TBA Monthly Wishlist - February 2016

It's time again for the Monthly Wishlist!  Here's the ONE project that each TBA agent would love to see in their submission inbox. If you have something that fits with the below, please check out our submission guidelines and send it over. We can't wait to read!

A literary collection of stories like the ones found in the Modern Love podcast; think Aziz Ansari's MODERN ROMANCE meets Emma Straub's OTHER PEOPLE WE MARRIED - Victoria Lowes

YA or MG with a unique way of telling your story - nonlinear narrative, novels in verse, multi POV’s, illustrated novels, or something else really creative! Surprise me - Gemma Cooper

Accessible, literary YA or MG fiction full of emotion and featuring an underrepresented community, in the vein of my client Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock’s THE SMELL OF OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES - Molly Ker Hawn

I'd love a pacey, character driven YA or MG novel that has to do with the Cold War in the 1950s or 1960s -- could be set then or later, as long as that period's history is key to the story - Susan Hawk

Really dark, twisted, possibly magical, YA - Heather Flaherty

Rich, intense, female-centric domestic suspense/thriller with marginalized characters in the starring roles - Beth Phelan

Deal Announcement - HOUSE OF ORANGE by Lianne Oelke

I'm thrilled to share the news of Lianne Oelke's debut book deal for her young adult novel House of Orange, pitched as It's Kind of a Funny Story meets MTV's Daria! Congratulations, Lianne! Here are the details from Children's Bookshelf:

On a personal note, I have never laughed as much while reading a manuscript as I have with House of Orange. Jane Sinner’s world-weary, witty misanthropy is at once familiar and hilarious, and I think readers will delight in recognizing in her their own aggressive passive-aggressions; Lianne has written a book that further broadens the borders of young adult fiction, and I am so excited for others to experience it.

Follow Lianne on Twitter: @lianneoelke

TBA Agent Brooks Sherman Is Closing To Queries

Hi guys, Brooks here! On Monday, February 8, I am closing to queries and unsolicited submissions for a couple months while I catch up. A lot of awesome things have happened for me and my clients these past few months, but one of the unfortunate side effects of all this awesomeness is I am now quite backlogged on responding to queries.

My #1 priority as a literary agent is my clients, but my #2 priority is answering writers who have sent me their work. I have a lot of sympathy for querying writers, having been a writer myself before I got into publishing. I don’t want to forget my roots and become one of “those” agents writers despair of ever reaching — and I don’t want to accidentally bog down a project that might be a better fit for one of my Bent Agency colleagues, either!

If you have queried me in the past but not received a response from me by March 1, please let me know; it is possible I did not receive your original email! From that point on, though, I plan to have a new system of reading and responding to queries, so I will be much speedier in responding to future queries and submissions.

I’ll announce here when I am open again for queries, and I’ll make occasional exceptions to for writers I meet at conferences, #MSWL tweets, or pitch contests in which I’m participating. In the meantime, thanks to everyone for your patience while I get caught up!