New(ish) Urban Fantasy Agents

Looking for an agent or editor can be a time-consuming task. I know. I've been doing it for a while now. And because I am engaged in the process, I thought I would share some of my finds with my fellow blogging community.  

This week I have two new(ish) agents who represent the Urban Fantasy genre. (Please note:  I can't speak to the quality of the agent or agency and you should ALWAYS do your homework before signing any contract with any agent or editor).

Kat Salazar of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents

About Kat: Kat Salazar joined Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in February 2011 as an intern for the agency working directly for agency co-founder Elizabeth Pomada. Previously she worked for University of Washington Press as a Marketing Assistant and held internships at University of California Press, HarperOne of Harper Collins, and Wales Literary Agency. Currently, she is the Publishing Assistant at Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari Press as well as the agency’s newest Associate Agent and the San Francisco Writers Conference Social Media Coordinator. Kat earned a BA degree from University of Washington, double majoring in English: Literature and Communications: Journalism. For more about Kat you can follow her on Twitter at @KatLovesBooks or read her blog: www.KatLovesBooks.blogspot.com.

She is seeking: Kat is actively looking for young adult, middle grade, and children’s picture books. For adult audiences, she is interested in literary fiction and urban fantasy.

How to submit: Please query her with the first 10 pages of your manuscript and a 1-2-page synopsis copied and pasted into the body of an e-mail to QueryKatSalazar (at) gmail (dot) com.

Sara D'Emic of Talcott Notch Literary

About Sara: Sara D’Emic graduated from Emerson College with a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, and is happy to be starting her career as an agent with Talcott Notch Literary. Needless to say, she’s passionate about books. Her reading tastes range from Dostoevsky and Dumas to Burroughs and Salinger to Lovecraft and King.

She is seeking: “Compelling characters are the crux of good fiction, and I’m seeking stories that will spark the imagination and the soul. I’m looking for adult horror, urban fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, science fiction, mystery, thriller, or crime fiction. I will also gladly take non-fiction science and technology.”

How to contact: Writers can query her with one-page query plus an attached 10-page sample for fiction, or one-page sample plus attached table of contents at sdemic (at) talcottnotch.net.

Agents for the Urban Fantasy Writer

I thought I would take a moment to share some of my favorite agents representing urban fantasy, specifically those that are attending the BEA 2009 Pitch Slam in NYC. If you happen to live in the area and have a couple hundred bucks to drop for registration, this might be a fun thing to attend. I've met a couple of these agents through various conferences. I'm also a big fan of writers taking the time and expending the effort to find a good agent, because they can do wonders!

So here is the list: (there are 66 agents in total, these are just a few)

PITCH SLAM 2009

MIRIAM KRISS (Irene Goodman Literary) is seeking all areas of commercial fiction including, but not limited to: mystery, romance, thrillers, YA, fantasy (especially urban fantasy), and SF. She is also interested in narrative nonfiction and memoir.

CHERRY WEINER (Cherry Weiner Literary) handles all genres of fiction, and
specializes in science fiction, fantasy (especially urban fantasy), romance, Westerns and Native American works. Some nonfiction has even crept into the mix but she doesn’t consider poetry or children’s.

JOANNA STAMPFEL-VOLPE (Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation) represents everything from children’s books (chapter books to YA, both nonfiction and fiction), to adult fiction (speculative, romance, historical, paranormal, unique fantasy, thrillers, literary, dark comedy, dark drama, horror) and she will occasionally take on strong narrative nonfiction with pop culture, environmental or food elements.

GRETCHEN STELTER (Baker’s Mark Literary Agency) works with creators who write in the same genres she loves to read: middle grade and YA fiction, magic(al) realism, contemporary fiction, and women’s fiction. She is interested in anything with an urban fantasy touch (more Mike Carey than Maurice Dantec), and the middle grade and YA should have edgy, true-to-life characters and dialogue. The contemporary and women’s fiction should have a wide entry point for its audience but a strong hook that makes it stand out from the crowd.

GINGER CLARK (Curtis Brown, Ltd.) represents science fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance, paranormal chick lit, literary horror, and young adult and middle grade fiction.

STACIA DECKER (Firebrand Literary) is looking for adult narrative nonfiction in the areas of politics, history, biography, travel, memoir, current events, and pop culture. She also specializes in hard-boiled mystery and crime fiction.

LEAH HULTENSCHMIDT (editor, Dorchester Publishing) is looking to meet with authors or agents who have a completed romance manuscript of 75,000-95,000 words in the following romance subgenres: historical, paranormal, futuristic, urban fantasy, and romantic suspense.

SANDY LU (L. Perkins Agency) specializes in both quality fiction and nonfiction, with a particular interest in dark literary fiction, edgy urban fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thriller, psychological horror, upscale women’s fiction, and multicultural fiction. Her nonfiction categories are narrative nonfiction, history, biography, science, pop culture, and food writing.

JENNY RAPPAPORT (The Rappaport Agency) specializes in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, young adult, and romance.

JANET REID (FinePrint Literary Management, aka QueryShark) specializes in crime fiction. She also represents narrative nonfiction, reference and how to books. She’s open to pitches on any topic however. Good writing trumps all.

And for those of you who already have an agent, I'd love to hear your story? Tell us how you found your agent or what you like best about them?