Wanted: New Agents

Literary agents new to an agency are more likely to be interested in debut novelists and writers who haven't been able to crack more established agencies. Often the agents have previously worked in publishing in some capacity, either as an editor or writer and they are making a career change, as a promoted intern or junior agent, or as an established agent who is changing agencies.

So, for this post I'm going to highlight five agents who are relatively new (in the last few months) to the game and also some good resources for finding out more about new agents and general agent information. If you're a writer with a finished first novel or memoir you're proud of and which you think is ready to send out, then read on.

New Agents

Agent: Suzie Townsend
Agency: FinePrint Literary Management
Background: High school teacher, then intern at the agency before being promoted.
Looking for: Everything from children’s books (chapter books to YA, both fiction and nonfiction) to adult fiction (speculative, fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, and romance, especially paranormal). She gravitates toward strong female protagonists, complex plot lines with underlying political, moral, or philosophical issues.

Agent: Nicole Robson
Agency: Fischer-Harbage
Background: Assistant at Fischer-Harbage before being promoted to associate agent.
Looking for: Compelling fiction and nonfiction, specifically books with an international focus. In nonfiction, she loves narrative nonfiction and history.

Agent: Marissa Walsh
Agency: FinePrint Literary Management
Background: Worked previously at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, the Ellen Levine Literary Agency, and Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books. Also, author of two books: the comic memoir Girl with Glasses: My Optic History and the YA novel A Field Guide to High School.
Looking for: Children's picture books, middle-grade, and YA.

Agent: PJ Mark
Agency: Janklow & Nesbit Associates
Background: Formerly an agent and international rights director at McCormick & Williams.
Looking for: Fiction: graphic novels and literary fiction. Non-fiction: celebrity, pop culture, music, film & entertainment, current affairs & politics, humor & gift books, journalism, and multicultural.

Agent: Joyce Holland, associate
Agency: D4EO Literary Agency
Background: A former newspaper columnist for the Northwest Florida Daily News, she has been reading for the agency since last fall, and is also an author.

Looking for: Romance, science fiction, mystery, horror, YA, and nonfiction of all kinds.

Resources

• Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents website. He's always posting alerts regarding new agents (it's one of his categories). A great resource.
• Media Bistro covers the highlights what's new and exciting in the publishing biz.
• Get on the Publishers Weekly PW Daily emails list. In most emails there is a section called Job Moves where you can read all about who's going where in the industry. This is a great source of staying on top of not only agents that have recently joined agencies, but also agents who have left. Just as important when you're querying: you don't want to rely on out-of-date information. Even an agency website can contain old information.