Jennifer De Chiara agency has a lot of agents looking for authors, including new-comer Tori Sharp

The Scorpions of Zahir
by Christine Brodien-Jones, represented
by the Jennifer De Chiara Agency

The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
31 East 32nd Street

Suite 300

New York, NY 10016

http://www.jdlit.com/

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The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency is a New York City-based full-service literary agency founded in 2001 and named one of the top 25 literary agencies in the country by Writer’s Digest. The agency represents children’s literature for all ages – picture books and middle-grade and young adult novels – but also represents high-quality adult fiction and non-fiction in a wide range of genres. JDLA is proud to represent illustrators, as well as screenwriters for both television and film.

The De Chiara agency has 14 agents, including 10 associate agents busily building their lists of authors and also the marvelous Marie Lamba, interviewed on Quick Brown Fox here. Like most of the agents at De Chiara, Marie is accepting queries for middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction for adults and children.

Tori Sharp, though is the newest member of the team, and like all new agents, she needs authors.

Tori is looking from graphic novels, middle grade and young adult fiction and middle grade nonfiction.

“Please send me all genres of children’s graphic novels,” says Tori. “I love comics that are heartfelt and gestural, and I tend to like art styles that look animated and soft, but bright. I would jump at a raw but playful MG graphic memoir or stories that feel like fairy tales. Some of my favorite comics are Catboy, Crush, Nimona, Fake Blood, The Prince and the Dressmaker, On a Sunbeam, and Check, Please! 

 “See my #MSWL Pinterest board for examples of illustration styles I’d love to find in my inbox here.

“For middle-grade and young adult prose, my heart is in SFF. Please send me witches! I adore magical realism, and I will consider portal fantasy if it has a strange and fun new take on the genre. Give me something that feels like a campy D&D game—or a TTRPG campaign that literally or metaphorically becomes real. I am also looking for contemporary stories dealing with school struggles, broken homes, mental health, transactional friendships, creativity, reconciliation, geekery, saying “no,” and ambition. I would love a cool and clever spy, heist, or mystery story.

Where Your Are by J.H. Trumble,
represented by Jennifer De Chiara Agency 

“For nonfiction, I am exclusively looking for MG memoir and how-to books that introduce a craft.”

Across all genres, she loves to see humor, hopepunk stories, chaotic/trickster characters, riddles and lateral thinking problems in the narrative, diverse #ownvoices, neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ characters, mental health advocacy, and themes about freedom, boundaries, or overcoming conditioned fear.

What’s “hopepunk”? See here. Examples of books here.

She’s looking broadly, so if you’re not sure whether she represents what you’re writing, query her. She does not represent adult fiction, horror, stories of sexual assault, medical dramas, religious fiction or nonfiction, or comedies of errors.

 Her favorite novels include Saffy’s Angel, The School Story, Eliza and her Monsters, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spinning Silver, Skyward, Blood Water Paint, and Chaotic Good.

​Query Tori at: querytori.jdlit@gmail.com

Include “Query” and the title of your project in the subject line and paste the first twenty pages of your manuscript below your query letter. 

Graphic novelists should paste a one- to two-page synopsis and five to ten finished sample pages in the body of the email. Please include a full link to your online portfolio in your query. Please do not use link shorteners like bit.ly. Graphic novelists do not need a full script or thumbnail draft in order to query, but I recommend having a thorough synopsis available upon request.

Scholastic Books Executive Editor
Anne Shone

If you're interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don't miss our upcoming How to Get Published workshops Saturday, Oct 3, in Toronto with Evan Brown of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here) and Saturday, Oct 24, in Guelph with Paige Sisley of the CookeMcdermid agency  (see here).

If you’re especially interested in writing and publishing Kid Lit, don’t miss Writing for Children and for Young Adults, with Anne Shone, Executive Editor, Scholastic Books, Saturday, September 12, in Mississauga (see here) and the Writing Kid Lit  weekly class this fall on Thursday evenings, online (see here).

Beyond that, Brian’s workshop schedule continues to take shape:
Upcoming workshops

Online: How to Make Yourself Write," Saturday, Aug 22.  Details here.

Burlington: Raising the Stakes: How to increase your story's tension,
Saturday, Sept 26. Details here.
Online: How to Write Great Characters, Saturday, Oct 31. Come in costume!   Details here.

Writing Retreats:

Algonquin Park: Join me for a magical weekend at Arowhon Pines Resort, an outpost of luxury in the middle of the wilderness, for a writing retreat. Two sessions:  Friday, Aug 28 – Monday, Aug 31 (Wait list only. See here) and Labour Day weekend, Friday, Sept 4 – Monday, Sept 7 (Spaces still available. See here).

Jackson’s Point on Lake Simcoe: Give yourself four days of inspiration, instruction, and creativity at the Briar’s Resort & Spa, Friday Nov 13 – Monday, Nov 16. Details not posted yet, but will be much the same as 2019. Spaces still available. See here. 
To reserve a spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca  

Weekly Classes {Most classes are almost full or have a wait list}:

Online: Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Sept 24 – Dec 3. See here.

Online: Writing Kid Lit, Thursday evenings, 
Sept 24 – Nov 26. Details here.

Burlington: Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday mornings, Sept 15 – Dec 15. Spaces still available.  See here.

Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Sept 16 to Dec 9. See here.

Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Friday mornings. Sept 18 – Dec 4. See here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule  here, including online and in-person 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, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, 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.