7 Questions For: Literary Agent Heather Flaherty

Heather Flaherty grew up in Massachusetts, between Boston and the Cape, and started working in New York City as a playwright during college. After much country hopping and some work in editorial, Heather became a YA and Children's Literary Scout, consulting with foreign publishers and Hollywood regarding what the next big book will be. Now as an Agent, she's thrilled to grow authors for that same success.

Currently, she's looking for authors of Middle-Grade and Young-Adult fiction. For YA, she's looking across all genres, and loves an excellent and authentic teen voice. For MG, she's looking for more realistic stories (either contemporary or period), about coping, coming-of-age, or situations seen through the eyes of a young person. She also represents select Adult fiction, as well as humor and pop-culture non-fiction.  

Follow her on twitter: @HeddaFlaherty.

For more information, check out my friends Natalie Aguirre and Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Heather Flaherty faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books? 

WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams

JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

MYSTERIES OF UDALPHO by Anne Radcliffe

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

The Goonies 

Supernatural

Game of Thrones

I can offer like a hundred more in both categories… and of course faves shift depending upon daily mood. #Important

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client? 

Willing, Positive, Striver, Social, Sleeve-Roller-Upper

Funny. I like funny.

Interesting, my ideal client is also my ideal mate. :b

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?  

This changes, but right now I’d love some Middle-Grade, where something is witnessed through the childs pov. Whether that something is PTSD of a man in town that doesn’t fit in, or a family dynamic that’s becoming  struggle, what have you. Real life, but through the young persons pov.

I’m also craving some YA Contemporary, either high-stakes romance, or Issue-Driven Drama.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

Favorite thing: Bridging the gap between author and publisher – I love being in the middle, it gives me a feeling like I’m not missing out on something. Call it the scout in me.

Least Favorite: Getting so many queries that I have trouble responding quickly… I’m working on it everyone, I promise!

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Work. You have to work to get this. It’s not a reclusive writer typing away in their wood-panelled country study anymore… especially not for YA and MG.

You have to work.

You have to work on your manuscript (review, rewrite, revise, relook, get a critique partner). You have to work to get an agent to read the manuscript (query, rewrite your query, do your research on the agent, be a part of the industry so you can meet them, or twitter with them). Then, you can be prepared to work even more – once an editor says yes. Edits (of course), but publicity, marketing, promoting, etc.

Then… then you can begin work on your next.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

 Amy Schumer (she writes! not novels, but she writes!). The why? No need to answer that, right?

www.thebentagency.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Gemma Cooper

Gemma Cooper represents authors who write for children, from 5+ to young adult. Here she is in her own words:

Before joining The Bent Agency, I worked as a literary agent at Bright Literary Agency, representing a wide range of authors and author/illustrators, from picture books to YA. As an agent, I get to be the first fan of an unpublished book and then champion this book - nothing beats being able to talk up your passions to other book fanatics.

Originally from London, I started my publishing career while living in NYC for three years. I have since moved back to the UK, and I work with UK and US authors.

My client list is typified by character lead stories, with voice being the biggest thing I look for. I love younger fiction, and have a soft spot for funny books aimed at 7+ with series potential. With MG, I'd love to see a good mystery, but really any MG with strong voice will get my attention whatever the subject matter. For YA, I'm a sucker for boy POV, a good contemporary romance or thriller. Author/illustrators writing MG or chapter books would get my immediate attention!

And now Gemma Cooper faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

I’ll cheat a little and give you my top three MG books, because this is almost an impossible question if you are including adult, YA, 7+ and picture books!

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead – I adore this book so much; the voice, the mystery, the setting, the characters, the...everything!

Once by Morris Gleitzman – I use the opening of this book in a ‘voice and engaging writing’ workshop I run as I think it’s one of the best examples of a character jumping out of a book, sitting down next to you and telling you his story. The sequel Then is still a book I can’t even talk about it without crying.

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo – Another choice based on an authentic voice and the fact I love a soppy dog story.

And I’ll cheat again to say I recently read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and absolutely adored it. I want to give it time to see if it’s got the re-readability of the above, but I’m pretty sure it will end up on future favourite lists. Makes my heart sing just thinking about it.

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

Movies

Hot Fuzz

Heathers

Groundhog Day

TV

Red Dwarf

Dexter

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client? 

A great writer, of course! But also someone who is fun to work with and who I can connect with on a personal level. I talk to my clients a lot – via Skype, phone, long rambling emails – and I want to get on with them on more levels that just the writing. I also want people who are responsive, hardworking and social media-savvy – and not in the sense of being a whiz on Twitter or writing a great blog, but being savvy enough to know what they can and can’t discuss online. I can’t watch everything that goes online and I need to trust my clients to make sound judgments about what they talk about.

