Friday, May 25, 2012

Literary Agencies that Represent YA & MG Sci-Fi, Fantasy

We heart literary agents!
Looking for a lit agent can be tough. Places like QueryTracker, AgentQuery, and Manuscript Wish List are amazing resources. But it can still be a challenge to find an agency with agents that represent both the genre and age category you're writing for.

So, here is a list I compiled of 200+ literary agencies with agents that represent YA or MG speculative fiction.

Hope this helps some of you on your querying journey!

Note that I've just listed the agencies here. Some have one agent who reps YA or MG SFF, some have multiple agents who do. Hopefully with a bit more sleuthing you can find the agent that's the right fit for your project.


This was last added to in April 2019, last link-checked Jan 2013. 
Agency preferences are subject to change.

Please check the agency guidelines before submitting!!

Literary Agencies that Represent
YA or MG Fantasy & Science Fiction


I've tried to screen these to the best of my ability, however, there are some newer agencies on the list. Always, always do your research before submitting! Make sure you submit to a reputable agent!

The table below contains two tabs: YA and MG. You'll need to toggle over if you want to see the MG list. (Here is a link to the actual spreadsheet)





*If agency name is followed by an asterisk, they rep YA, or MG but didn't specify if they'll take speculative YA
Last Addition: April 2019
Last Complete Check: Jan 2013

NOTE: If you can't get the scroll bar to work, try these work-arounds:
(1) Click on the chart, then use page-up/page-down keyboard commands
(2) Click on the white space toward the bottom of the scrollbar to scroll down. 
Dragging the grey bar seems to work to scroll it back up

Other Resources: Query Resource Roundup || Query Tracker || Manuscript Wish List || Agent Query || Literary Rambles: Agents who rep  YA  MG  PB || Publisher's Marketplace || My List of Links to Agent Interviews || Association of Authors' Representatives || Published To Death || List of Agent Blogs || Agents Looking for SFF Writers compiled by Erica Verillo.


This post was inspired by Amanda over at It's all in my Head. Thanks Amanda!

Also check out the Contest List and Pitch Factory if you're interested in entering an agent-judged contest as an alternative to querying!

Got any more agencies to add?

If any of you know of any other agencies that have agents who represent Young Adult fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal/dystopia etc, let me know and I can add them to the list! Also if you notice any errors or misrepresentations, please let me know so I can correct them!

26 comments:

  1. Uh wow...Carissa I was going to suggest some and then saw that they were already on your list. Thanks for sharing! :-)

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  2. You. Are. My. Hero.
    Thanks so much!!!!

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  3. What a great resource, Carissa! You're so organized. I keep info in a basic text file. *blush*
    (Laura_6 from AW)

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  4. Wow, great list. Thanks for sharing, that's quite a gift.

    FYI - Wernick and Pratt do look at speculative fiction, at least I know Marcia does because she requested a YA sci-fi manuscript of mine. I ran into her at the Bologna Children's Book Fair and she said she's looking for "something different."

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  5. This is a really great idea. Can't wait to see what else you have in store. Following back :-)

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  6. Wow - that's a great thing to do. Unfortunately not my genre.

    Just popping in to return the follow. Looking forward to reading more!

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  7. I know that my agent reps several ya sci-fi/fantasy authors so I was happy to see that her agency was on your list. The length of this list should be a reminder to all of you querying not to give up. Good stories do find agents, all you have to do is write a good story.

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  8. My agent, Juliet Mushens, of Peters Fraser & Dunlop represents YA spec fic, but she's the only agent there that does.

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  9. Wow! Thank you so much for this! I'm hoping to query my YA fantasy book at some point and I had no idea where to start. This is perfect.
    I've given you an award to http://strangerthanwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/stylish-blogger-award.html :)

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  10. Thanks for the suggestions all! And staticsplit - you reminded me to mention that these are almost exclusively U.S. agencies (a Canadian one may have slipped in). Perhaps I should make an international section on this chart. Anyone have any more suggestions for non-US agencies?

