We're always on the lookout for agents and agencies whose specialties might be of interest to our clients, and this month we're focusing on agents who handle books for the Christian marketplace.

1. Bruce Barbour of Literary Management Group
literarymanagementgroup.com
Specializes in the area of Christian publishing from an Evangelical perspective.

2. D.C. Jacobson & Associates
dcjacobson.com
An innovative author management company that provides comprehensive literary representation for Christian authors.

3. Hartline Literary Agency
hartlineliterary.com
Representing authors who write primarily from a Christian worldview.

Owen Laster, a literary agent with William Morris for fifty years until his retirement a few years ago (see my interview with him here), died today in Manhattan. I first knew him in the '70s, when part of my job as senior editor at Stein and Day was to take a literary agent to lunch every day. Lunch with Owen was always a high point. He loved fiction, and I thought he had great taste--because he liked the kind of stories and writing I liked. When I founded this company in 1980 and started pitching books I loved to Owen, he was more than receptive and quick to respond. And any client he took on could expect plenty of personal attention despite the size of the agency and the fame of Owen's big clients.

He talked to me about connecting with stories. He said that if we were excited about something, that was a "shortcut" for him and that if he connected with the story he might then find a publishing editor who would. I miss the connection with the connector.

This past week we received the thrilling news that two TED clients have been offered agent representation. Georgia McBride, author of the YA thriller PRAEFATIO, has signed with Mark McVeigh of The McVeigh Agency , and suspense novelist Nick Daniels, author of THE JIHAD'S MESSIAH, is now represented by Nicholas Croce of The Croce Agency after successful placement via our agent matchmaking program.

We previously featured Georgia McBride in our Building Your Author's Platform series, and she is proof that a great story and a strong online presence make an author irresistible to an agent. PRAEFATIO is the story of Grace Ann Miller, a girl found on a rock star's front lawn with no memory of how she got there. While the media has a field day with the rock star's arrest, "Grace has a much more shocking tale for the police than kidnapping. A secret existence steeped in ancient Biblical myth and guarded by the highest order of Angels-resulting in blood, death and more grief than Grace could ever imagine." Georgia is sharing the first chapter of PRAEFATIO on her web site, and you can view a book trailer there as well.

"What's your book about?"

If anyone knows that you are an aspiring writer, you have probably heard this question. It can come at awkward times - when another parent sees you typing away on the soccer field sidelines, or across the Thanksgiving table from a distant cousin. Or you can hear it at a writer's conference, when you find yourself in an elevator with the editor or agent who would be a perfect match for your Work In Progress.

So what do you say? You have spent months - even years - writing tens of thousands of words. You have agonized over the physical details of your characters or just the right anecdotes to help your readers understand your message. How can you possibly summarize it in the time it takes Uncle George to pass the gravy, or in time it takes your dream publishing partner to reach the twenty-second floor?

I'll admit that I was skeptical about the marketability of "another cancer memoir" when Valerie Reiss' book proposal first crossed my desk. There are so may of them out there these days, and memoirs by the non-famous are such a tough sell, and, and, and... then I read it. It's true that it was a cancer memoir. But it was a cancer memoir with a clever and charming voice, intelligent, well-written content, and a very unique angle. In fact, the proposal was so good that we didn't even need to edit it!

 

Valerie had queried agents on her own in the past, but hadn't made much headway. We offered to go to bat for her and her fantastic project via our agent matchmaking program, and in late January we sent out the first round of submissions.

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the talented and irrepressible Chris Cander, who has just signed on with Jane Gelfman of Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc with a delightful first novel called Literally Everything.

Anyone who has worked with me knows that I'm a big fan of young and/or new-ish agents. (So much, in fact, that I wrote an article about it here!) But when I'm making submissions for projects in the agent matchmaking program, do I limit my hunt to just the young'uns?