Middle Grade Ninja Episode 205: Literary Agent Melanie Figueroa

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Melanie Figueroa and I discuss in depth how she built her career as an agent at ROOT LITERARY. We talk about what makes her agency different, how she uses query manager to review submissions, how she evaluates manuscripts, how she manages her time and avoids industry burnout, and how she reframes negative narrative. And she divulges information from the secret section of the Root Literary website, among other very interesting topics you won’t want to miss.

Melanie Figueroa is a literary agent at Root Literary. She represents middle grade, YA, and adult fiction along with select nonfiction and picture book titles. What she loves most about the job is the balance of creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduating with a masters in writing and book publishing from Portland State University, she worked as an in-house editorial project manager and then as a freelance editor for several years before joining the agency in 2018. Melanie was born and raised in Southern California in a multicultural, blended family, so she has a soft spot for books that shine a spotlight on the nuances of relationships and identity. She currently lives in Southern California and can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @wellmelsbells.

MelanieFigueroa.com

RootLiterary.com

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 201: Literary Agent Stephen Fraser

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Stephen Fraser and I discuss his lifelong love for middle grade fiction and why he rereads THE SECRET GARDEN every year. We talk about the current state of publishing, how he keeps abreast of the market, why he so frequently visits bookstores, why he moved from being an editor to being an agent, the importance of being authentic, how he can evaluate a writing sample in as little as one sentence, and so much more. This conversation was originally recorded May 5, 2022.

Stephen Fraser joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency as an Agent in January 2005. He worked most recently at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where he edited such creative talents as Mary Engelbreit, Gregory Maguire, Michael Hague, Ann Rinaldi, Kathryn Lasky, Brent Hartinger, Stephen Mitchell, and Dan Gutman. He began his career at Highlights for Children and later worked at Scholastic and Simon and Schuster. A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, he has a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons College in Boston. He represents both children’s and adult books in a wide range of genres.

JDLit.com

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 177: Literary Agent Rachel Orr

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Rachel Orr and I chat about her career in publishing from her time as a bookseller with Barnes and Noble, her time as an editor with Harper Collins, and her current role as a literary agent with Prospect Agency. We talk about her love of reading, writing, and agenting, all of which she frequently does while cooking. We also discuss the types of projects she’s looking to represent, some advice on how to answer Query Manager questions, the author/agent relationship, increasing diversity in traditional publishing, a ghostly ladder, and so much more.

Rachel Orr represents both authors and illustrators on a wide range of projects—from picture books to YA, both fiction and non-fiction. She joined Prospect Agency in 2007, after eight years working for HarperCollins Children’s Books, and brings her editorial experience to her clients’ work. Rachel enjoys cooking Chinese food, watching “Homeland”, and taking public transportation. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two young children. You can follow her on Twitter @rachelprospect.

ProspectAgency.com

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 168: Literary Agent Kristin Ostby

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Kristin Ostby and I discuss how she grew up a reader and daughter of a librarian who went on to edit for Penguin Random House and rose to become a senior editor at Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers before becoming a literary agent with Greenhouse Literary. We talk about why she made that change, the types of projects she’s looking for, how writers and agents can make an editor’s job easier, how to grab an agent’s attention, how she evaluates authors on social media and over Zoom calls, her communication style, using humor as a crucial tool in dramatic fiction, writing for the official Mad Libs, and so much more.

Kristin Ostby represents authors of middle grade and young adult fiction, as well as picture book author/illustrators. She is primarily seeking voicey, character-driven middle-grade as well as literary and contemporary young adult fiction. In particular, she is looking for stories with unabashedly intersectional overtones.

As the daughter of a librarian and a businessperson, it’s really no wonder Kristin wound up in the book business. Kristin moved from Michigan to New York to begin her life in publishing at Penguin Random House and rose to become a senior editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. In her sixteen years as a children’s book editor, Kristin had the joy and pleasure of editing children’s book legend Tomie dePaola; New York Times bestselling authors like Stuart Gibbs (Spy School) and US soccer star Alex Morgan (The Kicks); and award-winning creators including Daniel Miyares (Float), Jessica Lawson (Nooks & Crannies), and Heather Vogel Frederick (The Mother-Daughter Book Club). She also edited the mainstay bestseller I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley. Kristin loves guiding authors and illustrators toward their best work and advocating for them in service of building successful, sustainable artistic careers. Kristin lives in Brooklyn, New York.

KristinOstbyEditorial.com

GreenHouseLiterary.com