Victoria's 2014 Wishlist

Hello all! A lot of the agents at TBA have been giving you their updated query wish lists for 2014 so I’d like to follow suit and let you all know what I’m on the hunt for this year. As you may or may not know, I’m first and foremost looking for titles intended for the digital-first market. But more specifically, here’s the kinds of projects I’d most like to get my hands on.

Romance:  I have fallen in love (which seems appropriate, I suppose) with this genre over the last 6 months or so. I’m always looking for romances of every style- with the exception of paranormals- but I’d especially like:

• Sports Romance that is both very sweet and very sexy.
• Erotic Romance that isn’t BDSM (although I will also consider ones that are).
• Romantic Suspense with an authentic love interest and off-the-charts narrative tension.
• Contemporary Romance with a touch of magical realism- think The Time Traveler’s Wife.
• LGBT Romances of any kind.
• Historical Romance that isn’t set in the Regency era. Take me somewhere new! With these, I’d like for there to be a certain emphasis on the culture and what sets this time place apart from our own.
• Young Adult Contemporaries that combine humor with the sense of gravity that comes along with being young and in love. 

Speaking of YA, I’d also really, really love a dark, gritty, even sort of creepy YA mystery.

New Adult: I’m really interested to see how this genre will evolve so in particular I’m looking for a NA that will contribute something new.

Women’s fiction: For this, having both a strong hook and authentic voice are essential. I don’t like women’s fiction that’s too sweet but rather stories about strong, relatable women that have humor laced throughout.

Historical fiction: While I love all sorts of different kinds of historical fiction, I’m most actively looking for something set during the early 20^th century or during the 1950’s. Something that’s fast paced, and exciting with a touch of romance would be perfect.

Also, I’m a sucker for smart fairytale retellings that perhaps tell the same story from a different perspective and would love to get my hands on a contemporary that’s a fresh take on witches. In general, I’m drawn to prose that’s simple but effective and without excessive literary flair.

I look forward to reading what you guys have up your sleeves. Even if your project doesn’t match these descriptions exactly, send them my way- I’d be thrilled to fall in love with something unexpected. Happy querying, everyone!

Deal Announcement: Subsidiary Rights Sales

The Bent Agency is thrilled to announce the following subsidiary rights deals for our clients:

Finnish rights to Lisa Renee Jones' ESCAPING REALITY and INFINITE POSSIBILITIES sold to Gummerus.

Audio rights to Anita Howard's UNHINGED sold to Blackstone Audio.

UNHINGED also sold in Brazil to Novo Conceito.

Audio rights to Jen McLaughlin's books OUT OF LINE and OUT OF TIME sold to Tantor.

Yangsze Choo's THE GHOST BRIDE sold in Brazil to Darkside Books.

Becky Albertalli's SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA sold in Germany, in a pre-empt, to Carlsen.

Many congratulations everyone!

SUSAN'S 2014 WISH LIST

I love Januarys – the year is wide-open before you and possibilities abound (it’s the kissing cousin to September, with school starting and the feeling of fresh start).  A perfect time let you know what kind of projects I’d love to find this year!

I took on a number of picture book writers and illustrators in 2013, so my focus this year is on middle-grade and young adult novels. 

Here’s what I look for in a book for any age reader:

-- Powerful, original voice
-- A great hook and strong plot
-- Real, textured, imperfect characters.  I love quirky, but not for its own sake; quirkiness that feels true and fully integrated to its character.
-- Writing with literary quality, that’s commercial too
-- Heart.  I want to be emotionally invested in a book
-- Humor is key; even if the book is dark or fairly serious, I want some humor.  Because life is like that.
-- Blow me away!  I want to read something that feels different.

More specifically, in both YA and MG, what I want most right now is a big, juicy fantasy, with gorgeous, complex world-building and high stakes, that’s not at the expense of your characters.  It’s cold and gray in Brooklyn!  Transport me to a world that feels really new.

I’d love to find a funny and layered Contemporary YA story.  Give me a great romance, but don’t stop there – add family dynamics, or a mother-daughter thread, shifting friendships, big stakes.  My client Rachael Allen’s book 17 FIRST KISSES is a great example of a book layered like this (and it’s coming out this June!).  THE SPECTACULAR NOW is another favorite contemporary YA, with very strong voice.

