A Query Kombat Success Story - Sarah Janian

Success stories are always awesome to share. For those starting off, it's a testament of what happens when you persevere. For those in the trenches, it give you a sense of hope that your blood, sweat, and tear will pay off.

Well, it will pay off. Sometimes is just takes a little time, and small victories, as Sarah can attest.

 *

Many authors frame their origin story in childhood.  They describe epic novels scrawled in notebooks, or a sense of knowing they were predestined for the glorious (cough) work of authoring.

Not so for me.  I was an avid reader, but I avoided creative writing at all costs, until I became an elementary school teacher and had to teach it.  At first, I felt like a fool and a charlatan, but eventually, this work of helping children find their own voices helped me to find my own.

A science fiction premise came to me one day, one I thought had a strong enough hook to be worth the toil of turning it into a novel.  So I sat down to write it six years ago, thinking I would have it agented and sold in a year.

In a turn of events that will shock no one, I struggled with the logistics of an 80ish k novel, since the longest thing I had written post-grad school was a short story for my class.  So after a couple years of writing and rewriting, I decided to hold off on the SF and try my hand at a middle grade fantasy.

That manuscript wrote itself in a few months, and I enthusiastically pitched it at several SCBWI conferences over the next couple of years.  In each case, agents gave me the same feedback: “There’s a lot to love here, but this book isn’t publishable.”

I was devastated.

I complained, I cried, and I sulked, but then I tried again, this time writing a contemporary MG about a girl struggling with her parents’ bitter divorce.  Although the subject matter is realistically dark, I infused it with humor and lighter moments too.  I was really excited about it.

Then I got pregnant, and I became very, very sick for almost a year.

Then I had a colicky baby and became very, very sleep-deprived for another year.

Writing went out the window during these years.  One day I realized that the vague depression and gnawing angst I was feeling, in part, was because I hadn’t made it a priority.  Armed with the MG partial-manuscript, I started setting my alarm to 4:30 (am) and writing in the mornings.  It was liberating!  It was intoxicating!  Sometimes it was excruciating.

But I did it.  I finished the manuscript when my daughter was about a year-and-a-half, even though my husband was working long hours and we didn’t have any babysitting help at the time.

Just as I finished the book, now tentatively titled THE SIXTH GRADER’S GUIDE TO DIVORCE, I happened upon an announcement about a contest called Query Kombat.  It looked brutal—each query is pitted against another and judged publicly—but it seemed like a great opportunity if I could make a team.

I should admit something here.  In hindsight, I probably wasn’t ready to enter. Unbeknownst to me, my manuscript had some issues, because back then I didn’t know about critique partners or beta readers.  It was just me and my screaming toddler and my computer.

And coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.

I wrote a query right before the deadline, sent it to Michelle, and stalked Twitter.  Oh yes, I also joined Twitter.  Even though I’m a borderline Millenial, I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable with social media, but QK convinced me to take the plunge.

I remember reading over the team announcements with my husband, not even breathing.

Making Laura Heffernan’s team was the first real writing victory I experienced in almost six years.  It was amazing.

The contest proved even more brutal than I had realized. I pored over the blogs as the votes rolled in for and against me.  In the end, I advanced through the first round to the agent round, but I was crushed in the second round. The good news: during the agent round I got a bunch of agent requests, another first for me!  I also used the feedback from the QK judges to strengthen my query.

Then s**t got real.

I frantically revised while new QK friends beta read my manuscript.  I also made the very savvy decision to hire Laura outside of QK to do a developmental read of my MS and give me her feedback.

After sending out the full and partials to the QK agents, I began sending small batches to other agents as well.  I sent out a query to Andrea Somberg very early in my querying because her longtime client, Sarah Beth Durst, is one of my favorite authors, and I had remembered Sara mentioning her in various interviews.

Then I waited.

Andrea responded within a few days. (She is a master of her inbox, which is not always the case with agents.)  She said she enjoyed my pasted pages and asked for a full.

My hands literally shook as they read the message on my phone.

At the same time, Laura got back to me with her thoughts, and another agent approached me with some revision ideas.  Just as I sat down to rework, Andrea finished reading the manuscript and loved it.

SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO SCHEDULE A TALK BY PHONE.

I had been reading the blogs enough to know that this is often, but not always, a signal that AN AGENT WILL OFFER.

Guys, she did.

It was one of the most wonderful and surreal conversations in my life.  Andrea convinced me that she loved my manuscript as much as I did, her editing vision gelled with mine, and her submission plan sounded fantastic.  I also got to speak with Sarah Beth Durst by phone, who proved lovely and gracious and very tolerant of my fangirling.

After that came an insane week of notifying the other agents with my partials and fulls that I had been offered rep.  Not much is written about this because it’s all very hush hush, which is too bad, because you learn a lot about how agents handle things like deadlines and communication.  In the end I had multiple offers and had to make a difficult choice, however one that I have not regretted for a second since signing with Andrea.

Although I did not get my agent through the QK agent requests, I am SO grateful to QK and to the hosts Michelle Hauck, Laura Heffernan, and Michael Anthony.  Because of their generous work making the competition happen, I improved my query, built up the confidence to try again after “failure,” and made some wonderful writing friends.  I want to thank Laura, in particular, for being a wise, funny, and inspiring friend and mentor.   Words cannot express my gratitude to her for her many, many kindnesses.

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Sarah Janian is a teacher-turned-sahm who earned her B.S. from Swarthmore ('05) and her M.Ed. from Bank Street ('09). Currently she lives in Philadelphia with her family.  Follow her on Twitter @see_sahm_write to win one of her query and MS critique giveaways. Sarah is represented by Andrea Somberg at the Harvey Klinger Agency.

NoQS 2016 Wrap Up

HUGE thanks to the agents, mentors, entrants who helped make Nightmare on Query Street such an awesome and successful contest. We had a fantastic number of requests this year. With 36 requests for the Monsters, 32 for the Legions, and 36 for the Minions.

For those who want stats, here's a blog breakdown:

Monsters

Screams: 8

Shrieks: 21

Shivers 7

Total: 36 requests

Minions

Screams: 7

Shrieks: 23

Shivers: 6

Total: 36

Legions

Screams: 9

Shrieks: 17

Shivers: 6

Total: 32

Once again, thanks for such an awesome year. If you're working on a new project, don't forget about Query Kombat in June 2017 and Nightmare on Query Street next year! Hope you had a safe and happy Halloween!

Nightmare on Query Street Agent Round

Following this post is the Monster Class of 2016

*Agents

For the next four days, you can...

SCREAM for a full request.
SHRIEK for a 50 page request.
SHIVER for a 10 page request.

You can make as many requests as you'd like. Go wild! We have some awesome talent for you to peruse.

We’ve split the entries into three competing teams, and they can be found in groups of fifteen on each host’s blog.

Michelle’s Minions

Mike’s Monsters

Laura's Legions

If you have any questions, tweet us @RavenousRushing, @Michelle4Laughs, or @LH_Writes

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Opera and Safari Browsers may NOT allow you to comment. Using another browser is HIGHLY recommended.** 


*Spectators

No commenting, cheerleading, etc. Only agents will be able to comment.

But CHEER OVER ON TWITTER! We're going to be under the hashtag #NoQS and we will be having FUN. So vent, be nervous, cheer each other on, and hold hands over Twitter. One of the best parts of contests is seeing how the writer's community gathers and supports each other.

I'll be looking for all my Monsters there. I expect you to be roaring louder than the Minions and Legions. We're MONSTERS. That's what we do!


GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!! Hope you all get a ton of frighteningly amazing requests!

My team is so amazing...

 

NoQS Agent Round: DON'T - YA Romantic Thriller

Name: Kyra Palmer

Twitter Handle: @kp_shadow1287
Title: DON’T
Genre: YA Romantic Thriller
Word Count: 73,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My MC's most stressful relationship is with her brother. They’re twins who don’t fit any of the conventional twin norms. Their opposite personalities cause friction between them and they are constantly trying to protect one another much to each other’s chagrin. He is dating one of her best friends, which is awkward for her. The brother also believes he is the arch nemesis of the antagonist/love interest which sinks his deception of his sister even further for the sake of defending her but the lies only backfire and pull his twin and the enemy closer together.

Query:

Last week, high school senior Charlotte “Char” Matthews ran in front of a semi to save a puppy. Then a choice at school backfires, and the same rash, stupid bravery ensnares her in a lab partnership with the boy who terrorized her childhood. Except now, Jasper Calvary is all grown up and armed with a rap sheet instead of super glue—proof this bad boy’s heart isn’t secretly golden. With their grades tied together, her GPA is in jeopardy, which makes it impossible for her to resist stooping to his level.

Char’s patience evaporates the first day and she embarrasses Jasper in public, triggering an unspoken challenge. Soon their tension-rigged classroom banter escalates into psychological warfare: dares, trespassing, and high speeds stunts. The harder Char and Jasper push against each other, the more they’re drawn together. As their game ricochets out of control, all the rules are broken, rubber burns, and sparks ignite. The line between predator and prey fades, and with their hearts vulnerable, both let go of all caution, fanning their attraction into a blaze.

The fragile flame between them is smothered though, when their playing results in Jasper’s arrest and he blames Char. Burned by betrayal, Jasper lures Char into a trap for revenge, however, it’s more dangerous than he ever intended. Stranded in the middle of nowhere and locked in a fight for their lives, suddenly love and grades aren’t the only things at risk. No help is coming—no friends, no teachers, no witnesses. Survival means spilling blood, but losing means being the one who goes home in a body bag.