I’m blessed with a great bunch of clients who all fall into the ideal client category – they cheer for each other, they’ve formed their own little network and they’re all respectful of my time. I’m actually running a client retreat in June, so any new clients must be up for fun!

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

I have just signed up a fantastic author/illustrator with a MG project - it’s hard to find great fiction writers who also illustrate, so this was a massive coup for me. But I always want more! I’m the biggest Wimpy Kid fan, and I’d go crazy if something similar turned up in my submissions. Also, I’m known for my love of funny chapter books or younger MG series. I represent My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, and I want to find something equally as funny with that super hook. There is a lot to be said for writers who can write a genuine nine-year-old voice. For MG, send me ALL of it – anything and everything. For YA, I prefer contemporary romance or thrillers with a strong voice. I will also look at dark and gritty YA.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

I love being able to champion a book I’m passionate about. You know what it’s like: you finish an amazing book and want to run out and tell everyone about it. Well, I get to do that all the time! How lucky am I?!

My least favourite thing is looking at my to-do list and reading pile and realising there is never enough time to read all the things. I could take a month off and still not read everything I want to.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

The pace of publishing is odd. It can be very slow, then suddenly lots of things happen, and then it slows down again, and then...etc. Don’t think about publishing time as your typical cause-and-effect; think of it more as a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey...stuff, (three points for getting that reference). If you expect publishing to be in its own weird timezone, then you won’t be as surprised when it goes through stages of being crazy-manic and then deathly quiet. Be patient and go with it.

My other big bit of advice is make friends with other writers. The best writers have great critique partners. It’s hard to edit your own work, and a great CP will see things that you are just too close to see. Also, it’s great practice editing other people’s books, as you’ll learn tools to help edit your own work.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

I’ll finish as I started by cheating a little with one living and one dead writer.

I’d love to have met Douglas Adams. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of my comfort books. I read it a bunch of times as a teen, and now I have the audiobook, which I listen to if I’m struggling to sleep or if I need to get out of my head for a time. I also think his Dirk Gently novels are fantastic. It would have been great to sit down and have a natter with him about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.

I always struggle when people ask for my favourite author, as it’s hard to pick, but the author I’ve read the most of is Robert Rankin – I must be up to 22 of his books now. They are a total mix of comic fantasy, sci-fi, the occult and urban legends, always with running gags, recurring characters and set in Brentford. They are also comfortable reading as you know what to expect...but you also don’t if that makes sense.The biographies at the front of Rankin’s books are fictional, so I’d love to actual find out something real about him and where his bonkers ideas and humour come from. I mean, you have to want to have a drink with anyone who came up with the book title The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse! (Which is an excellent book, FYI.)

www.thebentagency.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Molly Ker Hawn

Molly Ker Hawn represents authors who write for the young adult and middle grade market. 

Here she is in her own words:

My time in the children's publishing industry has included editorial roles at Chronicle Books and Dial Books for Young Readers, early social media development for a major teen magazine, and serving as National Programs Director at the Children's Book Council, the trade association of American children's book publishers. I've also been a bookseller, and I'm a past board member of the United States Board on Books for Young People. 

I live in London and I work with authors and publishers both in the U.K. and the U.S. I've bounced back and forth from America to England since I was a teenager: I grew up in Northern California, lived for a time in the West Country, read English at Cambridge University, spent many years in New York City, and now live a stone's throw from the River Thames. 

I'm looking for young adult and middle grade fiction that's inventive, well-crafted, and rich with emotion, whether contemporary, historical, fantasy, sf, thriller, romance, or mystery. My favorite books have characters I wish I could talk to in worlds I wish I could visit, and I love stories that grab hold of me and keep me up reading long into the night.

For more information, check out my friends Natalie Aguirre and Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

 

And now Molly Ker Hawn faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

WINTER'S TALE by Mark Helprin. I'd love to find a MG project with this much imagination and such a masterful voice.

A SUITABLE BOY by Vikram Seth. He writes about families so engagingly -- again, I wonder if there's a MG book out there with that same affectionate humor.

THE GREY KING by Susan Cooper. I think it might be the perfect MG book: expertly drawn characters, finely tuned dramatic tension, and a vivid, impeccably researched setting. 

