I’m also looking for exciting, high-concept, gobble-down-in-one-sitting YA novels that keep me up way past my bedtime (I love creepy/horror/suspense, historical, historical fantasy, and creative fantasy in general) as well as beautiful, literary works that explore the coming-of-age theme from a truly original angle and beg for multiple re-readings. I'd love to find a great middle grade series!

Really, I'd just love to find a fresh, beautiful, fun, thoughtful story that makes that first real step into adulthood seem brand-new, all over again. I'd love to find a historical MG that is also fun and exciting-a lot of submissions I see for this genre are a little too serious/earnest for my taste. I grew up reading Karen Cushman, Sharon Creech, and Scott O'Dell's books until they fell apart in my hands. Roald Dahl's bizarre flights of fancy comprise some of the most pleasurable reading time of my life, and I love lower-fantasy in general-I would go live at Hogwarts if I could.! It's a career goal of mine to rep a Newbery winner. I have a great love for middle grade-bring on the whimsical, the imaginative, the dark/crass/wacky/hilarious. I’m particularly on the lookout for humorous, entertaining, illustrated chapter books that also have some kind of educational angle to them, something that could be brought into a classroom to supplement the new Common Core Standards, and ALSO something a kid would gleefully reach for, themselves. My tastes tend to run toward the funny, here-very sweet, gentle picture books are just not for me.

I would love a great picture book series, like a Fancy Nancy or a Knuffle Bunny-something where we could see fabulous, memorable characters encounter a variety of new circumstances.

I’m extra-crazy-picky with taking on picture books, but I do love them and rep them. My main focus is children’s books, but I also represent select adult fiction and offbeat nonfiction-see below for a more precise breakdown. I LOVE what I do, and cultivate a boundary-pushing, empathy-building, omnivorous list. After half a decade working at independent bookstores through my late teens and early twenties, I started at Writers House as starry-eyed intern in 2007 and worked my way up to Senior Agent before moving to HG Literary.

The vindico by wesley king