YA Historical Fiction that sweeps the reader up in the past, but feels immediate as well.  Something romantic please!  I’m interested in most periods, and especially like Elizabethan and Victorian England, as well as 20th century American.

YA with a unique story-telling device.  Think WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? for teens – a story that incorporates  a mix of emails, letters, diary entries etc to form the narrative.  Or something like THE 19^TH WIFE, that combines a present-day story and mirrors that to a historical one.  I also like multiple points of view.

YA Sci-Fi.  I’m seeing quite a bit of sci-fi, but I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of machines becoming intelligent enough to outsmart their creators.  A fresh imagining of that concept please!  A recent favorite sci-fi novel is THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, which I loved for its originality and heartbreaking characters, this is the kind of sci-fi I’m looking for.

A couple others I’d love to see: a YA story about cloning, a YA mystery with tons of creepy, claustrophobic atmosphere or a YA about boarding school secret societies.

In middle-grade, I’m drawn to literary, character-driven stories with a twist.  Think BREADCRUMBS or BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT.  I’m a sucker for bittersweet.

A fantastical MG in the vein of Joan Aiken’s WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE -- something gothic, Dickensian, historical or an alternate history.

I love MG time-travel stories, and would love to find something that re-invents that concept.

MG novel in verse.  Jackie Woodson’s LOCOMOTION is a favorite, and I’d love to find an emotional verse novel.

A favorite kind of MG historical fiction has the main character meeting up with a famous historical figure – a kid who spends time in the company of Susan B Anthony or Marco Polo, for instance. 

I’m a fan of fairy tale retellings, for both MG and YA, especially ones that use a lesser known tale, and make use of the darker threads in these stories.  Some favorite fairy tales are Tam Lin, the Six Swans, and Goose Girl, and my all time favorite example of this kind of book is THE PERILOUS GARD.

Thanks for reading this list, and not to worry if your book doesn’t neatly match something I’ve described here.  What I really want is great writing and a great read, and I’m open to possibilities.  It is January after all!

I can’t wait to read your projects, thank you for sending them my way!

Jenny's Wish List: Please Send Books!

Hi guys,

I recently reopened to queries after a short hiatus so it seemed like a good time to also tell you what I am most looking for.

In general, if you have written a book that is VERY funny, or VERY scary, or VERY sad, or VERY anything, really, send it to me!  I love extremes and I love stuff that really makes me feel something, that is emotionally powerful in some way.

More specifically, here is what I'm looking for:

1. Female driven or female authored suspense or crime.  Lori Roy's UNTIL SHE CAME HOME was just nominated for the Edgar for best novel (she also won the Edgar for Best First Book for BENT ROAD) and I'd love to find more authors like Lori, who write edge of your seat literary suspense.  I also would love more commercial writers of suspense like my authors Kate Brady and Rita Herron.  And of course, I have two YA suspense novels coming out in the next year, S.E. Green's KILLER INSTINCT and Lynn Weingarten's SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS.   I love really, really dark books in general, so if you've written one, please do send it along!

2. High concept women's fiction.   This is like Lori Nelson Spielman's THE LIFE LIST or Victoria Van Tiem's LOVE LIKE THE MOVIES or Yangsze Choo's THE GHOST BRIDE.    Women's fiction with a hook, that I can pitch in a sentence or two.   Obviously it also needs to be an emotional, satisfying read.

3. I love a good ghost story.  Sonja Condit's STARTER HOUSE just came out and I'm so excited about this one, along the lines of Joe Hill's HEART SHAPED BOX.

4. Historical fiction, particularly with a tie-in to a real life person.   I'm very excited about the upcoming release of Jan Moran's A PROMISE OF ROSES next year.

5. Great, funny, voice-driven contemporary YA with a more serious theme, like anything by John Green or Rainbow Rowell.

6. Classic YA or MG fantasy with a good hook and epic feel, like SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo.

Since I've been around for a while, my list is admittedly pretty full, but I'm still ALWAYS on the lookout for that special author to add to my list, whether debut or multi-published.   Please do try me with any book that you really feel passionate about--even if it's not a fit, I'm always grateful to hear from you!

Jenny