an Editorial Assistant at Abrams Books on
the children's side for two years. Masha is only looking to acquire middle
grade and young adult novels.
Middle Grade: “I am excited to find middle grade novels across all
genres. Bring on the adventure, the creepy, the spine-chilling horror, the
historical, the imaginative, and the laugh-out-loud funny! I look for dramatic
and funny middle grade books with a relatable voice and strong friendship and
family themes. Brave or whimsical adventure novels are a sweet spot, especially
those starring underdogs and antiheroes. I love low fantasy in general (and am
still upset I never got that Hogwarts letter!), as well as heartbreaking
contemporary fiction with exceptional character development.
“Some of my favorite middle grade books include
WISH by Barbara O'Connor, the FIVE KINGDOMS series by Brandon Mull, THE NEST by
Kenneth Oppel, ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY by Chris Grabenstein,
CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY by Karen Cushman, HOLES by Louis Sachar, THE ROYAL
DIARIES series, and the GOOSEBUMPS series by R.L. Stine.”
Young
Adult: “I'm looking for exciting, high-concept and
commercial young adult novels that keep me reading chapter after chapter until
I'm all done and craving more, as well as unique literary works and
contemporary fiction (including comedies, drama, romance, thrillers, and
mysteries with satisfying twists). I'm also open to historical fiction, science
fiction, low fantasy, and magical realism, but I'm not the right match for high
fantasy. Above all, I'm drawn to young adult novels with a strong voice,
masterful writing, beautiful world-building with a vivid setting, and complex
characters that are truly unforgettable.
A few
of my all-time favorite books include the CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON
series by Louise Rennison, THE PRINCESS DIARIES and ALL-AMERICAN GIRL by Meg
Cabot, THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas, ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen M. McManus,
THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE by Cynthia Hand, SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE by Morgan
Matson, TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han, CINDER by Marissa
Meyer, THE WRATH & THE DAWN by Renée Ahdieh, and THE WICKED DEEP by Shea
Ernshaw.
Query
Masha through this submissions
form
Full guidelines here.
Jennifer Azantian graduated with a
B.S. in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of
California, San Diego where she was an executive editor for the Triton
Psychology Report.
She began her agenting career first as an intern and then as
an assistant and associate at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and later
joined the Paul Levine Literary Agency. In 2014, she founded Azantian Literary
where she focuses primarily, though not exclusively, on fiction with a
speculative twist.
Among other things, Jennifer likes:
Explorations of love, friendship,
or familial bonds against fantastic backdrops
Obscure retold fairy tales
Women and girls in STEM
Quirky middle grade
Modernized mythologies
Psychological horror/thrillers
with speculative elements
Literary and/or
near-future science fiction
Historical fantasy
Magical realism
Internally consistent (preferably
non-Medieval European) epic fantasy
Middle Grade: “I'd love to find
some creepy or spooky stories that are still age-appropriate like CORALINE.
Stories that don't forget how hard it was to be young but told with a whimsy
that undercuts those hard times like in a lot of Roald Dahl's work. Stories
that dig into the deeper questions like A WRINKLE IN TIME and THE GIVER.
Lyrical stories like THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON. And well-written adventures
like GREGOR THE OVERLANDER and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE.
“I think the most difficult thing
to get right in middle grade is remembering just how complex a time it was. I
know a middle grade is hitting the right notes for me when, even if I'm loving
the read, I have that subtle fear of never wanting to be twelve-years-old ever
again!”
Jennifer is open to middle grade
and young adult graphic novels across genres. If you can make her feel like THE
PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER did, you’ll have her. To query graphic novels, please
fill out this submissions form
And from March 1 – March 3, 2019, only, Jennifer is open to all middle
grade fiction, including contemporary realistic. To query middle grade novels,
please fill out this submissions form.
Full guidelines here.
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| 101 Cool Canadian Jokes by author and Scholastic Books senior editor Erin O'Connor |
If you’re interested in writing for a young audience, we have two Writing for
Children and for Young Adults workshops coming
up, both with guest speaker Erin O’Connor, senior editor, Scholastic Books. On
Saturday, May 5, in Toronto the workshop will also feature
young adult author Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (see here),
and on Saturday, May 11, in Brampton the workshop will feature
young adult author Tanaz Bhathena (see here).
For updated listings of Kid Lit weekly classes and
Saturday workshops, see here
(and scroll down).
If you’re interested in getting published, soon or somewhere down the
road, don’t miss the upcoming How to Get Published workshop
Saturday, June 8, in Waterloo with literary agent Meg Wheeler (see here).
For updated listings of How to Get Published
workshops see here (and scroll
down).
And don’t miss these other great workshops coming soon: Writing with Style, Saturday, March 16, in
Mississauga (see here), You Can
Write Great Dialogue, Saturday, March 30, in
Burlington (see here), and Secrets of Writing a Page-turner, Saturday,
April 6, in Alliston (see here).
But the best way to grow as a writer is may be with a weekly course. In the spring, a full range of classes
will be offered:
Burlington: Welcome to Creative
Writing, Thursday afternoons, April 18 – June 20 (No class May 30). Details here.
Toronto: Welcome to Creative
Writing, Friday afternoons, April 26 – June 28 (No
class May 31). Details here.
Oakville
Central Library: Writing Personal Stories, Thursday evenings, April 18 – June 27 (No class May
30). Details here.
Burlington: Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:45; April
16 – June 25 (No class June 4). Details here.
Georgetown: Intensive Creative Writing,
Wednesday evenings, 6:45 –
9:00; April 17 – June 19. Details here.
Toronto: Intensive Creative Writing, Friday mornings, 10:15 – 12:30, April 26 –
June 28. (No class May 31). Details here.
And later in the spring,
come enjoy the most sublime writing experience of all…
Algonquin
Writing Retreat, Friday, May 31 – Monday,
June 3, 2019: four days in the luxurious isolation of Arowhon
Pines Resort to get down
to some real creative growth. Details here.
To reserve a spot in any upcoming weekly course, weekend retreat, or
Saturday workshop, email Brian at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca
See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including Saturday 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, Peterborough,
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. If you're searching for more interviews with literary agents or a
literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.
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