Four agents at Canadian literary agency seek new authors

Transatlantic Agency

2 Bloor Street East
Suite 3500
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

https://www.transatlanticagency.com/

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Transatlantic Agency is a leading literary management company with a team of 20 experienced agents based in cities across North America. They offer a full spectrum of career representation to authors (Adult, Children’s & YA, and illustrators) and storytellers (Speakers, Industry leaders & Influencers) across all genres and formats for book, content development, speaking and TV & Film.

Transatlantic represents more than 700 American, Canadian and internationally bestselling and award-winning clients. Their clients’ books range from commercial to literary for fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books, which regularly appear on notable bestseller lists across North America and have won major awards such as the Newbery Medal (U.S.), the Giller Prize (Canada), Michael L. Printz Honor Book (U.S.), and the Governor General’s Award for both adult and children’s literature (Canada).

Four of their agents are open to queries:

Samantha Haywood is President of the Transatlantic Agency. She has extensive experience selling authors in North America for publication and TV/film representation. She launched her client list with Transatlantic Agency in 2004 after working in the international rights departments of Random House of Canada and Westwood Creative Artists. 

Samantha represents a diverse and vibrant client list of novelists, memoirists, investigative journalists, graphic novelists, cookbook authors and thought leaders. Samantha represents international rights for the renown publisher, Drawn & Quarterly. She is also a founding member and former President of PACLA, the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents.

She is not usually open to queries, but she is now.

Samantha Haywood is looking for a plurality of voices – stories and authors of all backgrounds are encouraged! Her objective in here client list are originality and diversity.

In fiction, she’s looking for literary fiction to upmarket commercial fiction of all types. Getting more specific, yes to: smart contemporary fiction, upmarket women’s fiction and cross-over/hybrid style novels with speculative elements. Yes to literary thrillers and upmarket mystery with some cozy mysteries and historical fiction.

In nonfiction, she prefers narrative nonfiction, especially on culturally relevant topics. Some examples: sexuality/gender; investigative reportage; outstanding memoirs (must be truly original or well-known subjects); environmental issues; historical narratives handled in refreshing ways and true crime with societal implications. “Essentially, I’m looking for a strong narrative drive and distinctive voice at all times.”

She’s also seeking full length graphic novels with author and illustrator as one creator, or already teamed-up. Graphic novel memoirs, biographies, travel narratives and other nonfiction graphica also welcome.

Query Samantha at: querysamantha@transatlanticagency.com

Include a sample of your work, maximum of 20 pages. “Embed the sample/excerpt into the email after the cover letter. Graphic novel submissions may include an attachment. Please submit an author bio/publishing history and a synopsis. Please note if other agents are also considering the project and please do not submit to me if you have already submitted to another Transatlantic Agent.”

Carolyn Forde was a literary agent and International Rights Director at Westwood Creative Artists for 14 years before joining Transatlantic.

For the last decade Carolyn has traveled to both the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair and New York regularly, and she will continue to do so in her new role at Transatlantic. Carolyn has lived and worked in Japan, Mexico and the Czech Republic and is a dual citizen of Canada and the UK.

Carolyn is open to queries from the 1st of the month to the 15th of the month and endeavors to reply by the end of the same calendar month when possible. Carolyn does not consider submissions that are sent to other Transatlantic agents simultaneously.

Carolyn would love to see literary fiction (especially speculative and horror), commercial fiction, narrative nonfiction by experts in the field and is open minded to a broad range of topics and styles – as long as it engages her. There are a few things she’s not keen on – medical/disease related memoirs, police procedurals, climate thrillers, military or CIA fiction, cozy mysteries, books about film and tv behind the scenes, and fantasy.

Submit to Carolyn through her query manager here.

Include the first 20 pages for consideration, within the body of your query – attachments will not be opened (double spaced and 12 pt font).

Chelene Knight came into agenting after years of working on the editorial side of publishing and in the magazine industry. She is the author of the poetry collection Braided Skin and the memoir Dear Current Occupant, winner of the 2018 Vancouver Book Award, and long-listed for the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. Her novel, Junie is forthcoming with Book*hug Press, in the fall of 2022, and her commissioned book on Black Self-love and joy is forthcoming with HarperCollins Canada in 2023. 

Her essays have appeared in multiple Canadian and American literary journals, plus the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, and the Toronto Star. Her work is anthologized in Making Room, Love Me True, Sustenance, The Summer Book, and Black Writers Matter, winner of the 2020 Saskatchewan Book award.