First 250:

I wish people came with a warning label—be polite and give others a chance to avoid possible negative side effects of association like bad grades, missed curfews, or lying to parental units. Or perhaps more helpful would be hazard signs to warn of personality defects. My best friend’s would read: Personal Bubble Infiltrator. My brother’s would be: Borderline Narcissistic Major, Minoring in Manipulation. His girlfriend: Heart-breaker for Sport. Except such a courtesy would be asinine and ruin a desirable first impression, wrecking friendships before they began. Honesty is an absurd policy; I’d rather befriend the lie.

Guilty of procrastination, I’ve been sentenced to the high school equivalent of a CIA black site with busywork, also known as freshman science. An electric chair would be cozier than these unforgivable metal chairs with uneven legs. Test-out options nonexistent, and with graduation on the line, I had no choice but to suffer through this class.

The room stunk of formaldehyde and juveniles. No amount of slumping in my chair spared me the humiliation. And it wasn’t the anonymous, solitary variety either.

Nope, the torture included one hundred deplorable percent of him.

Jasper Calvary. His warning label: Don’t.

A strong, angular jaw and well-defined cheekbones replaced the boyish face that haunted my childhood. The brown hair, almost dark enough to be black, and striking blue eyes were as I remembered. A shot of concentrated Caribbean I wished I could bottle and keep with me. In a non-creepy way, like on a key chain or a necklace.

NoQS Agent Round: THE DOLL TRAIN - YA Contemporary

Name: Kasey Dallman

Twitter Handle: @kaseydallman
Title: THE DOLL TRAIN
Genre: Contemporary YA
Word Count: 60,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My MC, Marc, struggles to accept himself. When he is blamed in the death of his best friend it suddenly becomes very clear that his skin color is fueling the charges. From early on he has recognized that his skin sets him apart from his community. Marc's not ashamed of his color, nor should he be. But he does want to turn his skin color off, or better yet, shed it like a snake and build a new one that fits his town better.

Query:

When high school junior Marc Amazi witnesses his best friend overdosing, he knows a war has started. It isn’t just anyone who died. It is 17-year-old Anna Mason. The most stunning girl in the universe. Captain of the varsity basketball team. A blonde hair, blue eyed staple of every suburban community. And he has skin too dark and a haunted past that turns everyone away.

When Anna’s death is ruled an overdose and pills are planted in Marc’s toilet, he is charged with delivering the narcotics that killed her. As the justice system brands Marc by the color of his skin, the town doesn’t label him a friend in mourning. They label him a murderer.

After he is released on bail, Marc is trapped in a sea of online threats and harassment. A social media group is created to attack Marc. It doesn’t take long for it to manifest into physical acts of violence. As Marc prepares for his trial, he finds himself not only fighting for his life, but the lives of millions of people that look like him and face the same prejudices.

First 250:

Oct. 17

The night Anna died

Time doesn’t stop when the world is ending. It sticks together, every moment exaggerated, ticking by so dreadfully slow.

I watch the seconds unfold. The pavement slices my knee. Crimson drops stain the gravel. Still, Anna remains limp. A pretty little doll someone forgot to put back on the shelf.

It’s not possible to give one person every beat of your heart, every drop of your blood, every ounce of energy. To attempt something so foolish is suicide. Yet, for Anna, I’d do anything. Come back to me, I silently plead. Come back.

Her body is stretched out on the pavement. I attempt to pull her up from the ground. Shake her until she wakes up. But all 5 feet and 9 inches of her is dead weight. She slips back to the ground, her arms and legs nothing but gelatin.

Only seconds ago she was seizing. Her body possessed, dancing in shapes I never knew existed. My head collapses onto her chest, searching desperately for a heartbeat.

Then I hear it. A panicked roar pulses through my ear. But she is still. So very still. This horrendous symphony is only comprised of my pulse. Hers is…

Gone? It shouldn’t be a surprise. This is what happens to everyone I love.

Anna, please.

NoQS Agent Round: A FEARFUL THING - Adult Suspense/Thriller

Name: Angie Romines

Twitter Handle: @Angelaface
Title: A FEARFUL THING
Genre: Adult Suspense/Thriller
Word Count: 80,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

Mia’s most stressful relationship is with her deceased brother’s best friend, Julian. The two bicker constantly as they both work toward the common goal of solving the mystery of Michael’s death at the monastery where he was studying the history of the occult in the Roman Catholic Church. Julian has never taken anything seriously in his life (probably why he got booted out of seminary), whereas Mia is forever pushing aside a social life to prioritize her theological studies.

Query:

Studious Mia Landry isn’t a risk taker, that is, until her brother, Michael, dies suspiciously at his Romanian monastery. After discovering Michael’s death was anything but accidental, Mia, an agnostic theology student who never quite fit in with her Catholic family, becomes obsessed with finding out who took her only brother’s life. Reaching out to his former seminary roommate, Julian, she hopes together they can decipher the secrets Michael embedded in his occult research, secrets that most likely led to his demise.

With peril lurking in bone-filled ossuaries and isolated monasteries, Julian and Mia chase Michael’s leads and find themselves running from not only the police but also an ancient order of priests, The Order of the Holy Blood, who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe. Despite the enemies that pursue them, Mia is also in danger of being distracted by Julian, a trust fund kid who’s as reckless as Mia is cautious. When it comes to Julian, Mia is unsure in any given moment whether she wants to slap him or rip his clothes off…or perhaps a bit of both. Unfortunately, neither will happen if Mia and Julian aren’t able to outwit The Order and escape Michael’s fate.

First 250:

The young man tore through the Hoia-Baciu forest, his cassock catching on branches as he ran. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath his bare feet. He winced when he hit stone but did not slow down. He felt his heart thumping blood through his body, and he heard the rushing sound it made in his head. His lungs began to burn and contract, struggling to keep up.

He had made mistakes. God, so many mistakes. The man turned to see if he had evaded his captors, and this was his final mistake. His robes tangled his stride and he hit the forest floor hard. They were on him almost instantly, weathered but strong hands that grabbed his legs, arms, and the back of his neck. He writhed and screamed, trying to use what little energy he had left to break free, to call for help. But who was there to hear the young priest in the middle of the dense Transylvanian woods, home of so many horrors, real and imagined?

The men, much older than the priest, dragged the clergyman—now weeping openly—to an old, strong tree with low, thick branches. These were the type of trees drawing logging companies deep into the forest, threatening the wild, untamed beauty of the Carpathian Mountains. But the man did not take in the beauty of his surroundings. To him, the woods were savage, unforgiving, and the last piece of God’s earth he would ever live to see.

NoQS Agent Round: REDEMPTION BAY - Adult Upmarket Suspense

Name: Tom Navratil

Twitter Handle: @TomNavratilism
Title: REDEMPTION BAY
Genre: Adult Upmarket Suspense
Word Count: 81,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:
 
…with his own remorse. Vincent Lucius is groping for a way forward despite being responsible for the demise of his younger child. His instincts are to seek closure and do what is in his power to help others. He does not seek relief from his own pain; only a miracle could accomplish that.

Query:
 
In REDEMPTION BAY, an African-American diplomat searching for the remains of his son in chaotic post-Castro Cuba learns the child may still be alive.

Vincent Lucius gets recalled to Washington after losing his seven-year-old in a windsurfing accident off Cuba's north coast. Numb with grief and guilt, with his marriage fraying and his older son refusing to believe his little brother is dead, Vincent finagles a solo assignment back to strife-torn Cuba. His day job is attempting to prevent the outbreak of civil war. At night he haunts the morgues.

In trying to protect and help the people of the Cuban hinterlands, Vincent starts coming back to life. When a real estate mogul bulldozes a shantytown to make way for a golf course, Vincent organizes a coalition of rebels and soldiers to rebuild it. But the U.S. ambassador banishes him for disregarding embassy priorities. Disgraced and defeated, Vincent is about to board the flight home when he hears of a boy resembling his son who drifted alive onto a remote barrier island.

At the risk of snapping the last bonds with his wife and getting bounced from the foreign service, Vincent sets off to pursue this murky hope across Cuba's dangerous terrain. The real estate mogul, tipped off by an informant, seeks leverage and revenge by dispatching his goons to snatch the boy. Whether he is Vincent’s son or not, the child’s fate hinges on who finds him first.

First 250:

Vincent Lucius juked and weaved his way through the stragglers in the vaulted archway of the stadium’s main entrance. The U.S. embassy in Havana placed various restrictions on its staff, on top of those imposed by the Castro government. But nowhere did it say you couldn’t catch a ballgame on a Friday afternoon in June. Especially at El Gran, Cuba’s premier baseball cathedral. Inside, Vincent sprinted up the cement steps to the stands.

Bursting into the sunshine, he took in the emerald green of the outfield, the alignment of the opposing players, the music and chanting of the fans, the smoky smell of chicharrónes. He would have chuckled at the notion that a door was closing behind him, that his backside would never again warm the government-issue swivel chair from which his navy blue blazer hung like funeral bunting.

In the row directly behind the first base dugout, Vincent located his companions, a pair of officials from the Cuban foreign ministry. He nodded a greeting as he sank deep into the adjacent seat, aware that his height and athleticism, on top of his skin color, could make some men uncomfortable. He extended his right leg into the aisle and returned his attention to the field. On the mound, the pitcher fingered the ball behind his back. At the plate, Havana’s shortstop loosened and tightened his grip on the bat.

Vincent tilted to his left and said, “He’s swinging.”

The home fans intensified their rhythmic stomping, shaking the concrete decks of El Gran.

