Here are two literary agents seeking children's and YA books. Molly O'Neill (Waxman Leavell Literary Agency) is most actively seeking young adult and middle-grade fiction. She is also seeking a select number of children’s illustrators. Ayanna Coleman (Quill Shift Literary Agency) is seeking young adult and middle-grade fiction in all genres.
Note: You can find a comprehensive list of new and established agents seeking clients here: Agents Seeking Clients
Note: You can find a comprehensive list of new and established agents seeking clients here: Agents Seeking Clients
Molly O'Neill of Waxman Leavell Literary Agency
About Molly: Prior to becoming an agent, she spent thirteen years working in various roles inside the publishing industry: as an editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquired Veronica Roth’s juggernaut Divergent series, among many other fantastic projects; as head of editorial at Storybird, a publishing/tech start-up; and in school and library marketing at both HarperCollins and Clarion Books. She loves the creative process and early-stage project development, is invigorated by business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking, and is fascinated by the intersections of art, commerce, creativity, and innovation. Molly is especially passionate about the people behind books, and she takes pride in discovering and evangelizing talented authors and illustrators, expanding the global reach of their work, and finding new ways to build connections and community among creators, readers, stories, and their champions.
Molly is an alum of Marquette University, an erstwhile Texan, and a current dweller of Brooklyn, New York. She is drawn to authors and artists who constantly challenge themselves, who are adept at communicating with their audiences, who are creative and flexible thinkers, and who have as much enthusiasm for their readers as for their own successes. Wit, strong writing, vivid settings, a passion for craft, or a well-timed reaction gif will always catch her eye.
Currently Seeking: Currently, Molly is most actively seeking young adult and middle-grade fiction. She is also seeking a select number of children’s illustrators (illustrators who write are especially welcome), as well as authors of kidlit nonfiction, early readers/chapter books, and kidlit graphic novels. She is not currently seeking picture book texts unless the author is also a professional illustrator, a writer of nonfiction, or a direct referral from an industry contact that she knows personally.
How to Submit: To submit a project, please email your query to mollysubmit [at] waxmanleavell.com with the word “Query” as the first word in the subject line. Your short email query should include a description of your project; biographical information (including details about any relevant credentials, subject area expertise, stats, or existing platform); and a summary, if applicable, of prior published works, agent representation, and/or publisher submission history. If you don’t have special credentials or previous publishing history, no worries: Molly welcomes debut talent! Please also be sure to include your phone number, email address, and any relevant Internet/social media links. Below your query letter paste the first 10 pages of your manuscript, or entire picture book text.
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About Molly: Prior to becoming an agent, she spent thirteen years working in various roles inside the publishing industry: as an editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquired Veronica Roth’s juggernaut Divergent series, among many other fantastic projects; as head of editorial at Storybird, a publishing/tech start-up; and in school and library marketing at both HarperCollins and Clarion Books. She loves the creative process and early-stage project development, is invigorated by business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking, and is fascinated by the intersections of art, commerce, creativity, and innovation. Molly is especially passionate about the people behind books, and she takes pride in discovering and evangelizing talented authors and illustrators, expanding the global reach of their work, and finding new ways to build connections and community among creators, readers, stories, and their champions.
Molly is an alum of Marquette University, an erstwhile Texan, and a current dweller of Brooklyn, New York. She is drawn to authors and artists who constantly challenge themselves, who are adept at communicating with their audiences, who are creative and flexible thinkers, and who have as much enthusiasm for their readers as for their own successes. Wit, strong writing, vivid settings, a passion for craft, or a well-timed reaction gif will always catch her eye.
Currently Seeking: Currently, Molly is most actively seeking young adult and middle-grade fiction. She is also seeking a select number of children’s illustrators (illustrators who write are especially welcome), as well as authors of kidlit nonfiction, early readers/chapter books, and kidlit graphic novels. She is not currently seeking picture book texts unless the author is also a professional illustrator, a writer of nonfiction, or a direct referral from an industry contact that she knows personally.
How to Submit: To submit a project, please email your query to mollysubmit [at] waxmanleavell.com with the word “Query” as the first word in the subject line. Your short email query should include a description of your project; biographical information (including details about any relevant credentials, subject area expertise, stats, or existing platform); and a summary, if applicable, of prior published works, agent representation, and/or publisher submission history. If you don’t have special credentials or previous publishing history, no worries: Molly welcomes debut talent! Please also be sure to include your phone number, email address, and any relevant Internet/social media links. Below your query letter paste the first 10 pages of your manuscript, or entire picture book text.
_______________________
Ayanna Coleman of Quill Shift Literary Agency
About Ayanna: Ayanna Coleman founded Quill Shift Literary Agency in 2013 to help usher inclusive stories worthy of inspiring a passion for reading in children through the publication process.
What she is seeking: She is looking for middle grade and young adult fiction in all genres. Bring her stories with plucky, realistic characters that represent our multicultural society who grow throughout an engrossing plot in a setting that sucks the reader in.
How to Submit: To submit, please follow the instructions on the Agency website and complete the author submissions form.
About Ayanna: Ayanna Coleman founded Quill Shift Literary Agency in 2013 to help usher inclusive stories worthy of inspiring a passion for reading in children through the publication process.
What she is seeking: She is looking for middle grade and young adult fiction in all genres. Bring her stories with plucky, realistic characters that represent our multicultural society who grow throughout an engrossing plot in a setting that sucks the reader in.
How to Submit: To submit, please follow the instructions on the Agency website and complete the author submissions form.
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