Welcome to the April edition of Agentopia! This month we have Kate Testerman and Linda Camacho in the spotlight.
First is Kate Testerman from kt literary
About Kate:
After a dozen years working in publishing in New York City,
Kate moved to Colorado and formed kt literary in early 2008, where she
concentrates on middle grade and young adult fiction. Bringing to bear the
experience of being part of a large agency, she enjoys all aspects of working
with her authors, offering hands-on experience, personal service, and a surfeit
of optimism.
Her clients include Maureen Johnson, Ellen Booraem,
Stephanie Perkins, Carrie Harris, Trish Doller, and Matthew Cody, among other
exciting and acclaimed authors. Kate is a graduate of the University of
Delaware’s Honors Program, a former cast member of the New York Renaissance
Faire, and an avid collector of shoes, bags, children, and dogs. Her interests
cover a broad range including contemporary drama, urban fantasy and magical
realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. She is an active member of
the SCBWI and AAR.
What is currently on your wish list?
Diverse stories, particularly Own Voices. Like so much of
the country right now, I'm feeling an urge to protest and resist, and would
love to be part of a novel like THE HATE U GIVE by Angela Thomas, that shines a
light on the stores that make up our multicultural world.
What's a personal turn-off in a query which is guaranteed to get the author rejected?
I'm willing to grant querying authors a bit of leeway, but
racism and sexism are definite turn-offs.
Do you google authors and if yes, what are you looking for?
If I like a manuscript and want to set up a call with the
author, then yes, I will do some googling and pop around on their social media
channels. But I don't spend a lot of time seeking out authors.
To submit to Kate, email your query letter and the first three pages of your manuscript in the body of the email to katequery@ktliterary.com
Next up is Linda Camacho from Prospect Agency
About Linda:
Linda Camacho joined Prospect Agency in 2015 after nearly a
decade in publishing. After graduating from Cornell University, Linda interned
at Simon & Schuster and Writers House literary agency, and worked at
Penguin before happily settling into children's marketing at Random House. She
has an MFA in creative writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Unofficially, Linda loves chocolate, travel, and far too
much TV.
In terms of submissions, she's pretty omnivorous. She enjoys a variety
of categories and genres, ranging from picture book to adult, from clean and
lighthearted contemporary to edgy and dark fantasy.
What is currently on your wish list?
I’m looking for high concept YA of all kinds, like maybe a
thriller, a western, or a fantasy (preferably set in a non-European world).
Surprise me! And I’m dying for more adult romance, particularly contemporary
(would love one with a plus-size protagonist). Frankly, I’d love to see a plus-size
protagonist in anything having nothing to do with weight loss, like in Sarai
Walker’s Dietland, which is terrific.
What's a personal turn-off in a query which is guaranteed to get the author rejected?
A big turn-off is when the writer slams the category/genre
in which they're querying me for and saying that their work is the exception. I
can't tell you how many "All YA is trash, but mine rises above that"
I get in my in-box!
Do you google authors and if yes, what are you looking for?
I definitely do Google authors. If they don't have much
online presence, I don't hold it against them. If they are online (i.e., on
Twitter), I tend to look at the things they've said, if they're professional or
not, if they'd be a person I'd want to work with. A person ranting on social
media about how they think agents are mean and dumb, for instance, would
certainly make me pause.
Prospect Agency accepts online submissions. Please include a query letter, synopsis and the first three chapters (or first 30 pages) of your manuscript.
Twitter: @LindaRandom
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