Six agents at Jennifer De Chiara Agency seek adult fiction and nonfiction and kid lit, picture books to young adult

Where's My Cow by Susan Blackaby
represented by JDLA

The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency

New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles

http://www.jdlit.com/

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Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency {JDLA}, 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 eleven agents at JDLA represent children’s literature for all ages – picture books, middle-grade, and young adult novels – and also represent high-quality adult fiction and nonfiction in a wide range of genres. JDLA is also proud to represent illustrators, as well as screenwriters for both television and film.  Six agents at JDLA are actively looking for new authors:

Marie Lamba is the author of the young adult novels What I Meant...  (Random House), Over My Head,  and Drawn, and of the picture books A Day So Gray (Clarion) and Green, Green (Farrar Straus Giroux). 

Her articles are in more than 100 publications, and she’s a frequent contributor to Writer's Digest. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, and a book publicist, and has taught classes on novel writing and on author promotion.

As an agent, Marie represents fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. She’s currently seeking fiction and nonfiction in the form of picture books, middle grade and young adult works, and in graphic novels, especially with diverse points of view, or a STEM tie-in. She also wants general adult fiction and women’s fiction. She’d love to find an original women's novel that would inspire the next smart and funny chick flick. 

She’d love a fresh non-gory ghost story for any age. She’s fascinated with hidden treasures, artifacts and with discovering ancient civilizations right beneath our feet. She’s a huge fan of folklore and fairy tales, and, while she wouldn’t want a retelling, she always enjoys those elements woven into a story in a unique way. Overall, books that are original, moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome.

Query Marie through her query manager here.

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Note: Marie Lamba was the guest speaker at the online How to Get Published workshop on Sunday, Feb 20, 2022. Check out upcoming How to Get Published workshops  here.

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Amy Giuffrida has been an Associate Literary Agent with JDLA since 2020, though she’s been in the publishing business since 2015. Like all newish agents, she needs authors. Amy represents middle grade, young adult and adult fiction, plus narrative nonfiction and business, social media, tech and cooking books for teens, though for nonfiction, she wants authors with a strong platform.

Other than YA Fantasy, she is completely open to every genre in MG and YA for 2022!

 Some things she’s especially seeking in MG and YA this year: 

•        Kids who are activists and engage in their community to invoke change
•        Vengeful and angry main characters, girls who are not made of soft edges
•        Commercial and character driven—anything with a strong voice and a big hook
•        College-Age YA – PLEASE give me something like: The Sex Lives of College Girls
•        Humor with heart
•        Close-knit family stories with underlying tensions
•        Big, sweeping adventures
•        Dark and gritty horror full of tension
•        Rescue dogs
•        Diverse cast of characters

For adult fiction in 2022, Amy would love to read about people’s joy. “I want to laugh and cry with your characters and root for them to the very end. I want to read about people I don’t know, but who become my best friend. Give me a new home, a new world, a new sense of self. Characters who are older also need to shine, so don’t hesitate to send me your 40+ year-old protagonists who fall in love or finally figure out their life. I am here for it.”

In particular, she’s seeking: 

•        Women’s Fiction
•        Book Club/Commercial Fiction
•        Contemporary Romance/Rom-Coms
•        Non-Political Thrillers/Mysteries/Suspense
•        Horror
•        Historical Fiction – with a contemporary feel

Query Amy through here query manager here.

Tori Sharp has been an Associate Literary Agent with JDLA since 2020, following a two-year internship. Like all newish agents, she needs authors. Tori has a BFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and her bestselling graphic memoir, JUST PRETEND, is out from Little, Brown. 

In middle grade, Tori wants upbeat manuscripts that make readers think about the world around them in a new way – especially fantasy, high-concept fiction, and memoirs. She gravitates toward stories that are simultaneously silly and sincere. She’s looking for clearly defined magic, intimate stakes, and clever twists that she won’t be able to stop thinking about.

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

As for graphic novels: “As a graphic novelist myself, I am eager to represent stunning, playful, diverse, and important comics for kids in elementary through high school. 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 middle-grade graphic memoir, slice-of-life comic strip collections, or stories that feel like fairy tales. I also adore contemporary and historical fiction in comics. I love romcoms, action-adventures, and modern witchcraft. 

“Some of my favorite comics are Catboy, Crush, Nimona, Fake Blood, The Prince and the Dressmaker, On a Sunbeam, Lore Olympus, and Check, Please!”

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

Include “Query” and the title of your project in the subject line and paste the first five 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 and include a full link to your online portfolio in your query. Please do not use link shorteners like bit.ly. Author/illustrators of graphic novels do not need a full script or thumbnail draft in order to query, but should have a thorough synopsis available upon request.

Savannah Brooks joined the Jennifer De Chiara team in 2018 as an Associate Literary Agent after interning for a year and a half. She earned her MFA, focused in creative nonfiction, from Hamline University and her BS in marketing management from Virginia Tech. 

