Marie Lamba Assistant Agent,
Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency (www.jdlit.com)
Marie Lamba (www.marielamba.com)
is author of the young adult novels What I Meant…
(Random House), Over My Head and Drawn. Her
work appears in the short story anthology Liar Liar (Mendacity
Press), the anthology Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in
Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing), and her
articles appear in more than 100 publications including national
magazines such as Writer’s Digest, Garden Design and RWR.
She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer,
and a book publicist, has taught classes on novel writing and on
author promotion, and is a member of the Romance Writers of America,
and The Liars Club.
As an agent, Marie is currently looking
for young adult and middle grade fiction, along with general and women’s
fiction and some memoir. Books that are moving and/or hilarious are
especially welcome. She is NOT interested in picture books, science
fiction or high fantasy (though she is open to paranormal elements),
category romance (though romantic elements are welcomed), non-fiction,
or in books that feature graphic violence.
Some recently favorite titles on her
shelf include Searching for Caleb by Anne Tyler, Just
Listen by Sarah Dessen, Paper Towns by John
Green, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger, Twenties
Girl by Sophia Kinsella, The Graveyard Book by
Neil Gayman, Shug by Jenny Han, and Doing It
by Melvin Burgess. She also admits to watching many many chick flicks.
To contact her, send query letters to marie.jdlit@gmail.com
Carrie Pestritto joined
Prospect Agency in 2011 after working as an assistant at Writers
House. With a B.A. in English from Amherst College, she has
experienced all sides of the publishing industry, having worked as a
ghostwriter, freelance writer, and in the editorial acquisitions
department of the Greenwood Publishing Group. As an agent, she loves
the thrill of finding new authors with strong, unique voices and
working closely with her clients to develop their ideas and
manuscripts. For Carrie, extraordinary fiction and non-fiction share
the ability to transport readers to new and exciting places. As a
history and mythology buff, she is intrigued by books that introduce
her to another culture or time period. She is looking for description
and detail that will make her feel like she is inside the story and
interest her in a subject she never thought she would want to read
about or, conversely, introduce her to startling facts about something
or someone she believed she already knew everything about.
Carrie is currently seeking non-fiction,
narrative non-fiction, general non-fiction, and some biography and
memoir. She is looking for authors that have a strong platform, such
as a popular blog, published articles, or related professional
experience. Topics such as New England architecture, modern Native
American culture, the history of colonialism in literature, or
different Cinderella variants throughout different time periods and
countries would excite her. She also seeks mainstream prescriptive
non-fiction; for example she would love to see a book about the
benefits of locavore eating, or a completely cutting edge relationship
book.
In the fiction arena, she is looking for
literary fiction, historical fiction, and mature YA. She would love to
see a thriller/mystery about Elizabeth Bathory, otherwise known as
"Lady Dracula," or a novel about a young teacher at a
private high school who finds herself attracted to one of her
students.
She is not currently interested in romance,
science fiction/fantasy, or picture books.
carrie@prospectagency.com
http://www.prospectagency.com/
Lauren Ruth started
her publishing career as an intern at Simon & Schuster's
Touchstone/Fireside imprint while earning her B.A. in English language
and literature from Pace University. Shortly thereafter, she completed
her second internship at BookEnds, where she fell in love with the
literary agency side of the publishing industry. In February 2011, she
joined BookEnds as a full-time literary assistant. She will soon have
her master's degree in book publishing.
In fiction, Lauren is looking for literary
fiction, romance, women's fiction, chick lit, young adult, middle
grade, mystery, historical fiction, and steampunk. On the nonfiction
side, she's looking for memoir, parenting and family, relationships,
food and lifestyle, business, popular science, popular culture, and
popular psychology.
LRuth@bookends-inc.com
http://www.bookends-inc.com/
Katie
Shea joined
the Donald Maass Literary Agency in 2011. She was previously an agent
with the Johnson Literary Agency. She specializes in fiction and
memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary
fiction. She is also seeking memoir, narrative non-fiction, food, pop
culture, health and lifestyle, and realistic YA. She is most
interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique
relationships. Some of her favorite authors include: Joan Didion, Mary
Karr, Michael Cunningham, Alice Sebold, and Jean Kwok (Girl in
Translation). She is an honors graduate of Marist College.
What kinds of projects I'm interested in representing: I focus
mainly on fiction and memoir. I love character-driven novels, period
pieces, real-life stories. I want the raw, emotional, deep and gritty
story line that I can feel deep inside my bones. I want to know the
main character -- really, know him/her. A successful writer isn’t
afraid to be honest on paper. Put emotion into your story and put
details you think should be secret. Conflict is a major part of a
story, so use it as a base to your protagonist’s emotions. I also
love seeing when characters change their ways and realize certain life
values through a particular situation. Show personal struggle and
personal strength to make the full circle in a character’s novel
life. I am also interested in YA, but ONLY YA novels that are
realistic and contemporary—no vampires, witchcraft, werewolves, etc.
kshea@maassagency.com
http://www.maassagency.com/
Rachel Stout
joined Dystel and Goderich after graduating with a degree in English
from Fordham University. Her interest in publishing began early in her
college career as she sought to figure out where exactly she wanted
her life to head, career-wise (and to ward off the all too common
assumptions that just because she studied English, she inevitably
wanted to become a teacher). An internship with LJK Literary
Management solidified and strengthened her determination and
introduced her to the agenting side of the publishing world. Rachel
hopes that DGLM will further foster these inclinations and is looking
forward to the time ahead. After growing up on the South Jersey shore,
Rachel now lives in Brooklyn and is interested in literary fiction,
narrative non-fiction, and believable and thought-provoking YA as well
as magical realism.
rstout@dystel.com
www.dystel.com