NoQS Agent Round: DROWNING IN AIR - YA Contemporary

Name: Valerie Bodden

Twitter Handle: @ValBodden
Title: DROWNING IN AIR
Genre: YA Contemporary
Word Count: 82,000

My Main Character’s Most Stressful Relationship is:

Calli wants to take care of her dying mom—of course she does, it’s her mom, after all, and what else would a future doctor do? But when caring for her mom steals time from critical schoolwork, putting Calli’s position as valedictorian in jeopardy, Calli is ashamed to find herself resenting her role as caretaker. And when her mom lets her dad—the man who once destroyed her—back into their lives, Calli can’t stand to see this strong woman suddenly playing damsel in distress. After all, she’s the one who taught Calli not to need anyone, ever.

Query:

The first time seventeen-year-old lifeguard Calli tries to save Noah, he’s poised to jump from a way-too-high roof into a way-too-far-away pool. When he jumps anyway, she walks away. She has enough problems of her own. Like caring for her dying mom while trying to cinch the valedictorian spot and win a swimming championship.

New in town, Noah knows he has to do something big to keep from earning a reputation as a loser—or the sick kid. He doesn’t need some lifeguard with a hero complex telling him “no” like she’s his mother. Not to mention he could outswim Calli any day. Besides, he’s invincible. Surviving the heart transplant that killed his twin brother proved that.

Hard as they try to stay away from each other, Noah and Calli are drawn together by a mutual love of the water. But as their personal lives spiral out of control, they push each other away. Overwhelmed by her new responsibilities, Calli turns to Adderall to keep her grades up. And Noah performs ever more daring feats to prove his survival wasn’t some cosmic mistake. With their lives closing in on a devastating end, these two lost souls have to figure out how to take the biggest risk of all—opening up—or risk losing each other—and themselves.

First 250:

I bury my face in the sticky-sweet grass and tune out the shrieks and splashes coming from the pool on the other side of the yard. The sun sears my limbs, making them heavy and light, solid and liquid, at the same time. I never want to move again.

A sharp fingernail pokes my side.

I crack one eye open, even though I already know it’s my best friend Sashi. I swat her hand away, but she pokes me again.

“What?” I grumble.

“Check this guy out.”

I groan. Of course it’s about a guy. The faint bite of chlorine penetrates through the smell of burgers as I push myself onto an elbow.

“First you drag me to this party. And then, when I finally manage to relax, you...” My words evaporate as I follow her gaze over the pool to Tom Brant’s mansion, site of this annual end-of-summer soiree.

It takes a second for my brain to catch up with what I’m seeing.

Then I spring into full-on lifeguard mode, launching myself toward the pool deck. My feet sizzle when they hit the concrete, but I keep running.

Idiot. He’s going to kill himself.

A guy in a blue Superman t-shirt balances at the edge of the second-story porch roof, bouncing on his toes like he’s about to dive.

Around me, people chant, “Jump!”

I shove past them, dodging elbows. Why can’t I make my feet pump as fast as my heart? By the time I get there, he’ll be splattered on the concrete.

NoQS Agent Round: THE CURIOSITY - Adult Gothic Horror

Name: Melanie Cossey
 
Twitter Handle: @jagjava
Title: THE CURIOSITY
Genre: Adult Gothic Horror
Word Count: 99,000
 
My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My main character’s most stressful relationship is with his university superiors. If they were not breathing down the back of his cardigan sweater, insisting he live up to the expectations of an anthropology professor then perhaps he could relax, solve that nasty mouse problem and maybe even show his daughter how much he truly loves her. Instead, he must search musty old diaries written by an eccentric curiosity collector and tear up the English countryside for clues to the whereabouts of that cursed 19th century Haitian voodoo Zonbi boy, Henri. He feels more contempt for them, then for his ex-wife.

Query:

Anthropology professor Duncan Clarke must get a handle on his anxiety disorder by the end of Christmas break, or lose the position that grants him refuge from his mental storms.

Desperate to redeem himself as an indispensable asset to the university, Clarke intercepts a box of curiosities intended for the anthropology department. Hidden inside the box is a travel journal from 1865, containing the frantic scribblings of eccentric Victorian, Edward Walker.

From the moment he spies the ghastly drawing of an emaciated child, gagged and bound to a chair, Clarke is obsessed with discovering what happened in the dark basement of the 19th century curiosity dealer—a man determined to cure a Haitian Voodoo zonbi of his desire for live food.

Clarke’s obsession with the past leads him to break the law and risk the lives of those he loves. His family and his career could slip away if he cannot resist the one thing that now feeds his soul—The Curiosity.

First 250:

England 1990

I needed it, so I took it. Chloroform. Excellent rodent killer. For the first time in my career, I had stolen from the anthropology lab. After receiving the damnable news, I had pocketed it on my way out. Funny how humiliation breeds contempt.

I rotated the vial in my trouser pocket as I rang the bell for the third time. Mrs. Walker was expecting me, so what the hell was keeping her?

I tried to calm myself, as I had done many times before—deep breath in through the nose, exhale slowly through the mouth. Frozen breath cascaded from my lips and dissipated in the sharp December air, vaporizing just like my career. For months I had felt the gravel loose under my feet, felt myself sliding into the abyss of complacency, edged with the blade of anxiety. At last, Human Resources had noticed… all those rescheduled lectures, the countless times I had dismissed the students early, bounding from the podium to compose myself in a bathroom stall. Was I all right? All concerned faces, the pity softening their features. Yes, yes, I was fine—my stomach so knotted it would make a Boy Scout envious.

“All the same, we feel it best if you take some time over the holiday to rest up.” I was smacked by the shift, by the now trotted out glances of guilt, lowered voices and throat clearings of candour.

NoQS Agent Round: FIRST5 - YA Epic Fantasy

Name: Candace Davenport

Twitter Handle: @Candace_OLBooks
Title: FIRST5
Genre: YA Epic Fantasy
Word Count: 96,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My MC is Inhikiod, one of the winged race on the planet Aardee. Hikala’s most stressful relationship occurs when her Inhikiod family banishes her to the surface, her wings locked. There, she has to befriend and live with the non-winged Dawk, the indigenous race enslaved by the Inhikiod. Hikala has to mature from a self-centered, sixteen-year-old with centuries of ingrained racism against the Dawk to realizing the Dawk are individuals with hopes and dreams – all while dealing with the Dawk's hate and anger against her for being Inhikiod.

Query:

Sixteen-year-old Hikala is an Inhikiod, one of the winged race who live high in their mountain cavern hives, never bothering to look down. Her life is flying the skies and competing in the Inhikiod flying competitions. But after her reckless challenge results in injures to a higher-ranking Inhikiod, she’s banished to the planet’s surface for a year, forbidden to fly.

Never having set foot on the surface, Hikala struggles to enmesh herself with the indigenous, non-winged Dawk—a race enslaved by the Inhikiod millennia ago. Only knowing the Dawk as servants in her hive, Hikala fights their hatred with the help of Tid, a Dawk who sees her as more than just an Inhikiod. He teaches Hikala how to fight against the surface’s vicious predators and navigate the planet’s bi-annual flooding.

Yet, as their friendship grows, so do the rumblings of a revolution. The Dawk want Hikala to become a linchpin in their fight to free themselves from their Inhikiod masters. But if Hikala stays to help the Dawk, she must give up flying forever, ripping out her soul. If she returns home, she’ll break Tid’s heart and abandon her new friends to the vengeance of the Inhikiod.

First 250:

Cradled by wind and sunlight, Hikala spun through the sky, a mirror to Sarwa’s flight. With a final flip, their colorful wings merged and they ended their sky dance with a flourish. Reluctant to release all that joy and freedom, Hikala floated on her back and screamed her elation to the sky, blue wings cupping the air beneath her. Sarwa only laughed in response, a wide lopsided grin spread across his face. He rarely expressed his joy as unabashedly as she did.

Hikala sighed, thinking the same thought she always did after every perfect sky dance. I want to forget the world and keep flying with Sarwa forever. But they had finished their doubles routine and needed to return inside for their score. Sarwa offered his hand which Hikala reluctantly took as they flew together to the King’s landing pad, the staging platform for this year’s Inhikiod Games. As they landed on the entrance platform to the huge cavern, raucous cheers erupted, surrounding them like a blanket. Hand in hand, Hikala and Sarwa strode across the stone floor while observers trailed behind them. Others touched them as they passed, awe and amazement reflected in their eyes.

From the silence of their dance and the whisper of their wings, the inside noise buffeted Hikala, heightening her sense of elation. With her wings tight to her back and twitching with excitement, she walked to the awards area to wait for the announcement of the winners.

NoQS Agent Round: THE FIRST TODAY - Adult Spec. Thriller

Name: Rachel Berros

Twitter Handle: @Berrosrachel
Title: THE FIRST TODAY 
Genre: Adult Speculative Thriller 
Word Count: 90,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is: 

The most stressful relationship for my MC, Alice, is with fate. It started when her mother died the morning after Alice first used her ability to change events. Her fear of further retaliation has shaped her life and guided her every choice since. It's because of fate that she has more motivation to become a better physician, but also a heavier mantle of guilt.

Query:

As an emergency physician Alice Whithers must constantly choose between accepting her patients’ deaths or reliving the day to try again—and risking fate’s wrath at the intrusion.

Alice can turn back time, but she hasn’t used her ability in seventeen years, not since interfering with fate led to her mother’s death. As painful as it is to watch her patients suffer or die, the risk of intervening has always outweighed the possible benefit. That is, until Alice causes a lethal car accident. Overcome with guilt and remorse, she decides to relive the day, praying that not only will she save lives, but she may finally gain the redemption she’s sought for nearly two decades.

Tonight, she'll choose. Tomorrow she’ll face fate’s response.

First 250:

This patient is dying and there’s nothing more I can do. Not even repeating today would save this woman from her stroke during the night. No, this time at least, I get to suffer my patient’s loss like a normal physician. And providing things like a comfortable passing, without feeling guilt, is almost a blessing.

