Agent Profile - Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Andrea Brown Literary Agency is one of the best agencies representing children's books, so if you're on the agent hunt I'm sure you've heard of them and Jennifer Laughran. She's all over the internet so there's lots of information to help you decide whether or not she might be the right agent for you.

Jennifer has an outstanding blog with lots of great advice and where she sometimes answers questions from writers; Jennifer Represents.

You can find her on Twitter where she hangs out a lot, so if you're not on Twitter consider giving it a try! She also has a Facebook page where she talks about clients and writing and such.

This is a really helpful link for picture book writers: Jennifer did a guest post of her list of favorite picture books on Sergio Ruzzier's blog.

There's an interview with her about how to get your children's book published at The Book Doctors.

I found an interesting quote from Jennifer on an Absolute Write Forum page. You have to scroll about half way down to see it and I can't link directly to it so I'll post it here, "...But yeah, it is hard to sell picture books. Not "nearly impossible", just hard. It is probably even harder to get an AGENT if you are a debut author with only picture books. It would probably be a good idea to "diversify your portfolio." <--Yup,  bad news, but we picture book writers know it's tough already, don't we!

Andrea Brown Literary Agency has a great website with a How to Submit page. Be sure to read the tips and submission advice pages too. You can find Jennifer Laughran on their Agent bio page. Scroll down to find her.

Jennifer Laughran represents:
Kate Messner
and Daniel Pinkwater

What a Surprise!

I woke up to find a nice review of Bedtime Monster in my inbox! It was a nice warm fuzzy feeling on such a cold, snowy Winter's day. (We got around two feet of snow overnight.) The review is by a librarian too, so it feels extra special. I love librarians!
You can check out the review if you like at Waking Brain Cells.

Brownie the Groundhog and the February Fox

Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox is not a story about Groundhog Day, although the date it briefly mentioned. Really, it's a story about waiting.  Brownie Groundhog is waiting for Spring. February Fox is waiting for a meal. He wants to eat Brownie Groundhog, but she's too tricky for him. Every time he's ready to eat her, Brownie tells him it's not time and gives him a job to do. Brownie is such a trickster and the fox so gullible, kids will get a kick out of it. And we all can relate to having to wait for something we want. The illustrations make this book feel like a nice Winter's day where a groundhog could definitely become friends with a hungry fox. It's a fun book to read while you're waiting for Spring!

Brownie the Groundhog and the February Fox is written by Susan Blackaby, illustrated by Carmen Segovia, and published by Sterling Publishing.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - John Schuster, The Literary Group International

The Literary Group International is a big agency that represents some children's authors, although I don't hear a lot of talk about them in the online kidlit world. You can read their submission guidelines on their website. What it doesn't tell you there is that John Schuster is their Acquisitions Editor.You can find his information at Querytracker. Yes, this agency is big and mysterious. You don't find a whole lot of kidlit information on a search so you have to dig deep! I can tell you from experience that John Schuster knows his stuff. John is also an author.

The Literary Group International represents Laura Vaccaro Seeger. (I love Dog and Bear!)










This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio

Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio represents some great picture book authors. There is an interview at Cynsations where Ms. Stimola states: "...in a weak picture book market, most being acquired these days are spare of language, character-driven, and have commercial appeal."

On Linkedin Rosemary Stimola also lists that she is a Publishing Consultant.

The Stimola Literary Studio website has information on Rosemary Stimola and her authors. You can also find some submission guidelines there. You can find the Stimola Literary Studio addresses at Querytracker.

Ms. Stimola represents picture books writers such as:
Lola Schaefer


Dianna Hutts Aston


and Michelle Meadows













This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Erzsi Deàk, Hen & Ink

Hen & Ink is a new agency, and President and Founder Ezrsi Deàk represents picture books. She is building her client list so this is a great opportunity.

Ms. Deàk is looking for sparely written picture books that will be read over and over again. She is open to single page queries. You can find Hen & Ink's submission guidelines at the Hen & Ink website

You can learn more at Erzsi Deàk's website

You can also find Ms. Deàk On Twitter

There's an in depth interview with Erzsi Deàk, the writer, at Cynsations where she talks about her participation in SCBWI and her writing (including picture books).

She lists Pitschi by Hans Fischer as a favorite picture book.







This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!


UPDATE 5/9/2011: Cynsations has a fabulous interview with Erzsi.

Cynthia also links to A Chat with a Cool Chick - Erzsi Deak, founder of Hen and Ink at Melissa Buron's blog.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents

I've done the research and let me tell ya, as a writer of picture books it can take a lot of time to figure out who represents picture book authors and who doesn't. I've been thinking about it a lot. I have a list and I don't think it would hurt to share it, so I've decided to create a Monster List of Picture Book Agents! I'll do a post for each agents and link it to the Monster List of Picture Book Agents page. This month I'm going to work on the list and add more agents when I can, but my main posts will be on the 20th of each month. The first two posts are going up today!

Here come the big,mean dust bunny! by Jan Thomas

I never would have guessed that one of my favorite bedtime reads would be about dust bunnies. They're cute, they're funny, and they rhyme all the time--except for Bob, he has a little trouble with that. The four sweet little dust bunnies put up with the big, mean dust bunny's bullying until they finally find a way to win him over.

The sparsely worded story packs in plenty of kid-friendly humor, but what makes this book extra special is the illustrations. Jan Thomas' use of the page along with the bold colors makes you feel like you're right there with the characters(especially when you're cuddled with your little one holding the book up close). The varied sizes of the text made my little guy excited about the different words and got him actually wanting to try to read them. No small feat for a kid that has an aversion to anything he suspects to be learning.

If you're looking for a fun bedtime or storytime read for the very young this is a book you should check out.

Here comes the big, mean dust bunny! is written and illustrated by Jan Thomas.

Ski Trip

Since it's winter I've been doing alot of cross country skiing around the mountain and I thought I'd give you a little ski tour:

So, I ski off from the house. You can just make out the roof there by the top left corner. My dog likes to come with me.

Then I come to the crossing. You may notice that there aren't any plowed roads here. (My car is actually parked a mile from my house.) This is where the snowmobiles, horses, skiiers, and walkers cross.



I like to ski over to the pond. It's under that snow somewhere.

 

I usually hit the valley from the top of the hill past the pond. It's a good ski down.

I like to ski through the trees. There's a slight slope and it's pretty.

When I come home it's a nice view from the kitchen window while I drink hot cocoa and write.