Chelene Knight has a strong editorial background and has worked as a substantive editor for manuscripts in poetry, literary fiction, historical fiction, hybrid and traditional memoir, and most recently, children’s books. Chelene has juried for many literary prizes, including the Amazon First Novel Award. She’s also been on many arts boards’ granting juries, including the Canada Council for the Arts, and participated in numerous literary festivals across Canada.

Chelene was the previous managing editor at Room magazine and festival director for the Growing Room Literary Festival in Vancouver. She is now the president of her own literary studio Breathing Space Creative Literary Studio.

“As a Black female writer myself, I will always prioritize submissions by Black, Indigenous, and people of colour writers. I am primarily interested in literary fiction and memoir. I will also consider some commercial and upmarket fiction, if the story entertains me and there is a strong plot. For literary fiction, I am incredibly drawn to character-driven narratives with rich language that push boundaries (think Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye). I also look for books that encourage the setting to be a living character (think Amber Dawn’s Sub Rosa). I crave stories that find unique ways to investigate systemic class inequalities by speaking from an unexplored vantage point as a catalyst for change.

“For memoir, I need not only a compelling story, but an intentionally constructed, unconventional structure that amplifies the narrator’s experiences and contributes to the reflective voice in a unique way. Grief and memory are not linear. I want to champion stories that not only force us to reimagine the ways in which we write our stories, but how we experience and re-experience them.”

Query Chelene through her query manager here. 

Amanda Orozco is currently closed to queries and will re-open to them from April 1, 2023 through April 30, 2023. 

Amanda is looking for stories and projects that make her feel deeply and that surprise her, whether that be in form, voice, tone, concept, ambition, or all of the above. She is particularly drawn to stories from Asian and Latinx writers, though she is always looking for stories with compelling writing featuring protagonists with a distinct voice and personality; clever, quirky, gritty, and/or twisty stories that keep her reading through the night.

For fiction, she’s looking for literary and upmarket adult fiction that feature stories about love, complex relationships, messy family dynamics, folklore and mythology, ghosts, and/or magic, in whatever forms they may take. She is particularly interested in books that bend and mix genre elements, including but not limited to speculative, horror, romance, and fantasy, and books that present the full spectrum of joy and hope and explore both the lightness and darkness of the human condition. She has a soft spot for coming-of-age stories, unique settings, multi-generational family sagas, short story collections, and the occasional urban fantasy. Recent favorites include Weike Wang, Kiley Reid, Ling Ma, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Mary H.K. Choi, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Leigh Bardugo. 

Unless written by an author of color, she is not the right agent for thrillers, mysteries, procedurals, space operas, or historical fiction.

For nonfiction, she’s interested in stories that offer fresh cultural, political, and/or social critiques along with personal narratives on art, pop culture, tech, and forgotten, unexamined history. She is looking for perspectives from the margins or from emerging artists and academics with original ideas and sharp commentary. She is open to select poetry, memoirs, and illustrated gift/humor books. Recent favorites include Carmen Maria Machado, Cathy Park Hong, Alexander Chee, Ayad Akhtar, and Jenny Odell.

Come April, query Amanda at: queryamanda@transatlanticagency.com

Include a 25-page sample (for fiction) or proposal (for nonfiction). Please include “Query” in the subject line along with the title and genre of your project, and notify her if another offer of representation is received. Alternatively, queries can be submitted through her Query Manager here.

Please submit your query either through email OR Query Manager; do NOT submit your query through both.

Author Lana Button will be a guest speaker
for the weekly Writing Kid Lit course this spring

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and publishing your book, join us for an upcoming How to Get Published workshop. See here.

Beyond that, Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape.

Spring courses:

Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday evenings, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m., April 18 – June 20, first readings sent April 11. Details here.

Online: Writing  Kid Lit, with two children's authors as guest speakers, Sunday afternoons, 1–3 p.m. April 2 – May 28. Details here.

Online: Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday afternoons, April 11 – May 30, 2023. Details here.

Online: Welcome to Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, April 12 – June 7. Details here.

In-person: Welcome to Creative Writing,  Thursday evenings, April 20 – June 15, in Burlington. Details here.

A one-day workshop:

Online: Finding Your Voice, Saturday, April 15, with author Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. Details here.

Writing Retreats:

New: Late summer Writing Retreat in Algonquin Park at Arowhon Pines Resort. Tuesday, Sept 4 – Friday, Sept 8. Details here. We still have lots of room in this retreat.

Early spring Writing Retreat in Muskoka at Sherwood Inn, Friday, March 24 – Monday March 27. Details here. Waiting list only.

Algonquin in June Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort, Friday, June 9 – Monday, June 12. Details here. Waiting list only.

To reserve a spot or for more details about any course, workshop or retreat, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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