I glance at the pajama-clad granddaughter crying beside the bed. Monitors beep around us like orchestral crickets and bleach flavors the air.

This isn’t what they need. They need peace and respect, and I can at least provide them those. So, I mute the machines and readjust her pillow. Chanel No. 5 tickles my nose and despite everything, my lips tug up at one corner. If this patient also loved bacon, she could’ve been Granny’s twin.  

At the thought, something tightens deep in my chest, but I push it aside. This isn’t my Granny. It’s Ms. Avery’s.

I’ve advised her of the prognosis, there’s nothing left to say, yet I still don’t leave. Instead, I place a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I can’t do more. But I will keep her comfortable.”

She raises red, swollen eyes to my burning ones, and nods. “Then…then I guess that’s enough.”

Her breaking voice echoes my heart. One day I’ll stare at my Granny like that, at my only family, my best friend.

Nothing will be enough on that day. 

With a deep breath, I squeeze her shoulder gently and then leave her to her grief.  

NoQS Agent Round: THE CONSPIRATORS' CLUB - MG Adventure

Name: Elena Jagar

Twitter Handle: @Calcifer123
Title: THE CONSPIRATORS’ CLUB
Genre: MG Adventure
Word Count: 50,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

Peter’s most stressful relationship is with his best friend who is always trying to run away from his adoptive parents. Peter thinks of Jason as a brother and relies on him to make the months at their boarding school bearable. He also knows Jason will probably succeed in his venture one day, and it is difficult being friends with someone who you know is a flight risk.

Query: 

For thirteen-year-old Peter Holm, life at Horston Island Academy is as fun as a freezing shower in winter − until his new friend, Samantha, asks him to help her start a Conspirators’ Club. Her goal: to improve life for all Academy students. Her plan: to challenge Horston’s unfair rules with covert acts of rebellion.

The last thing Peter wants is trouble with the headmaster. But who can pass up on cool missions like stealing back confiscated desserts, or dismantling the annoying school siren? Soon, Peter doesn’t think twice about detentions to keep the club going.

But what starts out as a series of exciting adventures turns grave when Peter uncovers the headmaster’s dangerous past. And when a club member goes missing, he is sure the headmaster is behind it. To rescue their friend, the club members must venture into the treacherous caves beneath the school and come face-to-face with a ruthless criminal determined to stop at nothing to protect his secrets. If their wits and resourcefulness aren’t enough to carry them through, this mission will be their last.

First 250:

Sailing back on the ferry for my third year at Horston Island Academy, I had a major problem. Jason, my best friend in the world, was a no-show.

I glanced around the cafeteria, feeling desperate. It was packed with sixth-graders and parents, about the last place Jason would want to be. But I’d already searched every other corner on this tub, and the cafeteria was literally the last place left. I scanned the crowded room one more time.

Face it. He’s not here.

I turned around and burst through the swinging doors out on deck and—

—knocked into a girl carrying a full cup of soda. Without a lid!

A huge brown stain spread across her white shirt. I stared in horror, wracking my brain for a cool one-liner to drag me from this sink hole of embarrassment.

“Sorry! Er…you okay?”

Good one, Pete.

The girl looked up from gaping at her front. The expression in those eyes felt like a punch to the nose. She stalked past me, holding the rest of her soda at arm’s length. I wondered who she was, since I’d never seen her at Horston before.

“Nice going, squirt.”

I cringed inside. Great. Can always count on my big brother to catch me making a fool of myself.

I turned to face Mark who stood leaning against the railing, his back to Horston Island in the distance. He surveyed my wet shirt with a smirk. I sighed.

“I was looking for Jason, okay?”

“Where? In her soda?”

NoQS Agent Round: TRADNG STITCHES - YA Horror

Name: Timothy Collins

Twitter Handle: @DarkNovelistTim
Title: TRADING STITCHES
Genre: YA Horror
Word Count: 85,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

Marc, the main character, struggles to understand his alcoholic father. Since his mother’s death, Marc seeks acceptance and approval but finds only riddles and anger in his father’s words. Good grades, responsibility, and kindness come natural to Marc but adds nothing to life according to his dad because the family is cursed. After his father’s suicide, Marc becomes obsessed with making sense of his father’s words while still striving to make his father proud. Questionable decisions place he and his friends in harm’s way, but Marc will stop at nothing, not even death, to make his father proud.

Query:

With every near-death incident, the men in fifteen-year-old Marc Cheeks’ family are rewarded with increasing superhuman strength, but whatever fatal darkness lies inside grows as well.

Alcoholism consumes his father. Insanity institutionalizes his uncle. Cancer stole his grandfather. Following a near-fatal stabbing, Marc fears what awaits him.

After his dad commits suicide to escape a deep pit of depression, Marc enlists the help of friends and his crazy uncle Lester to decipher his father’s last words, “It doesn’t have to be a curse.” A cryptic family journal offers Marc his only lead: a person defined as a curse-ending soulmate. Uncle Lester has his own theories on a cure, but he’s not willing to share with Marc and defers to the written pages.

The journal teaches Marc methods to cheat death and grow stronger, but pieces of himself slip away into violence and apathy. He’s becoming the worst parts of his father and his uncle, and the collateral damage includes a body count. Forced to make a desperate plea to Lester, Marc discovers his uncle believes he can ultimately cure his own insanity by killing Marc.

To save himself and his friends, Marc must defeat an uncle more dangerous than crazy and find his soulmate before the family curse claims another victim.

First 250:

I slouched low in the cracked leather passenger’s seat seeking refuge from judgmental eyes.

“Did I really need to starch this shirt?” I yanked the collar’s scratchy fibers away from my neck.

“I don’t know, Marc.” Dad fluttered his whiskey chapped lips. “That’s a question for your mom.”

He only mentioned Mom when he didn’t want to answer a question.

Wasn’t there some rule people didn’t use a kid’s dead mother against them?

Dad didn’t get the memo.

The Nissan’s balding tires skidded into the school’s gravel parking lot. The rickety fender clung to the truck by a single rusty screw, a painful daily reminder of the past four years. It begged to be fixed, but Dad ignored it.

 He sought refuge in denial.

The truck jerked to a stop and Dad leaned back pinching the bridge of his crooked nose. “Do other dudes hear you talk like this? It’s gonna get you beat up.”

“How’s that different from any other day?”

“Guys pestering you?” His stare followed a cheerleader’s skirt.
“It’s called bullying.” The broken handle jiggled in my palm as I struggled to open the door. “Like you care.”

“Wait a minute!” He slammed the faded dashboard. I didn’t flinch. I was used to it by now. “I do care. Besides, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Right?”

I rolled my eyes. “No one believes that, Dad.”

“I do. Your grandfather did,” he said. “One day you will, too.”

Dead grandfather card for the win.

NoQS Agent Round: PULLING ME BACK IN - Women's Fiction

Name: Yaymed D. Arocho (Writing as Delise Torres)

Twitter Handle: @torresdelise
Title: PULLING ME BACK IN
Genre: Adult Women’s Fiction
Word Count: 87,000

My Main Character’s Most Stressful Relationship is:

Although Jeff causes Gwen a lot of turmoil and pain, when they are together, things are great. But her relationship with her mother is a different story. Gwen’s rebellious teenage years started the rift, but even as Gwen grew up and became contrite, her mother’s disapproval continued. The fact that Gwen’s older sister is the perfect daughter, a clone of their mother, doesn’t help matters much. Her mother always has to make a comment about Gwen’s provocative wardrobe or her dating life, or point out whenever she’s late, which is all the time. Gwen especially hates it when she’s right.

Query:

Gwen Prescott had her life figured out by the age of eight: she would work as a museum curator and marry her best friend, Jeff Crawford. There was nothing Gwen wouldn’t do for Jeff. She lost her virginity to him, defied her parents when they tried to keep them apart, put up with Jeff sleeping around, and almost gave up her dream college to run away with him. And in return, Jeff refused to take her with him and left her behind, never contacting her again.

Now twenty-four, Gwen is a gallery curator in NYC, convinced her love for Jeff was only an illusion; an unhealthy fixation fueled by hormones and adolescent fantasies. And yet, she’s still unable to let go. When a photo of Jeff in the New York Times stirs past feelings, Gwen begins to question whether she can be happy with anyone else.

After a chance encounter puts Jeff in her path, the pull she always felt for him—that need she could never fight or quite define—takes over. As Gwen rekindles her relationship with Jeff, she reverts to the naïve submissive girl she used to be. But in order to have the happy ending she always dreamed of, Gwen will have to learn to stand up to Jeff and ask for what she wants—even if it means losing him—or keep living for his needs and desires at the expense of her own.

First 250:

Gwen felt the pull the instant she saw him.

Jeff’s smiling face stared at her from a photo in The New York Times. Ever since their first kiss at five years old, he’d had that same effect on her: he drew her to him and she never wanted him to let go.

She dropped her fork and it clanged against the plate, the pancake forgotten as she brought the newspaper closer to her face. Six years had passed since she last saw him. He looked the same, but older, even more handsome. She brushed her thumb across the photo, as if she were caressing him. His thick brown hair. The green eyes that could still disarm her. And that smile—the same one that always made her melt.

A need for him she hadn’t felt for years overcame her—a need she thought extinguished when she fell in love with Brian.

Brian. What the hell was wrong with her? She loved Brian. How could she react like this to someone else, someone who caused her so much pain? And yet, she could not look away.

“What are you reading?” Brian asked, right beside her.

Gwen jumped on the stool and shut the newspaper, dropping it back onto the breakfast bar. How did he get so close without her noticing? It was a studio apartment, after all. “Nothing.”

