Michael: Michael’s tastes run the gamut from picture books for the very young right up through cutting-edge teen fiction, but the common elements of all the projects he handles are a careful use of language, an often wry quality to the writing, and a fearless wedding of more literary aims with genre plotlines. Yes, he loves good writing, but he also loves for things to happen in a story. Generally, he won’t be drawn to more issue-oriented books.
In terms of teen fiction, he is looking for: realistic, humorous coming-of-age stories along the lines of John Green, Ned Vizzini, E. Lockhart, or Andrew Auseon; breezy re-thinks of traditional fantasy for girls (not so much Marion Zimmer Bradley as Kristin Cashore or Tamora Pierce and Patricia Wrede); dystopian breakneck thrillers such as Michael Grant’s and Suzanne Collins’; and Pullman-esque novels that straddle genres (the Sally Lockhart books or The Golden Compass).
Regarding middle-grade fiction, he is a big fan of traditional children’s fantasy: real-world stories with one fantastic element—more the vein of Half Magic and The Borrowers and The Graveyard Book than, say, high fantasy featuring worlds with made-up languages and the like. He loves humor and wit in my middle-grade novels, and is a big fan of Bruce Coville, Andrew Clements, and Vivian Vande Velde. As well, he loves realistic stories such as those written by Rebecca Stead and E.L. Konigsburg.
As for picture books, he is looking primarily for language-driven stories for the very young. Please, no long manuscripts nor folk tales nor “storybooks” in which the manuscript is longer than six pages. Picture book authors whose work he adores are Mem Fox, Deb Lund, and Bob Shea, and he will always respond well to stories that are about the sound and play of language for the youngest of readers.
Chris: For middle grade, Chris is looking for works featuring unique characters, compelling plots with twists and turns, and strong, confident writing. He will consider works with fantasy elements, but prefers stories that are grounded in the real world. He has a special interest in funny books for boys. Some middle grade titles he would have loved to work on include Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and everything by Roald Dahl.
For teen, Chris prefers contemporary stories, but will consider urban fantasy or works that create a new, compelling world not far from our own, such as in Kristin Cashore's Graceling, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, or Lois Lowry's The Giver. For young adult works geared toward boys, he would prefer submissions with strong commercial hooks and fantastically funny voice, like Ned Vizzini's Be More Chill or Jake Wizner's Spanking Shakespeare. He is not looking for paranormal romance, books based around supernatural creatures such as fairies, vampires, or werewolves, or chick-lit.
Chris is not currently interested in picture books or representing illustrators.
Danielle: For nonfiction, Danielle is looking for compelling projects that present a unique voice and point-o-view, or that shed light on a previously “unknown” topic in the areas of narrative nonfiction, memoir, self-help, relationships, humor, current events, women’s issues, and cooking.
For fiction, she is looking for commercial women’s fiction and multicultural fiction (with a slightly “literary” edge), romance, paranormal romance, and young adult fiction for girls. She tends to favor fish-out-of-water stories, and is drawn toward gorgeous writing and strong, flawed characters who aren’t afraid to take big chances or show a little bit of a dark side.
Ted: specializes in middle grade and teen fiction. Currently, Ted is accepting queries only through conference submissions and client referrals.
agents:
Michael Stearns, Chris Richman, Danielle Chiotti, Ted Malawer
client list:
Martha Brockenbrough, Kurt Cyrus, Cole Gibse, Shaun Hutchinson, Helen Landalf, Deb Lund, Christina Mandelski, Stephen Mooser, Edith Pattou
email submission information:
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what to send:
Query and Partial MS
looking for:
Novel
About This Market
Interested writers may submit a QUERY and TWENTY PAGES of their manuscripts via EMAIL. Please put your query and sample in the body of the email, we will not open emailed attachments. We will respond to most queries within two weeks to a month.
