5 literary agents at Prospect seek adult fiction and nonfiction and kid lit, books for babies to young adults and everything in between

Duck Sock Hop
by Jand Kohuth, illustrated by Jane Porter
represented by Prospect Agency

Prospect Agency

551 Valley Road, PMB 377 
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
http://www.prospectagency.com/

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Emily Sylvan Kim founded Prospect Agency in 2005. Currently, the agency has five agents, all looking for clients. The agency handles adult fiction and nonfiction, and all types of children’s books: board books, picture books – including rhyming books – easy readers, chapter books, middle grade and young adult.

Ann Rose is Prospect Agency's newest agent, but she isn't new to publishing. Over the last few years she has been exploring this field by working and mentoring with literary agents in various capacities. Everything she has experienced from editorial work to the magic of finding the perfect match between author and editor has hardened her resolve to join this wonderful profession. 

Now Ann is thrilled to be building her own list and is actively seeking clients ready to grow amazing careers with her. 

Ann's perfect manuscript is a character-driven story that isn't afraid to push boundaries. She loves an unlikeable character. “I’m looking for characters who aren't afraid to stand up for their convictions and beliefs – whether they fight with their fists or their words, says Ann.

She is open to all young adult and middle grade genres. She especially loves stories that push the MG boundary by exploring topics that affect middle graders but aren't always broached in stories written for them.

In the adult fiction, Ann adores swoony romances, light sci-fi or fantasy, commercial fiction, and heartwarming – or heart wrenching – contemporaries.

I'm always looking for unique voices, diverse perspectives, vivid settings, and stories that explore tough topics,” she says. “Dark and edgy is totally okay too. Above all I'm looking for compelling characters who make me think in new ways, and laugh and cry, hopefully in the same story!”

What is she not looking for? “Stories that start with a character waking up.”

Query Ann through the agency’s submission form here.

Charlotte Wenger was born and raised in Pennsylvania and Virginia. She worked for a publishing services company in Philadelphia until shipping up to Boston to earn her MA in Children's Literature from Simmons College. After gaining editorial, sales, and agency experience, she became an associate editor for Page Street Kids, where she loved working with debut talent and building relationships with authors and illustrators. 

She brings the same mindset to agenting, valuing the developmental and relational work that goes into creating successful stories and fostering long-lasting collaborations.

Charlotte is interested in working with authors and illustrators of children's books – board books through YA, but especially picture books.

Charlotte is also seeking adult nonfiction, particularly biographies and memoirs.

Query Charlotte through the agency’s submission form here.

Emma Sector specializes in children’s books. She started her career with Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, where she worked in the marketing department before joining the Aladdin editorial team. After leaving S&S, she continued to do editorial work on a freelance basis and become acquainted, as a publicist, with the bookstore landscape. 

Having approached publishing from so many different angles, Emma has developed a comprehensive view of the children's literature market, as well as an appreciation of all the hard work it takes to get a book from author to reader. She is looking to create long lasting relationships with authors, working with them to polish their work and find the right editorial match.

Emma seeks quirky, character driven chapter books, literary and commercial middle grade and young adult novels, picture book authors and illustrators, middle grade graphic novels, and middle grade nonfiction.  

“I love picture books with big ideas and few words,” she says, “and chapter books with quirky, vibrant characters.”

Query Emma through the agency’s submission form here.

Rachel Orr specializes in children’s lit. joined Prospect Agency in 2007, so she is one of this young agency’s more experienced agents. Before that, she was an editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, where she had the pleasure of working with such successful novelists as Dan Gutman and Suzanne Williams. 

Because of her editorial background, Rachel continues to do a lot of hands-on work with her clients before sending their projects out on submission. Rachel loves working with clients who come from diverse backgrounds and have fresh perspectives to offer readers.

Rachel is looking for short, punchy picture books (either in prose or rhyme) that are humorous and have a strong marketing hook. She also wants nonfiction picture books (especially biographies or stories with a historical angle), and she’s looking for Illustrators.

In middle grade and young adult, Rachel is interested in both literary and commercial fiction, in all time periods and all genres.

Query Rachel through the agency’s submission form here.

Emily Sylvan Kim is the president of Prospect Agency. As an agent, she aims to excel at identifying and nurturing each author's unique strengths and helping to grow long, sustainable publishing careers. Emily is a member in good standing at the AAR. She is also a founding member of the breakout literary production company, et al Creative.

In adult fiction, Emily is looking for Commercial and upmarket women's fiction, self-published authors looking to explore a hybrid career, established romance authors and strong debut authors writing mainstream romance.

Emily is also seeking memoir and high interest nonfiction.

In the children’s market, she wants literary and commercial YA fiction and select middle grade and early reader fiction with strong commercial appeal.

Query Emily through the agency’s submission form here.

Children's author Jennifer Mook-Sang

If you’re interested in getting published, now or sometime in the future, don’t miss our upcoming How to Get Published workshop with literary agent Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists, Saturday, Sept 21, in Barrie (see here).  

Also, don’t miss Writing for Children and for Young Adults with Kids Can Press senior editor Yasemin Uçar and children's author Jennifer Mook-Sang at the Burlington Central Library, Saturday, Oct 5. Details here.

To help get you write your best possible manuscript check out these workshops coming soon: How to Write a Page-Turner, Saturday, Aug 10, in Mississauga (see here), and Plotting Novels & Writing Short Stories, Saturday, Sept 14, in Toronto (see here). 

But the best way to grow as a writer may be with a weekly course. This fall, there will be a full range of courses on offer, beginner to advanced:

Oakville Central Library: Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, Sept 26 – Nov 28 (no class Oct 31). Details here. 

Toronto: Writing Personal Stories, Friday afternoons, Sept 27 – Nov 29 (no class Nov 1). Details here.

Burlington: Writing Personal Stories, Thursday afternoons, Sept 26 – November 28 (no class Oct 31).  Details here.

Burlington: Next Step in Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons, Sept 24 – Dec 11 (no class Oct 8 or Nov 5). First readings emailed Sept 17. Details here.

Toronto: Intensive Creative Writing, Friday mornings, Sept 20 – Nov 8. First readings emailed  Sept 13. Details here.

Georgetown: Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Sept 18 – Dec 11 (no class Oct 9). First readings emailed Sept 11.  Details here. 

See details of all the fall courses here.

And don’t miss …

“You can write great dialogue,” Sunday, Oct 20, in Sudbury (see here) and How to Write a Bestseller with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, Oct 26, in Waterloo (see here).

 

The Briars

Plus…

November at the Briars Writing Retreat

Friday, November 1 – Monday, November 4; four days of creativity in a setting that provides the warmth of a country estate steeped in history while providing all the benefits of an extensive, modern lakeside resort. Details here.

To reserve a spot in any upcoming weekly course, weekend retreat, or Saturday workshop, email Brian at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses, retreats, and workshops here.

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, 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.

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