Meet the Agents 2015

Meet the Agents Coming to Push to Publish

Whether you are an established writer or just getting started, this one-day workshop will provide valuable resources you can use to get your work in print and online.

Meet the agents joining us for the 2015 Push to Publish conference on October 10, 2015!

 Jordy Albert is a Literary Agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency. She is looking for stories that sink their teeth in, leave the reader wanting more, and gives her all the feels. She loves books that make her laugh out loud, cry, or even want to throw the book! Jordy is interested in fun, witty Middle Grade. Contemporary or action/adventure (think awesome 80s movies), YA contemporary romance, Sci-fi, fantasy and thriller/suspense – MUST have romance, and more! Also of interest are smart, sexy contemporary romances that leave her breathless, where the chemistry between the characters sizzles right off the pages. She is on the lookout for Historical Romances (she has a soft spot for a fantastic Regency). Jordy is a sucker for a happy ending. She is always looking for strong, intelligent characters (snarky, but likable). Jordy loves an awesome kick butt hero/heroine, especially when they have to work their way out of a tight spot.

Please note: that while it isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, Jordy tends to shy away from novels with trigger topics, such as suicide and any type of abuse.

Sheree Bykofsky, AAR, represents over 100 book authors in all areas of adult non-fiction as well as literary and commercial fiction. Among Sheree’s nonfiction clients are Jane Eldershaw, Bill Walsh, Margo Perin, Albert Ellis, John Carpenter (first millionaire on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”), Bill Baker (President of Channel 13, PBS in NYC), Supermodel Roshumba, and Richard Roeper (of Ebert and Roeper). In the area of fiction, Sheree’s clients include Donna Anders and Leslie Rule. Sheree is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Publishing at New York University and teaches at SEAK’s conferences for doctors and lawyers. Sheree is very proud to represent her latest author, Philadelphia Stories‘ essay editor Julia MacDonnell, author of MIMI MALLOY AT LAST (Picador), whom she met at Push to Publish!

Sheree represents literary and commercial fiction. Her nonfiction specialties include popular reference, business, health, psychology, poker, spirituality, self-help, humor, cookbooks, pop culture, biography, women’s issues, decorating & crafts, music, and much more.  

 

Adriana Dominguez has over 15 years of experience in publishing, most recently as Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she managed the children’s division of the Latino imprint, Rayo. Prior to that, she was Children’s Reviews Editor at Criticas magazine, published by Library Journal. She is a member of the Brooklyn Literary Council that organizes the Brooklyn Book Festival, and one of the founders of the Comadres and Compadres Writers Conference in New York City. Adriana joined Full Circle in 2009, and is based on the East Coast.

Adriana is interested in children’s picture books, middle grade novels, and literary young adult novels. On the adult side, she is looking for literary and women’s works of fiction that feature characters with unique voices telling unforgettable stories. In the area of non-fiction, she seeks pop culture, and how-to titles geared toward women of all ages, written by authors with rock-solid platforms. Adriana welcomes submissions that offer diverse points of view. 

Please note: Adriana is not accepting short stories, poetry, romance, thrillers, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian, paranormal, or Spanish language only submissions. 

 

Marie Lamba (marielamba.com) is author of the picture book Green, Green (Farrar Straus Giroux, ’17), and the young adult novels What I Meant… (Random House), Over My Head, and Drawn. Her work appears in the short story anthology Liar Liar (Mendacity Press), the anthology Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing), and her articles are in more than 100 publications including national magazines such as Writer’s Digest and Garden Design. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, and a book publicist, has taught classes on novel writing and on author promotion, and belongs to The Liars Club. Marie is also an Associate Literary Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in NYC (jdlit.com), where she represents picture book writers and illustrators, middle grade, YA and adult fiction, plus memoir.

Marie is currently looking for young adult and middle grade fiction, along with general and women’s fiction and some memoir.  She is open to submissions from picture book authors or illustrators who are already established, or whose work she has requested through conferences.  Overall, books that are moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome.

 Please note: she is NOT interested in genre science fiction or high fantasy (though she is open to speculative elements and loves a good ghost story), category romance (though romantic elements are welcomed), non-fiction, or in books that feature graphic violence. 

 

Jennifer Mishler is an avid reader and has always wanted to be involved with books . To her, nothing is better than falling in love with strong characters and getting lost in an interesting plot. Jennifer looks for dark humor, romance, and world building when reading manuscripts. Her favorite stories are The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. Jennifer enjoys reading strong, interesting characters who are made up of shades of gray. Her biggest pet peeves for writing include: weak dialogue, info dumping, and an imbalance of showing vs. telling.

Please note: Jennifer is no longer accepting paranormal, sci-fi submissions. She is looking for YA Thrillers, YA Contemporary Romance, and New Adult.

Gina Panettieri is President of Talcott Notch Literary Services, a 5-member boutique agency representing a full range of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. A 25-year veteran of the publishing industry, she’s placed hundreds of books with publishers such as Berkley, McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Macmillan, and Adams Media. The agency website is http://www.talcottnotch.net/.

Gina is seeking edgy, darker Young Adult, adventurous or humorous Middle-Grade fiction, all genres of adult fiction, and nonfiction genres like business/career/investing, cookbooks, crafts, self-help, memoir, travel, popular science, history, true crime and gift books. She is also always on the hunt for projects for her agency colleagues, and has brought home a number of projects from conferences and contests that have been signed and sold that way.