“Really? You were very engrossed. You didn’t even hear me talking to you.”

Did he know? Had he seen her stroking the photo?

NoQS Agent Round: ALL THOSE WHO WANDER - YA Sci-fi

Name: Yu(Angela) Wang

Twitter Handle: @AngieWang99
Title: ALL THOSE WHO WANDER
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Word Count: 87,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

Bree’s most stressful relationship is with herself—or, rather, her past self. Ever since she discovers that her memories and identity are fake, she finds it impossible to reconcile the person she used to be with the person she’s become. The old Bree was confident, fearless, and spontaneous—everything the new Bree isn’t. And when she meets up with former friends who barely recognize her new self, the divide between her past and present only gets worse. Bree wants nothing more than to return to who she used to be, but that girl’s long gone—wiped away forever.

Query:

The timestream is broken, and eighteen-year-old Bree Cross is pretty sure that's a mess even duct tape can't fix. She never thought she’d be the one to fix it, though—not until her best friend Kasey recruits her to the Chronological Maintenance Department.

It turns out Bree can spot time travelers—a gift the Department desperately needs in order to capture the techies: genetically-enhanced criminals they’ve chased all the way from the future. It’s the adventure Bree’s spent a lifetime dreaming of, and there’s no way she’s going to pass up her chance to save the world.

But all those dreams of heroism shatter once she actually lays eyes on the techies.

Visions plague her—memories of Bree herself growing up alongside the same criminals she’s supposed to hunt. The more she remembers, the more Bree doubts the Department's true motivations, and the role she’s so obediently played. And when Kasey’s captured and the Department refuses to help, Bree’s the only one who can free her best friend from the techies’ city outside of time.

But buried among the city’s gleaming towers is more than Bree bargained for—truths about her past, and what the Department’s truly doing.

Bree was hired to fix the world, but she might have broken it beyond repair.

First 250:

There’s something beautiful about order. The precise row of footsteps I leave behind in the snow makes me wonder if this is how other peoples’ memories are—one after another in a perfect sequence, a past they can walk through over and over again.

If only my life could be that certain.

I shiver, turning away and drawing up my coat’s collar. The gentle, drifting snowflakes of just a few moments ago now swirl in violent flurries, catching on my eyelashes and nesting in my hair. The corner store lies ahead, muffled under a white blanket, parking lot empty but for a single, dark car, driver’s door left open.

Strange, considering the imminent blizzard. And the closer I get, the stranger that car seems. It’s small and lithe and rounded in an unfamiliar way, roof covered in transparent—transparent?—solar panels. The dashboard glows ominously blue, and an almost… faded quality clings to it, as if someone’s washed it far too many times.

I reach out, thinking to close the car’s door—and jerk back, stomach flipping, nausea rising in my throat. An ache pushes at my temples, filling my head with jagged, senseless whispers, a yearning I can’t quite explain.

It’s the car, I’m certain of it. The car and its thrumming.

But that’s crazy. It’s just some car.

I shake my head, backing away. It’s probably the shrimp I had for lunch. That’ll teach me to eat suspiciously gooey seafood.

It’s a plausible explanation, but I don’t quite believe it. Not even then.

NoQS Agent Round: HER FINAL WATCH - Adult Mystery

Name: Marguerite Kuhnke

Twitter Handle: @msashton_writer
Title: HER FINAL WATCH
Genre: Adult Mystery
Word Count: 83,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My MC’s most stressful relationship is with her mom. As if the family secrets weren’t enough, it’s hard to heal when her controlling mother’s lies keep surfacing. It’s like dodging semi-trucks on the Madison Beltline. Everyone keeps reminding my MC that it is important to forgive and keep the family together. If only she had someone who would tell her mother that making a decision about whether or not to give up your child for adoption wasn’t any easier.   

Query:

Lily Blanchette, Fort Atkinson’s first black lead detective, will stop at nothing to solve a murder. Her current case involves the killing of an undercover cop working to bring down the mob for prostitution and drugs. But Lily’s usual laser-like focus on the case has been disrupted. Two weeks earlier, she learned she was pregnant by her murderous husband whom she’d killed in self-defense. Unsure whether to keep her baby or place the child of this cruel man up for adoption, Lily keeps the pregnancy a secret from her colleagues.

Under mounting pressure to solve the case, Lily arranges a sit-down with a local mob boss only to find out her suspect is also wanted by them. But before Lily can warn her team, she and her new partner, Jeremiah, are shot at, and another body is found. When she discovers Jeremiah has a connection with the underworld, she is pulled into a conflict that swirls around the boss’s son who’s hell-bent on revenge. As she gets closer to finding the killer, she unravels ugly secrets that point to the assistant district attorney and Jeremiah—placing Lily’s life and her unborn child in danger.

First 250:

Detective Ariel Weeks stabbed at the small block of ice until it split into several pieces across the counter. She tossed the jagged cubes into the glass and made her client a drink.

In less than twenty-four hours, Ariel would no longer have to use the name Jasmine and keep men company to protect her cover. All she needed to do was make it through this last night, and she’d be allowed to be who she was; a mom just doing her job.

After gathering evidence and recording all the data she had, it would be hard to detach. Towards the end, she’d learned things she’d wished weren’t true, leaving her stomach in tattered knots.

Back at home, there were two reasons Ariel would never take on another undercover assignment.

Click.

Ariel ground her teeth as the door to Cabin D opened and closed. She could feel Mikey Surace, the mob boss’s son, staring at the backless white dress she wore at his request.

The man who smiled at the sight of blood was standing behind her, breathing heavily.

She turned and handed Mikey his drink. “Your gin and grapefruit.”

Mikey took the drink and pulled Ariel down on the bed next to him. His hand, smooth like velvet, traced over her dark brown skin, along the length of her arm and rested on her thigh. “I had a shitty day.” He loosened his tie, removed his gun and put it on the ottoman.

NoQS Agent Round: CATTYWAMPUS - Upper MG Fantasy

Name: Ashley Van Otterloo

Twitter Handle: @AshVanOtterloo
Title: CATTYWAMPUS
Genre: Upper MG Fantasy
Word Count: 52,000

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My main character’s most stressful relationship is with Katybird Hearn. Every time Delpha has a logical plan all ironed out, Katybird is trotting right behind her, trailing jelly beans and undoing all Delpha’s hard work. And crying. Always crying. Or trying to spare the feelings of inanimate objects, like Delpha’s outhouse. Delpha suspects Katybird is a few screwdrivers short of a full toolbox, if you know what I mean.

Somethin’ ain’t quite right with that girl.

Query:

Howler’s Hollow has been a magical dead spot for a century—a fact that has kept Delpha O’Leary’s witching family safe from persecution and magical conflict for several generations. Conjure is strictly off-limits. Trouble is, if there’s anything that makes Delpha’s skin crawl it’s accepting limitations. When she finds her grandmother’s secret book of hexes, her deep ambition gets the better of her and she can’t wait to test the boundaries of her own magic. She hopes to prove herself powerful—the kind of powerful that doesn’t feel helpless after her father’s abandonment.

But when Katybird Hearn, the descendant of a rival witch family, demands Delpha share the secret of her skills, tempers flare. The fledgling witches' quarrel unleashes a hex that resurrects a graveyard full of their magical ancestors … along with an age-old blood feud.

Delpha and Katybird, along with the help of Tyler, a young Appalachian werewolf, must find a way to reverse the spell before the magic-wielding zombies wreak dangerous havoc in their small mountain community.

But each of the teens has their own personal demon to overcome. Katybird must conquer the fear that her intersex body will cause her family’s matriarchal magic to reject her. Tyler … well, Tyler just needs to stop fainting every five minutes. And as estranged family members surface and rattle her independent nature, Delpha needs to learn that sometimes the strongest magic happens when you’re in cahoots with another conjure-woman. If they don’t succeed, the cycle of witch-hunting and feud violence their kin fought hard to end will begin spinning once more.


First 250:

Poised on a wooded hill far from town, Delpha’s knobbly legs knocked as an early April wind traced a cold finger down her backbone. Her keen eyes skimmed the newly budded trees and blankets of white bloodroot flowers, watchful for flickers of movement in the dying light. Satisfied she was alone, she carefully closed her carving knife then ran the freshly-hewn green flesh of a hickory stick across her lips. Smooth as silk.

It was her first wand. A secret wand, carved by her own hands. Her Mamaw would tan her hide if she found out. Her mama, too. She was breaking the rules, but that didn’t sway her conviction one iota. Sometimes rules oughta  be shattered. There was nothing for it.

Delpha’s dark eyebrows formed a hard line and she settled on the cool pine needles. She sucked in a breath before raising the wand over the cracked binding of the leather book in her lap, then cleared her throat.

“Awake the powers dark and deep

That here betwixt these bosoms sleep.”

Delpha blushed a bit and secured the top button of her flannel shirt, then opened the book to squint at a yellowed page, eager to get on with it.

“Let young’un join the ring of grannies,

To kick my foes right in their fannies.”

Bunching her lips, she threw a handful of feathers in the air, then spat into a circle drawn in the loamy forest floor. Delpha’s watchful eyes narrowed, muscles tense.

She waited a few moments, just in case it was the sort of magic that needed to brew for a bit. But the end of her wand remained dull as dirt.

NoQS: Mike's Monsters 2016

There were so SO many great entries to choose from this year across all genres. So many, in fact, we couldn't choose just 13! To find out if you made the all-star Monster team, check the list below for your title.

To those who didn't make it this time around, don't get discouraged. I definitely could have chosen at least 20 of you if there were mentors to go around. Good luck and happy writing!

The Monster of Nightmare on Query Street!