As well as agenting, she works as a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center and is a reader for multiple literary magazines. Her own creative work has been published in Barely South Review, Hobart, Lime Hawk, and Every Writer's Resource, among others.

Savannah says, “I mainly represent kid-lit (Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult), and I'm interested in books that focus on friendship, conflicting identity, and the theme of truth. I’m always drawn in by a protagonist venturing into a realm where society says they don’t belong (think swapping gender norms), and characters with weird obsessions are a weird obsession of mine—teach me strange new things, and I’m yours. I’m all about magical realism, non-western mythology, and modern retellings, but I’m not the best fit for high fantasy or science fiction. 

Sarah Rising by Ty Chapman
represented by Savannah Brooks

“In Picture Books, I'm searching for projects that teach about and celebrate different cultures and places in the world and those that tackle serious topics in really accessible ways. 

“For Middle Grade, I learn very heavily into action-adventure, especially those based on global folklore and mythology, and I love a snarky narrator and spooky situations.

“In YA, I'm looking for multicultural and queer perspectives on everything from modern teen experiences to reframing classic tropes like vampires and witches. I've been particularly wanting to see some horror.​

“Mostly, I’m invested in representing the diverse world in which we live and would like to see that reflected in a cast of characters. Show me variations in race, sexuality, gender, dis/ability, and ethnicity, without that difference being a point of contention, and I’ll be thrilled. Call me an idealist, but my goal for each book is to give kids/teens an opportunity to point to the page and say, ‘Finally, there I am.’"

Savannah occasionally takes on adult fiction. She considers two genres: 1) contemporary novels that walk the line of being funny while still adding to a larger sociopolitical conversation, and 2) thrillers that add to a larger sociopolitical conversation (but are NOT law-enforcement focused, including FBI/CIA).

Query Savannah through her query manager here.

Stephen Fraser is a Senior Agent with JDLA. Previously he worked at HarperCollins Children’s Books. Before that, he was with Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Highlights for Children. 

Stephen represents both children’s and adult books in a wide range of genres.

“I am always looking for good, original writing: picture books with delicious words; middle grade stories that endure, that have strong characters and plots; young adult novels that have identifiable teens and hopeful, interesting stories for the soon-to-be adult. A good mystery perhaps, a ghost story, some poetry, something with a bit of theater. Something to dazzle me.”

Query Stephen at: fraserstephena@gmail.com

For children’s and adult fiction, paste the first 20 pages into the body of your email.

For nonfiction, attach the entire proposal as a Word documents, including a sample chapter.

Jennifer De Chiara is President of The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, which she founded in 2001. Before forming the agency, she was a literary agent with two established New York agencies, worked in the editorial departments of Simon & Schuster and Random House.

Jennifer represents adult fiction and nonfiction and children’s fiction, picture books to young adult novels.

Regarding adult fiction: “I'm passionate about literary fiction with a unique, beautiful voice, but I also enjoy commercial fiction, women's fiction (no bodice-rippers, please), chick-lit, mysteries, suspense, thrillers - in general, I'm open to manuscripts in every category. I'm a sucker for underdog and outsider stories, manuscripts about the triumph of the human spirit. I want to read manuscripts that will keep me up at night, make me feel something, change the world in some way. Even if it's a fun, commercial story, at its heart should be a wonderful protagonist from whom I can learn.”

The Boy and the Gorilla by Jackie Azua Kramer
represented by JDLA

For children's fiction: “I love all kinds of picture books – soft, quirky, funny – rhyming or non-rhyming. For middle-grade and YA fiction, I'm looking for beautiful, distinctive voices, above all, and character-driven stories. I'm open to every genre under the sun, but I'm not a huge science fiction fan.

For nonfiction: “Being a former dancer/actress, I love anything and everything Hollywood, especially celebrity bios/autobiographies. I'm always looking for beautifully written memoirs about people who have overcome incredible odds, books about the arts and performing arts, behind-the-scenes-type books, and books about popular culture.

“I am passionate about books that empower people to live their best lives, whether it's a great health or exercise book or a spiritual-type (think Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra) book, and self-help books of all kinds. I am particularly open to books for the GLBTQ audience and, in general, any underdog/outsider stories. I'd love to see just about any well-written book on any topic; if you're in doubt, just query me.”

Query Jenifer at: jenndec@aol.com

For fiction, paste the first 20 ages into the body of your email.

For nonfiction, attach the entire proposal as a Word document.

For screenplays, a screenplay, please email a logline, a 150-word description, and your bio, with "Screenplay Query" in the subject line of your email.

See full guidelines for each agent, along with their bios, here.

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to Get Published workshops. See what’s coming up next here.

And check out other upcoming one-day workshops, weekend retreats, and weekly classes here. 

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