Looking at this list, I realize that each of these books is about place as much as its characters. WINTER'S TALE is as much a love letter to New York City as it is an epic fantasy; A SUITABLE BOY is a massive family saga but also a comprehensive lesson in the life and politics of post-partition India; THE GREY KING brings both modern and ancient Wales to life. That grounding in place is absolutely crucial for me.     

 

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows? 

I'm going to cheat and list 4:

1. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, for capturing a side of America we don't often see on television, and for constructing the most authentic-feeling characters I've ever seen on primetime.

2. The BATTLESTAR GALACTICA reboot, for sustaining that feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach over 75 episodes and asking such important questions.

3. ALMOST FAMOUS, for being brilliantly written and brilliantly cast, and satisfying my craving for stories about music and the different ways we love it.

4. And something historical -- I can't decide. The 2002 FORSYTE SAGA? The BBC adaptation of Mrs. Gaskell's NORTH AND SOUTH? MAD MEN? A Jane Austen adaptation? HOPE AND GLORY? I like being drawn into another time and getting a glimpse of how lives were lived in different periods, and how human nature is constant no matter what the era.

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client? 

My ideal client is a gifted writer with a strong work ethic, a resilient attitude, and a great sense of humor. This is a tough business, and when you sign with agent, the work is only just beginning. 

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for? 

I'm looking for intelligent, witty MG writing -- the kind that doesn't condescend -- that opens up a new world to the reader, whether real or imaginary. I'm a big fan of Jack Gantos's work, and I'm always thrilled when I get a submission that shares that kind of humor and big-heartedness. Gennifer Choldenko, Anne Ursu, and Neil Gaiman (among others) share those qualities.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

The excitement of discovering treasure in the slush pile never gets old! And helping to bring that treasure to an audience is so gratifying. On the other hand, I get so many submissions that aren't right for me, and it's frustrating that I don't have the time to explain exactly why when I decline them. Authors work so hard, and to have that work rejected with a quick form email must be so disheartening. I constantly find myself wishing for more hours in the day.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Finish your book. I get a lot of questions from writers that boil down to "Can you tell me whether or not I should keep working on this project?" -- but it's almost impossible to get a sense of a project's viability until it's completed. And by completed I mean fully drafted, read by critique partners or beta readers, revised, mulled over, and revised again. You owe it to yourself to make your project the best it can be before you send it out into the world; you need to give it its best chance of success. If you send off an incomplete manuscript or a rushed first draft, you're not doing justice to your work. 


Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Ellen Raskin, whose masterpiece THE WESTING GAME has been a touchstone for me since I first read it in 1979. It's rare to find a writer with her kind of wit and inventiveness, but she was also a prolific illustrator and cover designer--I best she would have been great fun, and I'm sure she would have had some terrific tales to share about the publishing industry. I've yet to meet a fellow agent who doesn't appreciate a good bit of gossip! 

www.thebentagency.com 

7 Questions for: Literary Agent Jenny Bent

Jenny Bent has worked in publishing for over 15 years, both as an editor and an agent, most recently as Vice President at Trident Media Group before founding The Bent Agency in 2009.  There she has continued her tradition of representing bestsellers, with over 15 titles on the NYT list since she opened her doors.

The agency recently expanded to include an in-house foreign rights agent and a children's book agent, Susan Hawk, formerly the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Children's Books.  She is looking for young adult, literary suspense, crime, romantic suspense, and general fiction.  Please see her website, www.thebentagency.com, for submission guidelines.

Here is Jenny Bent in her own words:

In a career spanning 15 years, I have made a practice of making bestsellers - either by spotting new talent or developing careers for multi-published authors. My list is varied and includes commercial fiction and nonfiction, literary fiction and memoir. All the books I represent speak to the heart in some way: they are linked by genuine emotion, inspiration and great writing and story-telling. 

I was born in New York City but grew up in Harrisonburg Virginia in a house full of books where I spent many lazy afternoons reading in a sunny window seat. I went on to England to get a BA/MA with first class honors from Cambridge University. After graduation I worked in magazines, bookselling and agenting, most recently at Trident Media Group, before founding THE BENT AGENCY in 2009. I now live in Brooklyn in an apartment full of books and while there are not quite so many lazy reading afternoons, I manage to fit one in now and then. 

For more information, check out my friends Natalie Aguirre and Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Jenny Bent faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Honorable mention:
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

Movies:

I Went Down (obscure but fabulous Irish movie from 1997)

Something Wild (Melanie Griffith and the awesomely scary Ray Liotta from 1986)

Old School/Bridesmaids in a tie

Television shows:

Entourage
Hex (first season on BBC only)
My So-Called Life 

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

Prolific, courteous, honest, hard-working, kind, talented

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?  