A literary agent with the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, Katharine Sands has worked with a varied list of authors who publish a diverse array of books. Highlights include Spiritual Pregnancy: Nine Months that Change Your Life Before You Give Birth by Dr. Shawn Tassone and Dr. Kathryn Landherr; Loglines by Lane Shefter Bishop; Talk to Strangers: How Everyday Random Encounters Can Expand Your Business, Career, Income and Life by David Topus; The New Rules of Attraction: How to Get Him, Keep Him and Make Him Beg for More by Arden Leigh; Stand Up for Yourself: Resolve Workplace Crises Before You Quit, Get Axed or Sue the Bastards by Donna Ballman; Health and Beauty Bullet Points with Dr. Oz guest, Dr. Pina Loguidice; Dating the Devil (producer: Vast Entertainment) by Lia Romeo; XTC: SongStories; Chasing Zebras: THE Unofficial Guide to House, MD by Barbara Barnett of Let’s Talk TV; CityTripping: a Guide for Foodies, Fashionistas and the Generally Style-Obsessed; Writers on Directors; Ford model Helen Lee’s The Tao of Beauty; Elvis and You: Your Guide to the Pleasures of Being an Elvis Fan; New York: Songs of the City; Taxpertise: Dirty Little Secrets the  IRS Doesn’t Want You to Know; The SAT Word Slam, Divorce After 50; Trust Your Gut; Make Up, Don’t Break Up with Oprah guest Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil to name a few. She is the agent provocateur of Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye, a collection of pitching wisdom from leading literary agents.

Actively building her client list, she likes books that have a clear benefit for readers’ lives in categories of food, travel, lifestyle, home arts, beauty, wisdom, relationships, parenting, and fresh looks which might be at issues, life challenges or popular culture. She is also looking for compelling reads in fiction, memoir and femoir, she likes to be transported to a world rarely or newly observed; for fiction, she wants to be compelled and propelled.

Eric Smith is an author, blogger, and literary agent with P.S. Literary, happily living in Philadelphia. An author of Young Adult fiction and humor, his books have been translated into six languages. Before becoming an agent, he spent several years at a wonderful publisher, Quirk Books, where he handles marketing for many bestselling titles. He can be found writing for places like BookRiot, Barnes & Noble, Paste Magazine, and The Huffington Post. Locally, he’s the co-founder of Geekadelphia and the Philadelphia Geek Awards.

Eric Smith is an associate literary agent at P.S. Literary, with a love for young adult books, sci-fi, fantasy, and literary fiction.

The Rumpus Interview with Julie MacDonnell

The countdown has begun! As attendees anxiously await the 2015 Push to Publish conference to be held October 10 at Rosemont College, now is the time to start thinking about your writing and what questions you may want to ask at the conference. What do you want to gain from the conference? What is the most important question you want to ask?

Author, speed date participant, and panelist, Julie MacDonnell, was interviewed by Steve Almond from The Rumpus. The article features a Q&A session with Julie and talks about her experience as a writer and author. If you are interested in writing or teaching writing, check out the interview now by clicking here!

Julia MacDonnell’s No Time To Be A Good Girl

I’d always written because I had stories I wanted to tell and I wanted, however stubbornly or egotistically, to tell them my way. – Julia MacDonnell

18 days and counting until this years Push to Publish conference! It isn’t too late to register, just click the link provided, to be able to participate in a great experience where you can gain valuable information for a career in the literary world!

Among the conference attendees is published author Julia MacDonnell who will be a nonfiction Speed Date author as well as a panelist for Marketing for Published Authors Panel. MacDonnell’s latest book, Mimi Mallory, At Last! has  been released in paperback format March of this year. For more information about Julia and her books, click here.

Also, check out this fun and interesting article Julie has written about her journey as a writer to get her works published. The article can be found on The Artist Unleashed, a blog hosted by Jessica Bell. Check it out now – No Time To Be A Good Girl.

Pitch Tips from Agent Katharine Sands

With only a few weeks left until this year’s Push to Publish conference, it’s time to start prepping for your perfect pitch. Many of you are facing the same difficult questions: How do I stand out from the crowd? How do I best represent my work? Literary agent Katharine Sands will be offering a one-day workshop the Friday before Push to Publish to help answer these questions (Click here to register for her workshop), as well as joining other agents and editors to participate in the Saturday conference’s “speed date” session. Below, Katharine offers some helpful tips on how to craft your pitch.

3 Key questions to ask an agent:

1. Does my book idea feel fresh enough? If yes, what in particular do you like? If no, what seems too generic?
2. What is my most interesting point? Which area needs the most work? What would make this stand out?
3. What was the first red flag, or reason that would prevent you from wanting to read—and represent—me?

Your pitch will succeed if you:

1. Use the pitch to deliver enough of the flavor of the book to whet the reader’s appetite for more.
2. Show what we can learn from you about how to handle this life problem or challenge. Tell us: What do I do differently after I read your book, what could I not figure out without you? Show how much texture, how much scope there is to the subject. What are three quick tips or hints of the “practical and prescriptive” advice to come?
3. Speak about a topic or nonfiction subject or memoir showcasing the groundbreaking, or new, focus you can encapsulate and state clearly.
4. Keep calm and carry on even—if it appears the agent is getting glassy eyed, eyeing the bar, or squirming as if her buttock or her foot has fallen asleep.

Your pitch will fail if you:

1. Don’t leave home with a “money shot,” a clear, core point about why this book will find readers.
2. Ramble, or use many prefaces or qualifiers.
3. Rely on reviews or references from gurus, editor feedback, or spousal support.