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| Download Query Guidlines |
Query
Guidelines:
At the Jean V.
Naggar Literary Agency, Inc., we believe that the best way to keep growing is
to represent the newest and freshest talent in the business. For this reason we are always accepting queries. Because we are constantly accepting these
queries, it should come as no surprise that we will not accept unsolicited book
excerpts or completed manuscripts. If you have a book or proposal and want us to help you get it published,
please send us your query letter via regular mail or through email. In your
query letter please give a brief description of the work, and any biographical
information about yourself that you feel would be relevant to our consideration
of you as an author (i.e. published works and articles, awards received,
education, etc.). If an agent here
is interested in your query they will contact you directly, asking for sample
chapters or a completed manuscript.
Our agents are:
Jean Naggar
Jean established
the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. in 1978 in New York City, where she
had previously worked as an editor, writer and translator. Jean manages a
full list of clients. She takes on very few new clients.
Jennifer Weltz
Jennifer Weltz has
been with the agency since 1993. She is Vice-President and Partner of JVNLA and
the agency's Rights Director. She handles royalties, administration, finances
and a select list of authors including: Iza Trapani, C.W. Gortner and the Roger
Duvoisin Estate. Jennifer graduated from Cornell University and began her
career in publishing at Crown's publicity department. She has sold numerous
books internationally.
Jennifer is
looking for only a few children's authors with concepts that are fun, fresh and
surprising. In the adult world she is searching for big historicals,
high-concept thrillers, and stories that capture a sense of magical realism.
Alice Tasman
Alice Tasman is a
senior literary agent at JVNLA where she has worked for twelve years. Her list
focuses primarily on literary and upmarket commercial fiction as well as strong
narrative non-fiction.
Recent fiction
titles include: Night Navigation, by
Ginnah Howard (Harcourt); The Liar's
Diary, by Patry Francis (Dutton/Penguin); Up High in the Trees, by Kiara Brinkman (Grove); Genealogy, by Maud Casey
(HarperCollins); You Must Be This Happy
To Enter, All This Heavenly Glory and When the Messenger is Hot, by
Elizabeth Crane (Akashic/Punk Planet & Little Brown); Devils in the Sugar Shop and The
Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, by Timothy Schaffert (Unbridled
Books); The Olivia Kidney Series and Pish Posh, by Ellen Potter
(Philomel/Penguin); Recent
Non-fiction titles include: Becoming
Faulkner: A Biography of William Faulkner, by Dr.Philip Weinstein (Oxford
University Press); An Entirely Syntethic
Fish: A Biography of Rainbow Trout, by Anders Halverson (Yale University
Press).
Mollie Glick
After
graduating from Brown University, Mollie started her publishing career as a
literary scout, advising foreign publishers regarding the acquisition of rights
to American books. She then worked as an editor at the Crown imprint of Random
House, before switching over to Òthe other sideÓ and becoming an agent in July,
2003.
Mollie's
list includes literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, and some practical non-
fiction. She's particularly interested in fiction that bridges the
literary/commercial divide, combining strong writing with a great plot, and
non-fiction dealing with popular science, medicine, psychology, cultural
history, and current events. She's very hands-on, working collaboratively with
her authors to refine their projects, then focusing on identifying just the
right editors for the submissions.
In
addition to her work as a literary agent, Mollie also teaches classes on
non-fiction proposal writing at Media Bistro, and a copy of her instructional
article on non-fiction proposal writing will be featured in this year's edition
of the Writers Digest guide to literary agents.
Some
of Mollie's recent sales include:
Dorothy
Hearst's THE WOLF CHRONICLES: a trilogy of novels pitched as a cross between
WATERSHIP DOWN and THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, which tells the story of the
first wolves who became dogs. (Simon & Schuster)
THE
PROPHET by Zoe Klein, a brilliant first novel by one of America's most prominent
female rabbis, the story of a brilliant, if slightly world-weary, Meggido
archaeologist who stumbles across the find of a lifetime when a young Arab
couple visit her dig in search of an expert to help them excavate the haunted
grounds beneath their house. (Pocket Books)
Internationally
recognized artificial intelligence expert David Levy's LOVE AND SEX WITH
ROBOTS: Artificial Intelligence, Automatons and the Evolution of the
Robot/Human Relationship. (HarperCollins)
Salon and New Republic journalist Gregory Levey's SHUT
UP, I'M TALKING, the true story of a 26-year-old law student who stumbled into
the opportunity of a lifetime, writing speeches for Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon at the height of his political power. (The Free Press)
Huffington
Post blogger Julia Moulden's THE
NEW RADICALS: How Baby Boomers are Changing the World and How You Can, Too.
(McGraw-Hill)
Jessica Regel
Jessica started as
a summer intern at JVNLA in May of 2002. She quickly realized that agenting was
her dream job, so she moved from Iowa to New York permanently, received her BA
degree in English Lit from Hunter College, and was lucky enough to get a full
time position at the agency. She now handles her own list of children's and
adult authors while also selling film, audio, and UK rights for all of the
wonderful JVNLA authors.
She's always
looking for strong women's commercial fiction, literary fiction, edgy/hip
fiction, young adult and middle grade novels, children's non-fiction, memoirs,
and narrative nonfiction. She doesn't handle practical nonfiction,
inspirational/religion, genre science fiction or fantasy, or political
thrillers.
Some of her sales
include:
Lesley
Livingston's WONDROUS STRANGE (HarperCollins), an urban fantasy that weaves
elements of A Midsummer Night's Dream together with teen romance and chilling
adventure that erupts when dangerous faeries invade the human world through a
gate in Central Park.
Rayo Casablanca's
6 SICK HIPSTERS (Kensington), a hilarious, frenetic, adrenaline-charged debut
novel, Casablanca does for modern day Williamsburg what Bred Easton Ellis did
for '80s L.A.--but with a knowing grin and a far cooler soundtrack.
Cecilia Galante's
young adult novel THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES (Bloomsbury) and middle grade
novel HERSHEY HERSELF (Mix/Simon & Schuster). Two beautifully told novels
about kids who are able to trascend their circumstances: a religious commune
and a battered women's shelters.
Some of her
favorite books include: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Separate Peace by
John Knowles, Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, What
I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, Even Cowgirls Get
the Blues by Tom Robbins, Another Country by James Baldwin,
Franny and Zoey by J.D. Salinger, Blubber by Judy Blume
Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, The
Meaning of Night by Michael Cox, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and The End of
Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas.
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