Cattywampus

Her Final Watch

All Those Who Wander

Pulling Me Back In

Trading Stitches

The Conspirators' Club

The First Today

First5

The Curiosity

Drowning in Air

Redemption Bay

The Broken Baby

A Fearful Thing

The Doll Train

Don't

Keep an eye on your inbox. Mentors will be contacting you through the email you used to enter the contest. If that's not your actual email because a friend mailed yours in, you'd better let us know quickly. Each entry will get one mentor assigned to them. 

Please return your revised entry using the same format to the contest email by midnight on October 25th. We need that time to swat down unruly formatting and create the posts before the agent round. Please do not be late. We will go live without you.

Come back on October 28th to see the agents Shriek, Scream and Shiver! 

NoQS Entry Submission!

The submission window opens today at 4:00 pm EST!

The submission window opens at 4:00 pm (EST) on October 14th. Don't send too soon or your entry will be deleted. There will be email confirmation. Please don't resend an entry unless you check with us. Sometimes the confirmation process gets overwhelmed. The window will close when we receive 250 entries or in two hours, whichever is first.

Michelle and Mike and Laura will make thirteen picks each, and those picks will go up on our blogs from October 29th through the 30th. Before this, there will be a mentor round to whip that entry into shape. We've already got amazing mentors lined up, so know that your entries will be polished for the agents.

We are accepting all age categories and genres, excluding picture books and erotica. The story does not have to be scary. But be sure to check our list of agents when it goes live to see if they represent your book's genre.


If you plan on participating in the contest, you have to be following all our blogs (Michelle, Mike, Laura). If you can't get the blog follow to work, just follow on twitter. You'll want to be on twitter for the party anyway.
You are not eligible if you've been in an agent round in the last six months, such as for Pitchslam and Query Kombat. This doesn't not include twitter only events like PitchMad. You may enter if you have a different manuscript to send.

ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. DO NOT TRY USING MULTIPLE EMAIL ADDRESSES. THIS DOES NOT MEAN ONE PER WRITING PEN NAME. ONE AND ONE ONLY.

It's pretty simple, actually.

But there's a catch.

Along with your query and 250, you must write a SHORT paragraph (no more than 100 words) about your main character. This is the question you must answer:

What is your main character's most stressful relationship? Who really makes them sweat?

The Format:

Send all your submission to nightmareonquerystreet (at) yahoo (dot) com. Only one submission per email address AND person is allowed.

Here's how it should be formatted (yes, include the bolded and everything!). Please use Times New Roman (or equivalent), 12 pt font, and put spaces between paragraphs. No indents or tabs are needed. 

Subject Line: NoQS: TITLE, Age Category + Genre
(example: NoQS: GRUDGING, Adult Epic Fantasy)

INSIDE THE EMAIL:

Name: Michelle Hauck

Twitter Handle: @Michelle4Laughs (optional)
Title: GRUDGING (yes, caps!)
Genre: Adult Epic Fantasy (Age category and genre. YA/MG is not a genre.)
Word Count: XX,XXX

My Main Character's Most Stressful Relationship is:

My MC's most stressful relationship is with the potato supplier. With prices skyrocketing, the mc can't stop eating those suckers--fried, mashed, frenched--gotta have them. But everyone is trying to undercut our mc's purchase potential. (Please, spend some time on this! We will be looking at this to make up for gaps in the query and 250. It gives us a chance to know your characters better. It doesn't have to be horror-scary. It can be more subtle. Remember 100 words or less.)

Query:

Here is my fantastic query! DO NOT INCLUDE BIO OR COMPS PARAGRAPH. Try to stay in the 250-300 word range. Please put spaces between paragraphs and don't indent.

First 250 words:

Here are the first 250 words of my manuscript, and I will not end in the middle of a sentence, even if I hit 255 words. Do not abuse and send 256. Keep it fair for all. Use Open Office/Word to determine your official word count. Using Google doc may produce an artificially low number.

Entries will be disqualified at our discretion for rule violation.

And that's it! Send in that email during the submission window and you're ready to go. There will be a confirmation email.

We're Tweeting under the hashtag #NoQS. As before, we'll have a twitter party once submission starts. Mentor and agent posts will follow before October 14th.

***We also want to remind you that Jason Huebinger is having a twitter pitch event called #PitDark on October 20th. That is something you might want to investigate.

Topics for the Twitter party are as follows:

October 14: All day, shout out the genre and age category you're sending. After 4:00 shout out if your entry made it before the window closes.


October 15: Share a scary line from your manuscript. It can be from any chapter.


October 16: What costume would your MC character wear for Halloween?


October 17: What's the most fearsome thing about querying?


October 18: What's your MC's favorite candy and what kind would they throw at their antagonist just to get rid of?


October 19: What's your favorite scary, or not so scary, Halloween movie to watch?


October 20: Picks released. Tell us how you deal with stress as a writer. What helps while you wait on query letters?

Best of luck to everyone submitting today. Competition will be fierce.

Agents of NoQS 2016

We have 25 agents and counting joining us this year. Some are new. Some are established. All are looking to make requests. To everyone entering this year, best of luck! The Slush Pile is going to be SUPER competitive.

If you need a refresher on the submission guidelines, click here.

Agents of Nightmare on Query Street 2016
  

 Andrea Brown Literary

Kathleen Rushall

Kathleen comes to the Andrea Brown Literary Agency after agenting for nearly five years with the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. She represents writers and illustrators for picture books (both fiction and non-fiction), middle grade, and young adult literature.

When it comes to picture books, Kathleen loves to laugh and have her heartstrings pulled, and likes quirky character driven stories with heart. Kathleen is also actively building her list of nonfiction picture books. She would love to find more biographies and what some call “ficinformational” picture books (books with a fictional story that ties into the Common Core).

Kathleen is actively looking for fresh middle grade across all genres. She has a soft spot for heartfelt stories, as well as humorous contemporary with a relatable voice. She particularly enjoys middle grade with strong friendship themes. She would be happy to find a middle grade fantasy, adventure, historical, or a high stakes story with a twist of magic. For YA novels, Kathleen loves voice-driven contemporary (and is especially fond of magical realism), compelling fantasy with unforgettable characters, historical fiction, and romance with lots of chemistry. Additionally, she is always on the lookout for something smart and edgy that pushes the envelope.

Read more about Kathleen here.

Jennifer Soloway

Jennifer works closely with Executive Agent Laura Rennert. She enjoys all genres and categories, such as laugh-out-loud picture books and middle-grade adventures, but her sweet spot is young adult.

Jennifer is a suspense junkie. She adores action-packed thrillers and mysteries, full of unexpected twists. Throw in a dash of romance, and she’s hooked! She’s a sucker for conspiracy plots where anyone might be a double agent, even the kid next door. She is a huge fan of psychological horror that blurs the lines between the real and the imagined. But as much as she loves a good thriller, she finds her favorite novels are literary stories about ordinary teens, especially those focused on family, relationships, sexuality, mental illness, or addiction. In such stories, she is particularly drawn to a close, confiding first-person narrative.

Prior to joining ABLA, Jennifer worked in marketing and public relations in a variety of industries, including financial services, health care, and toys. She has an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College, and was a fellow at the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto in 2012. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, their two sons, and an English bulldog. 

Read more about the agency here.

 Bookends Literary

Tracy Marchini

After four years as a Literary Agents Assistant at Curtis Brown, Tracy Marchini left to pursue her own editorial business and to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. Her editorial clients have gone on to secure representation, sell books to traditional publishers, win awards and become bestsellers in the UK. She’s looking forward to being able to work with her BookEnds clients throughout their careers and to (hopefully!) see them grow as authors in the same way.

Growing up, Tracy made it a personal goal to read every Nancy Drew Case Files in her school’s library and still has a soft spot for a good girl detective story. As an adult, she loves the sense of possibility in children’s and young adult literature – and can still empathize with the soul-crushing feeling that is mandatory gym class.

Tracy is looking for picture book, middle grade and young adult manuscripts across most genres, including contemporary, mysteries, thrillers, magical realism, historical fiction, and non-fiction.

She is not a good fit for YA horror, true crime, hard sci-fi, or high fantasy. At this time, she is not looking for board books or early chapter books.

Read more about Bookends Literary here.

Donaghy Agency

Stacey Donaghy

Stacey has always been a voracious reader and a fan of all things writing. She loves discovering new voices and working with her clients to build long term writing careers.

Her journey began with Corvisiero Literary Agency in New York, where she wore many hats from team manager and trainer, to intern, to agent. While at CLA she sold her first two six figure deals.

This coupled with her experience and formal education and training in the areas of Management, Social Services and Adult Education, Stacey brings a wealth of technical and professional experience to the literary world. As a manager in the field of Education & Training, her roles have included people management, curriculum development, academic editing, marketing, creative design, publishing, proposal writing, contract negotiations and public speaking. Her training also includes Principled Negotiation Techniques as it applies to relationships and contracts.

Donaghy Literary Group opened in 2013 and to date Stacey has sold a total of 9 six figure deals, as well as many other sales in a number of genre areas. Her client projects have been sold to a variety of Publishing Houses such as: Harpercollins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group USA, Sourcebooks, Kensington, Entangled and others.

Read more about Stacey and her agency here. 

Emerald City Literary

Lindsay Mealing

Lindsay has been writing stories since she could first hold a pencil. It wasn’t until she sat down to edit a manuscript for the first time she realized her true love was not on the writing side of the publishing industry, but the business side. She began interning for Mandy in early 2015 and quickly realized agenting was what she wanted to do forever more.

Lindsay is a self-proclaimed nerd, loving everything science fiction and fantasy – from epic tomes to gaming. She fell head over heels with the SFF genre when she read KUSHIEL’S DART by Jacqueline Carey (she even has Phedre’s marque tattooed on her back).