Terrific women's book club fiction, suspense/crime with a female lead, really interesting, innovative, creative YA

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

I really love it all.  I get to read great books, meet smart and interesting people domestically and internationally (both writers and publishing people), I even like the geeky business stuff like contracts and accounting.  Least favorite thing might be that there's just not enough time in the day to get everything done.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Act as professionally as possible all the time and always be kind and courteous to everyone with whom you come into contact.  This is a small business and fortunes rise and fall all the time--be the person that others want to help, even when the chips are down.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Jane Austen.  Because so much of her life is surrounded in mystery--I want to know more!

www.thebentagency.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Susan Hawk

Susan Hawk is a literary agent with The Bent Agency. Here is her official bio:

For the past 15 years, I've worked in Children's Book Marketing, most recently as the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and previous to that as the Library Marketing Director at Penguin Young Readers Group. I was lucky to work on many different books during that time ranging from Eric Carle's Baby Bear, Baby Bear to Betsy Partridge's This Land Was Made for You and Me, to Nancy Werlin's Black Mirror, as well as the work of Mary E Pearson, Richard Peck and Joan Bauer.

While at Penguin, I also worked for a time in Dutton Editorial, acquiring projects for that list. My favorite part of that time was being able to read new submissions -- I love the thrill of finding something wonderful and imagining where it can go.

I’m looking for books for children only: young adult, middle grade, chapter books, picture books, graphic novels and narrative nonfiction. Within those categories I’m interested in many things – mystery, science-fiction, historical fiction, fantasy (especially fantasy based on fairy tales), realistic fiction, boy books, humor, romance – but what the books I represent have in common is strong story-telling, a unique, sometimes slightly off-kilter voice, and memorable characters that stick with me long after the book is finished.

Susan was born and grew up in Washington, DC; she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

And now Susan Hawk faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

Hard as it is to answer this question, it is so much fun to consider…but I can’t pick just three!

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

House of Stairs by Bill Sleator

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I loved these books deeply as a child. As it turns out, all of them were published by imprints of Penguin, which is where I found my first job in publishing. Every time I went to the bookroom, where we stored copies of backlist titles, it was like walking back into my childhood. I frequently recall scenes and characters from these books, and they are as vivid as a photograph still.

Other books that have that same vivid quality are Tangerine, Hole in My Life, Getting Near to Baby and When You Reach Me. I recently read I Capture the Castle and I think it might be the perfect book for me – it’s written in an utterly delicious voice; filled with funny, curious and deeply felt characters. It’s gorgeous.

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

Crooklyn is funny, sweet and sad, the perfect blue Sunday movie. Sense and Sensibility gets at the sister relationship so well. Invasion of the Body Snatchers still creeps me out. Tootsie and Young Frankenstein always make me laugh. Local Hero’s oddball charm gets me every time. For storytelling with heart, Finding Nemo.

We just finished watching Battlestar Gallactica, which I loved. It took us forever to get through it, but it was worth it! Now we’ve begun Mad Men, which I’m very enamored of. The uncut version of Downton Abbey just arrived; I’m in heaven watching this. I adore cooking shows and there aren’t many I don’t like, right now Top Chef Masters is front and center.

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

My ideal client is a talented and imaginative writer, who is willing to go deep into their story and characters. Ability to laugh at life makes you good to work with, and makes for good writing too. I also appreciate someone who understands that publishing is a business, and has done their homework.

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

I look for characters that feel like no one else, and who wiggle right into my heart. I want to be glued to the page, dying to know what’s going to happen next. I’m a sucker for bittersweet, and stories about people who come to see the world as a perfectly imperfect place.

Right now, I’d love to find a great middle-grade mystery. I’d like to see some YA historical fiction a la Phillipa Gregory. I’m also looking for illustrators who write stories as well.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

Finding something new and wonderful is always a thrill. Sharing excitement about successes with a client is great.

Rejection is a hard part of agenting, but while that’s my least favorite part of the job, it does give me insight into something writers struggle with, which is useful.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

• Be patient. There are very few overnight success stories in publishing.

• Find support. Reach out to writers in your community that feel simpatico to you. You’ll get great feedback on your writing, as well as friends to celebrate and commiserate with.

• Do your research, but be true to yourself. It’s important that you understand things like the categories children’s books are published in and the ways that you can promote your own work, but never focus on these kinds of issues more than your own writing – that’s at the center of your work and it should always come first.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

PG Wodehouse would keep me laughing all the way through any meal!

www.thebentagency.com