Huge thanks and a big HURRAH to Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary and Media for being this month's Secret Agent despite a lingering power outage and no Internet connection!
(I have to say this: Is this not the COOLEST literary head shot you've ever seen?!)
Joanna's Bio:
Joanna Stampfel-Volpe has been with Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation for just over two years. Prior to becoming a full-time agent with Nancy Coffey, Joanna was an assistant and Junior Agent with FinePrint Literary Management, a publisher's assistant at Blue Marlin Publications, and a book seller at Barnes & Noble. Her previous sales range from children's literature to adult non-fiction, including THE TOWN THAT FOOD SAVED (Rodale, March 2010) by Ben Hewitt, DECEPTION~A Haunting Emma Novel (Bloomsbury Children's, June 2010) by Lee Nichols, THE DUFF (Poppy, September 2010) by Kody Keplinger, SWAY (Hyperion, Summer 2011) by Amber Turner, and THE ROTTEN ADVENTURES OF ZACHARY RUTHLESS (HarperCollins Children's, Summer 2011) by Allan Woodrow. Joanna has also sold a number of audio books and has just finished negotiations on her first film option. Joanna is looking for clients who are as enthusiastic about writing and reading as she is, and she is currently building her list. When she's not reading (which is almost never), she enjoys cooking, watching movies, playing Guitar Hero and hanging with her husband and her chihuahua, PeeWee.
And this is what I'm looking for:
In children's books: chap books to upper YA, any genre. That includes non-fiction! I particularly like stories laden with humor, boy books, romance, magical realism, and beautiful middle grade, but I will look at any genre in children's books. If it's paranormal or fantasy/sci-fi, it needs to be fresh and different from what's already out there!!
In adult books: romance (historical, paranormal), fantasy (urban fantasy, steampunk), up-market fiction (dark, women's fic, commercial thrillers, historical, magical realism, speculative fic), narrative non-fiction (pop culture, environmental, foodie).
What I'm not interested in right now: picture books, cozies, cookbooks, academic nonfiction, epic fantasy for adults, hi-science fiction for adults, poetry, collections/short stories, screenplays.
Yay! A big thank you, once again, to EVERYONE. Winners forthcoming!
Thank you Joanna for doing this contest and thank you Authoress for going through all the work to set it up!
ReplyDeleteIt is always fascinating to read through the entries and the comments.
Thanks again!
Thank you Joanna and Authoress and all you sharp-eyed critters who gave me such great constructive feedback. I always learn so much here, and I'm looking forward to improving my story.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Entering this contest proved a much needed boost in my 'courage factor'. I ended up uploading my first chapter to my blog so I could get feedback from readers. I don't think I would've had the guts to do so without first submitting to the Secret Agent Contest. So thank you for all the hard work, and for the opportunities this contest offers.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
Thanks so much for your time and thoughtful commentary, and to Authoress for all her hard work putting it together.
ReplyDeleteIt feels great to have agreed with your feedback.
Writers: If you keep at this long enough, you may begin to read like an agent! And hopefully bring that fine sense of discernment to your own writing.
Thanks Joanna for doing the contest. And offering such awesome prizes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joanna for the feedback. It's a huge help!
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