You can find Lindsay on Twitter @lindsaymealing or check out what she’s currently reading on Goodreads.

Lindsay represents Science Fiction, Fantasy and YA. She does not rep middle grade, non-fiction,
short fiction or adult fiction outside the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Read more about Emerald City Literary here.

 Fuse Literary

Michelle Richter

Michelle Richter joined Fuse Literary after eight years at St. Martin’s Press. While there, she edited nonfiction including MELISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL by Melissa Joan Hart and RENEWABLE by Jeremy Shere, and worked on women’s fiction, memoir/ biography, pop culture, cookbooks, and diet/health books. She has an M.S. in Publishing from Pace University (where she is an adjunct faculty member), and a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Russian from UMass Boston.

Michelle is primarily seeking fiction, especially book club reads, women’s fiction, contemporary romance, literary fiction, magical realism, and mystery/suspense/thrillers. Her favorite authors include Erin Morgenstern, Ann Patchett, Emma Straub, Laura Lippman, Tana French, Sara Blaedel, and Gillian Flynn. She’s also open to YA fiction, particularly contemporary YA and YA mystery/thriller. For nonfiction, she’s interested in fashion, pop culture, science/medicine, sociology/social trends, and economics.

You can follow Michelle on Twitter at @michrichter1.

Read more about Fuse Literary here.

Inklings Literary Agency

Alex Barba

Alex Barba is an agent and the foreign rights contact at Inklings Literary Agency. She came to Inklings after a stint as a literary consultant in New York City, having scouted the U.S. book market for film and TV clients and foreign publishers. Prior to that, she spent time in Los Angeles as an editor at a digital magazine and in story development with a literary management company.

She represents YA and MG fiction, and is primarily looking for contemporary YA, but will also welcome queries of contemporary YA with light fantasy or sci-fi elements. A clever retelling/re-spin of an old classic is always thrilling (think Ella Enchanted, her favorite book). She's particularly seeking issue-driven YA, empowered girl protagonists, compelling teen romance, positive (not too angsty) stories with nerdy girl or boy characters, stories about that awkward tween phase (ages 9-13), slightly dark/subversive story lines for upper YA, strong female friendships, and historical fiction (think the original American Girl series).

Read more about Inklings Literary here.

JABberwocky Literary

Sam Morgan

Sam is the Right Hand of Darkness at JABberwocky. He is a native of Shelby, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Communications – Media Studies and Production. Before joining Jabberwocky in late 2012, Sam worked throughout New York City as a television critic, pizza guy, and several other glamorous positions. He’s an active nerd across all media from British television (Doctor Who and Black Mirror), to videogames (Injustice and Nintendo), to SF and fantasy novels (Prattchett, Adams, Gaiman), to college basketball (Go Heels, Go America). Sam is also active in the New York comedy scene at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater and making his own little rinky-dink videos in his spare time. He is ridiculously handsome, gut-busting witty, and prone to hyperbole.

For the time being, he is open for queries. You can email him (see instructions below) at querysam [at] awfulagent [dot] com.

If you need to reach him for some other reason, you can do so at sam [at] awfulagent [dot] com. If you query him at this address, it will be deleted unread.

You can also follow him on the ole twitter @samroebuck.

Also, he has a beard now. He feels this is important to know.

Read more about the JABberwocky team here.

Jane Rotrosen Agency

Rebecca Scherer

When Rebecca Scherer first walked into the JRA townhouse, she thought the parlor looked like something out of her favorite Edith Wharton novels and couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She dove in whole-heartedly and had the good fortune to apprentice with the some of the best agents in the industry. Having worked her way through each department of the agency, Rebecca enjoys all aspects of the business and has a comprehensive perspective on the type of career management that JRA is known for. Now an Associate Agent, Rebecca works closely with Meg Ruley and Andrea Cirillo on their client lists while actively building her own. A lifelong New Yorker, Rebecca holds a BA in English Literature, Political Science, and German from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. She is particularly interested in works of women’s fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, and upmarket/literary-leaning fiction.

Rebecca can be reached at rscherer@janerotrosen.com.

Read more about Jane Rotrosen Agency here

 Kimberley Cameron & Associates

Lisa Abellera

Lisa Abellera joined Kimberley Cameron and Associates in 2013 with a background in management, marketing, and finance. She has studied creative writing, design and business, earning her B.A. in Strategic Management from Dominican University of CA and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco.

Lisa had a successful career in the corporate world before joining the world of publishing. After editorial internships with an independent press and Kimberley Cameron & Associates, she now follows her true passion for books and writing. She leverages her business and marketing expertise to help authors navigate the complexities of publishing. She is excited to develop talented authors and help advance their careers. She is looking to form long-term, collaborative relationships with writers who are committed to putting forth their best work.


Lisa responds to well-crafted prose with strong hooks and high personal stakes, to idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, to a tangible sense of place, to multicultural aspects and international settings, to page-turning twists, and to emotionally immersive fiction that explores the human condition, especially within family and close relationships.

She is seeking to represent upmarket fiction, women's fiction, historical fiction, mystery/suspense/thrillers (especially if it has a dose of science or the supernatural), science fiction, fantasy, most speculative fiction except for paranormal fantasy (no demons, angels, vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc.), romance if it's an element or part of another genre, NA, YA and middle grade.

Dorian Maffei

Dorian Maffei graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Creative Writing, and began at Kimberley Cameron & Associates as an intern in 2013. She has since become a junior agent as she is now looking to build a client list of her own. She is interested in magical realism, fabulism, reimagined fairy tales, speculative fiction, unique voices, and innovative storytelling that sometimes veers on the weird.

Read more about Kimberley Cameron here.

The Knight Agency

Kristy Hunter

Kristy Hunter joined The Knight Agency in April 2014. With a degree in Women & Gender Studies and English Literature from Vanderbilt University, Kristy moved to New York City immediately after graduation to try her hand at publishing. She completed the Columbia Publishing Course and worked in the city for several years—first at Grove/Atlantic and then at Random House Children’s Books—before deciding it was time to make the move back down south. She now takes advantage of her new surroundings by being outside as much as possible with her French bulldog, Gummi.

Kristy is currently accepting submissions from a wide variety of genres, including women’s fiction, mystery, historical romance, romance, young adult, and middle grade. Having spent significant time in the south and New York City, she particularly likes books set in these regions. She also enjoys books that feature horses, boarding schools, sisters, and sororities—to name just a few. Her favorite books include THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett, RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger, THE HUSBAND’S SECRET by Liane Moriarty, I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, and WONDER by R.J. Palacio

Read more about The Knight Agency here.

KT Literary

Renee Nyen

Several years in the editorial department at Random House’s Colorado division provided Renee with the opportunity to work with bestselling and debut authors alike. After leaving Random House, she came to KT Literary in early 2013. She loves digging into manuscripts and helping the author shape the best story possible. Though this is great for her profession, it tends to frustrate people watching movies with her. With a penchant for depressing hipster music and an abiding love for a good adventure story, Renee is always looking for book recommendations. Even if that means creeping on people reading in public. Which she does frequently. She makes her home in Arizona with her husband, and their two children.

Read more about KT Literary here.

L. Perkins Agency

Leon Husock

Before he joined the L. Perkins Agency, Leon was an associate agent at Anderson Literary Management.  He graduated from Bard College with a BA in Literature and from there went on to attend the well-known Columbia Publishing Course, where he decided he wanted to be an agent.

He has a particular interest in science-fiction and fantasy, especially fantasy with non-Western European inspired settings and cultures (e.g. Leigh Bardugo’s Russian-inspired fantasy).  He also loves young adult and upper middle-grade of all stripes, as well as genre mashups (e.g. fantasy westerns, noir + almost anything else, etc).  Strong characters are, of course, a must.

Leon is actively building his list, and is currently open to queries.

Leon does not represent picture books, women’s fiction, novellas, or non-fiction.

Read more about L. Perkins Agency here.

LKG Agency

Lauren Galit

Agent: such a loaded job description. It’s the word you scream into the phone when you get stuck in an airline or cable company’s automated loop. AGENT! Or it might call to mind images of a classic real estate or Hollywood agent with slicked-back hair and too-sharp clothes. But that’s not who I am. My client, Clinton Kelly, once wrote in the acknowledgments of Freakin’ Fabulous: “Lauren Keller Galit, a totally chill agent who’s not even a jerk.”

Being a literary agent is my dream job (but then again, I was a literary geek at Harvard): I get to work with writers all day long, helping them craft their book ideas and editing their proposals. And then, once the proposal is complete, I get to connect with editors to sell them on something I have passionately committed myself to for the past few months. And I get to chat — a lot (but hopefully not too much). With writers, with editors, with Caitlen. All good.

I also get to be a world-class dilettante. For each new project that comes along, I delve deep into that writer’s world and expertise, learning all I can, so that I can speak knowledgeably about the subject. What could be bad about exploring a new angle on parenting or fitness or style every few months? My closet is certainly the better for it; hopefully my kids, too.

I started my agenting career in 2002 at John Boswell Associates, a literary agency and book packager that’s most noted for creating 365 Ways To Cook Chicken, as well as countless other best sellers. Because Boswell was a packager as well as an agent, he taught me how to do more than just craft a proposal and sell it; he showed me how to create a book from scratch, working with designers and production people along the way. It is that attention to detail that I bring to my current projects, even if we aren’t packaging them. I help my authors envision what their books could be.

Before becoming an agent, I was a magazine editor for 10 years, starting at GQ (Gentleman’s Quarterly) and ending at GH (Good Housekeeping). That’s where I learned to edit and copy edit, to read and reread until an article or caption or pull quote was just so. It is a skill I bring to every proposal I work on with a writer. It won’t go out until it is just so, because the proposal should beautifully and accurately represent the idea an author is dying to bring to the world.

