Three agents at kt literary actively seeking new authors

The Woods are Always Watching
by Stephanie Perkins,
represented by kt literary 

kt literary

Highlands Ranch
Denver, Colorado

https://ktliterary.com/

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kt literary is a full-service literary agency operating out of Highlands Ranch in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. It was founded by Kate Testerman in 2008 when she moved to Colorado after a dozen years working in publishing in New York City. 

There are ten agents at kt, three of whom are actively looking for authors:

Savannah Brooks recently moved to kt fromthe Jennifer De Chiara Agency, where she was an Associate Agent. Like all relatively new agents, she needs authors. 

Savannah is seeking all of kid lit: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA, both fiction and nonfiction. She’s also looking for adult contemporary fiction, romcoms, thrillers/mystery/suspense, and horror.

Savannah is especially interested in stories that teach her something new, add to a larger sociopolitical conversation, and (like everyone else) highlight underrepresented identities and cultures.

In Picture Books, she’s looking for: (1) stories that tackle serious subjects like politics, mental health, grief, and belonging in an accessible and empowering way, (2) stories that teach about and celebrate different cultures and places in the world, and (3) nonfiction that delights and inspires – especially if it has a feminist/disability/multicultural/queer angle.

In Middle Grade, she leans heavily toward action-adventure – especially when it's based on non-western (that means no Greek/Roman) mythology and folklore. If you think it could sit on a bookshelf next to Rick Riordan's works, it's for her. She’s looking for humor and fast-pacing but still wants content that touches on larger themes like belonging, grief, friendship, family, culture, etc. She is not a good fit for quiet and serious books.

In Young Adult, she’s looking for multicultural, disabled, and queer perspectives on everything from modern teen experiences to reframing classic tropes like vampires and witches. Voice is everything for Savannah. She loves sarcasm, quirk, and wit – and the story needs to be speaking to a larger sociopolitical conversation, even if in a lighthearted way.

She is all for books that empower teens to get political and take a stand for what they believe in. She’s also drawn to stories that treat setting like a character, and she especially wants atmospheric horror – stories where the spook comes from the place itself, similar to Wilder Girls.

Savannah earned her MFA, focused in creative nonfiction, from Hamline University and her BS in marketing management from Virginia Tech and worked on the editorial side of publishing for two years prior to joining JDLA. As well as agenting, she works as a publishing and literature lecturer at the University of Minnesota and a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis and can regularly be found at one of Minnesota’s 11,842 lakes – yes, even in winter.

Query Savannah through her query manager here.

Sara Megibow is a Senior Agent. She has worked in publishing since 2006. She specializes in launching debut authors and is actively seeking middle grade, young adult, and romance and science fiction/fantasy for the adult market. 

Sara represents several New York Times bestselling authors, including Casey McQuiston, Jaleigh Johnson, Jason M. Hough, Margaret Rogerson, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Roni Loren. She is a graduate of Northwestern University with degrees in Women’s Studies, Gender Studies and American History. Always LGBTQ+ Friendly!

She Tweets at: https://twitter.com/saramegibow 

Query Sara through her query manager here.

Chelsea Hensley is an associate agent and like all relatively new agents, she needs authors. Chelsea is seeking Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult Fiction, especially mysteries, thrillers, sci fi, and horror. Overall, she’s looking for fresh concepts, immersive worlds, and a strong voice. Like everyone else, she’s especially interested in working with authors from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in publishing, particularly Black authors.

In Adult fiction, she’s currently only looking for fantasy and some supernatural horror. She loves sprawling magical worlds and lush retellings. She’d love something akin to the work of Naomi Novik or dark and atmospheric like NINTH HOUSE. In horror, she’s less interested in jump scares and prefers unsettling stories full of creeping dread like YEAR OF THE WITCHING or MEXICAN GOTHIC.

In Middle Grade her taste skews toward upper level and more toward fantasy. She’d love to see some sweeping fantasy like THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON and projects inspired by lesser told legends, fairytales or myths like LALANI OF THE DISTANT SEA. She’s also interested in historical and mysteries of the whimsical and adventurous variety.

In Young Adult, she has broader tastes but is especially interested in mysteries and thrillers. She prefers dark and twisty and deeply character-driven stories (think: Courtney Summers). If you have fantasy, sci-fi, or historical projects with strong mystery threads in them, she’d love to see them! She’d also be interested in something irreverent and smart like American Vandal.

Chelsea is also interested in YA science-fiction and fantasy. For sci-fi, she’s interested in things that are grounded in the real world and would love to see some inventive dystopias like SCYTHE or horror like WILDER GIRLS. In fantasy, she’s interested in everything from contemporary to epic. She’d love something that puts a fantasy twist on history like DREAD NATION or THE DIVINERS. She’d also love something that blends and bends genres like JANE, UNLIMITED.

She’s very selective when it comes to YA contemporary and romance. She’s toward character-driven stories that meet emotional heft with a silvery thread of humor like the work of Robin Benway and Jenny Han.

Some of the things Chelsea loves to see in a manuscript:

Intricate plots and complex emotional arcs
Whipsmart protagonists who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. There’s nothing I love more than a main character who throws themselves into the thick of things and doesn’t look back.
Female friendship, partnerships, rivalries, and everything in between are high up on my wishlist. Girls, girls, girls basically. I prefer narratives to be female driven, and I’d love to see more F/F romantic pairings.
I’m a big fan of spies, assassins, thieves and other rogue-ish characters. I love, love, love heists.
I’d love to see some great antiheroes or characters embarking on redemption arcs like Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

 Query Chelsea through her query manager here.

Olga Filina

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our in-person How to Get Published  workshop, Saturday, November 19, in Mississauga, with literary agent Olga Filina of 5 Otter Literary. As this is an in-person workshop, attendance will be strictly limited.
Details here.

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

Weekly classes starting soon:

In-person: Enjoying Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m., Sept 29 – Nov 24, in Burlington. Details here.

Online: Enjoying Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:30, Oct 11 – Dec 6, 2022 {Or to Dec 13 if the course fills up.} Details here.

Writing Kid Lit with guest speakers Lana Button and Kira Vermond, Wednesday evenings, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Oct 12 – Dec 7, 2022 {Or to Dec 14 if the course fills up}. Details here.

Online: Writing Personal Stories, Monday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:30, Oct 24 – Dec 5, 2022 {Or to Dec 12 if the course fills up.) Details here. 

Details of all fall classes here.

Writing Retreats:

Sherwood Inn – a cozy place to write

October in Muskoka Writing Retreat at Sherwood Inn, Friday, Oct 14 – Monday Oct 17, 2022. Details here. – Waiting list only for this one, but…

New: March in Muskoka Writing Retreat at Sherwood Inn, Friday, March 24 – Monday, March 27, 2023. Details here.

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