Read more able LKG here.

Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

I joined the LKG Agency in 2008, thereby disproving the theory that no English major ever does anything with their degree.  Before that I worked at another literary agency, Don Congdon Associates, where I had the behind-the-scenes thrill of seeing Kathryn Stockett’s The Help first come in (and getting one of the first reads). And before that I was getting my Masters in English and Publishing from Rosemont College. I have enjoyed my apprenticeship under Lauren very much, and I am now actively looking to build my own list, which includes (after a surprisingly minimal amount of begging and pleading on my part), securing Lauren’s agreement to open the agency to considering middle grade and young adult fiction.

In my spare time, I am an author in my own right (or is that write?).  My first book, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, which I co-wrote with my mother, was released by Crown in 2009.  We also contributed to Jane Austen Made Me Do It, published by Ballantine in 2011.  My first middle grade novel, Ordinary Magic, was published by Bloomsbury Children’s in 2012.

Read more about LKG here.

Martin Literary

Clelia Gore

It was when Clelia first read Charlotte’s Web in the first grade that she got hooked by the magic of books. Her love of children’s books carried through adulthood and she is delighted to dedicate her life to bringing quality books and stories to young (and whimsical adult!) readers.

Clelia is originally from the suburbs of New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Boston College. She received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and practiced law as a corporate litigator in New York City.

In 2011, she decided to dedicate her career to books and reentered graduate school at Emerson College, where she received a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing. While she was studying publishing and taking creative writing courses at Emerson, Clelia gained firsthand experience in the publishing industry working in the children’s book division at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and in academic books at Oxford University Press.  She also taught academic writing and research courses to freshman students as a graduate student faculty member at Emerson College.

Clelia attends writing and publishing conferences. She also sits on the board of directors for Poetry Northwest magazine.

Clelia acquires picture book, middle grade and young adult books. She is particularly interested in developing her nonfiction clientele. With apologies, Clelia is no longer accepting new adult fiction queries at this time.

Read more about Clelia Gore here and her agency here.

McIntosh & Otis

Shannon Powers

Shannon Powers is a graduate of New York University. She began her career in publishing at McIntosh and Otis as an intern in 2011, and then went on to intern at The Book Report Network and W.W. Norton & Company. She has also worked as a bookseller. She returned to M&O in 2014, where she assists Shira Hoffman and Christa Heschke and is also looking to build her own list as a junior agent.

Shannon is interested in representing a range of both adult and children's genres. Above all, she looks for projects with a strong hook, smart plotting, memorable characters, and an addictive voice. She is open to both lighter projects and projects with a darker edge. For adult, her reading interests include literary fiction, mystery, horror, popular history, and romance. In YA and middle grade, she is searching for mysteries and thrillers with high emotional stakes, projects with romantic elements (whether fun or angsty), horror, light sci-fi or fantasy, and contemporary with a unique premise.

Read more about McIntosh & Otis here.

 The Seymour Agency

Jennifer Wills

Jen, a lifelong devourer of books, always dreamed of becoming an agent and helping authors bring their books to the world.  That, or becoming a veterinarian.  Or an astronaut.

She holds a BA in English, with a focus in creative writing, from The Ohio State University.  She has five years’ experience in publishing, as an assistant to Claire Roberts at Trident Media Group and to Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.  She loved helping develop fledgling writers into NYT bestselling authors. She currently assists Nicole Resciniti at The Seymour Agency.

She took a brief hiatus from publishing to explore her other interest - veterinary medicine – but finally realized that she much preferred authors to creatures whose bite is worse than their bark. Digging through the slush pile is a lot less dangerous, and a lot more fun, than working with puppies.
(Note: Jen is NOT considering a career in aerospace.)

Read more about Jennifer Wills here.

The Rights Factory

Lydia Moëd

Lydia Moëd came to Canada from the UK, where she worked for several years as a foreign rights executive in children’s publishing. She has also worked as a freelance literary translator and editor, and as a bookseller at Foyles in London. In addition to handling foreign rights for The Rights Factory’s children’s and YA list, she is building her own list of clients for representation.

For fiction, she is most interested in acquiring science fiction and fantasy, though she also enjoys magic realism, historical fiction and stories inspired by folklore from around the world. She is only looking for manuscripts that pass the Bechdel Test. For non-fiction, she is interested in narrative non-fiction on a wide variety of topics, including history, popular science, biography and travel. Until September 1st she is only accepting queries from authors from marginalised groups, because somebody dared her on Twitter.

Her non-book-related interests include hula-hooping, watching ice hockey, and exploring unlikely regions of her new country. She likes swashbuckling SFF TV series and quiet Japanese films in which nothing really happens.

Read more about Lydia here.

TriadaUS Literary

Lauren Spieller

Literary Agent Assistant Lauren Spieller comes to TriadaUS with a background in literary scouting and editorial consulting. She has a sharp editorial eye, and is passionate about author advocacy. Lauren is seeking Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, as well as commercial Adult fiction and non-fiction. Whatever the age category or genre, Lauren is passionate about finding diverse voices.

In MG, she’s drawn to heartfelt contemporaries, exciting adventures, contemporary fantasy and magical realism, as well as light sci-fi. She loves books that make her laugh and cry in equal measure, books that make her think, and books that surprise her. Some of her favorite recent Middle Grade novels include Rules for Stealing Stars, George, My Seventh-Grade Life In Tights, The Seventh Wish, and Rooftoppers. In YA, she’d love to find authentic teen voices in any and all genres. She is especially fond of fantasy and sci-fi, as well as high concept contemporaries. Her recent favorites include Dumplin’, Scorpio Races, Since You’ve Been Gone, Feed, An Ember in the Ashes, Six of Crows, and Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.

In Adult, Lauren is seeking commercial fiction, particularly twisted psychological thrillers in the vein of Lauren Beukes and Gillian Flynn, and immersive literary fantasies, such as The Night Circus, The Miniaturist, The Rook, The Miniaturist, and A Darker Shade of Magic. She is also interested in upmarket Women’s Fiction (especially if it's funny or has a touch of magical realism!) and unique non-fiction with an existing platform. She's particularly hungry for counter culture books, cocktail books with a twist/theme, or narrative nonfiction with a unique hook.

Uwe Stender

Dr. Uwe Stender, is a Full Member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives).

Our best known clients are actress Melody Thomas Scott, CNN HLN and TruTV's In Session News Anchor Christi Paul, Eric Deggans,former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, 4 time Grammy Award winning composer Lalo Schifrin ("Mission Impossible"), Elizabeth LaBan, Stacy Tornio, and legendary NBA referee Bob Delaney.

Uwe was a guest speaker at several major conferences including the SCWC in San Diego, the Crimebake (Mystery Writers of America New England Chapter), CAPA-U in Hartford, Connecticut, the Writers' League of Texas in Austin, Penn Writers, and he spoke on a panel at the Book Expo America in New York City.

Mallory Brown

Literary Agent Assistant Mallory C. Brown is seeking young adult, women’s fiction, adult, and non-fiction. She is especially drawn to pieces with strong character-driven plots and witty humor. She loves contemporary fiction, low fantasy (think realistic world with a fantastical twist), and romance. Mallory also appreciates a well-placed comma and hopes you do, too.

Some of Mallory’s favorites at the moment are: A Study in Charlotte, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Outlander, and Bringing up Bébé.

 Read about TriadaUS here.

  Trident Media Group

Mark Gottlieb

Mark Gottlieb’s focus on publishing began at Emerson College, where he was a founding member of the Publishing Club, later its President, overseeing its first publication and establishing the Wilde Press.

After graduating with a degree in writing, literature and publishing, Mark began his career with the Vice  President of Berkley Books (Penguin), working with leading editors.

His first position at the Trident Media Group literary agency was in foreign rights, selling the books of clients around the world. Mark later worked as Executive Assistant to Robert Gottlieb, Chairman of Trident, with responsibility for organizing/managing diverse authors and their complex business transactions. He next assumed the position of audio rights agent. Since Mark has managed the audio rights business, the annual sales volume has more than doubled. Mark showed great initiative and insight in identifying talented writers.

In passing the Audio Department's torch, Mark is building his own client list of writers. He is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources that are available to Trident. Since that time he has ranked as high as #1 in Agents on publishersmarketplace.com in Overall Deals and other individual categories.

Read more about Trident here.

Writers House

Alec Shane

I began my career at Writers House as an intern in September of 2008 and simply refused to leave, so I was given the wonderful job of Assistant to Jodi Reamer. I am now also in the process of actively building my own list and currently represent a fairly eclectic mix of Children's and Adult fiction and nonfiction. I'm eagerly looking for both.

On the fiction side, I love mysteries, thrillers (although I'm experiencing a bit of terrorist fatigue at the moment), bad-ass protagonists with a chip on their shoulders, beautifully told historical fiction (The Vietnam War, the Maccabees, and The American Revolution fascinate me in particular),well-researched adventure stories, and great horror - I haven't been scared to turn off the light in far too long and something needs to be done about it. In terms of children's books, getting boys to read again is especially important to me, and thus I'm particularly on the lookout for a fun middle-grade adventure series, ghost story, or anything else geared toward younger male readers.

On the nonfiction side, I'm attracted to odd, quirky histories, military history, biographies of people I didn't even know existed (but definitely should have), "guy" reads, humor, narrative nonfiction that sheds light on under-the-radar events and lifestyles, and all things sports. I'm also currently up in the air as to whether or not I believe in ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural, so if you have something that can convince me one way or the other, I'd love to see it.

Read more about Writers House here.