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  11. It's definitely a lot harder to search for non-us agents. I'm an American in Scotland, and most of the ones I queried were in the states (mainly because I had a PM subscription so it was a lot easier to search for US agents).

    Great database!

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  12. For agents who trade internationally, there's always a list on the Bologna Children's Book Fair website of the agents who participated each year. Here's the one from this year:

    http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/catalogue/literary/p_1?Iniziale=-1&Espositore=&Nazione=-1&submit=Search+%2F+List+all

    Not sure how long they keep it up on the site, so if interested, you might want to cut and paste the list somewhere.

    It may take some sleuthing to find out whether they rep speculative fiction, but at least you know they all rep children's books.

    I also met Erzsi Deak who started the agency Hen and Ink last year. She's American, but she works out of Paris. She's new to agenting, but not to the industry and she has tons of contacts. Plus, she's a sweetie pie. She'll happily take clients from the U.S.

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  13. Wow, what a great compilation! Very helpful for writers. Nice to visit you and your blog! I hope your week is super. :)

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  14. Holy lord, that's a long list! I'm bookmarking it, so I can go back to it when needed. I write mostly YA speculative fiction so these can come in handy!

    Thanks for posting this!

    My Blog.

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  15. Wow, this is great! I bookmarked it to come back to once I'm ready to query :) Thank you for sharing all your hard work with us!

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  16. Wow, that list is fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing it!

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  17. you are an angel for posting this comprehensive list! Thank you thank you thank you!

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  18. Just as a heads up, my agent, Juliet Mushens of PFD, is the only one at that agency who takes YA fantasy, and she's in the process of moving agencies. The new agency hasn't been announced yet, though, but will be in the next coming weeks.

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  19. This is soooo helpful! Thanks for taking the time to post this!

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  20. Some possible updates readers might want to consider. I have been going up your topmost list of American agencies, I have not managed to check them all, but, all of the following are completely closed to queries at this time:

    Wolfson Literary Zachary Shuster Harmsworth
    The Croce Agency

    Also note:
    Spectrumliteraryagency.com is a 404 dead site.

    Wolflit.com of Wolf Literary is not an operable site, says its under construction, leads to nothing at this time.

    Willian Morris Endevor seems to lead to absolutely nothing literary whatsoever. Its an agency which reps comics, lecturers, voice-over, and theatrical...NO WRITERS (on the linked web-site at least).

    Wendy Weil does not list accepting childrens, sci-fi, nor paranorm or fantasy.

    Wendy Sherman does not accept: "Genre romance, westerns, science fiction, or fantasy". The only agent on their list who seems (from the dossiers) might be interested in para/sci-fi is not accepting queries.

    Weed (Weed Literary) specifies NO YA.

    The Strothman Agency (which you incorrectly have listed as Strohman) seems only to be accepted non-fic.

    Stuart Krichevsky seems to be doing only non-fic (according to their client list), I see no YA or even fiction.

    You have Sterling's agency listed incorrectly as 'Stering', and they seem to be pretty exclusive of those not referred to them by known clients. They also '...do not respond to unsolicited e-mail inquiries.'

    Sternig & Byrne is suspicious. The link you have up for them is completely incorrect, and they do not seem to have a (searchable) web-site. There are lots of people questioning their reality/existence/policies (they don't use contracts???) (Their only Internet connection is a HOTMAIL address???) Finally (if they are real) they seem to be located in Milwaukee, and I have read lots of advice that we should only go with agents in NY or Quebec, for their access to publishers.

    MD

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  21. Max -

    Thanks very much for your help/suggestions with this. I think some of the websites you mentioned are now in working condition (Wolf Lit, Spectrum), and I've tried to update the links to the others you mentioned as not working or not receiving YA. Thanks for pointing those out!

    Some of the agents you mentioned (William Morris, Strothman Agency, Stuart Krichevsky) do in fact seem to be seeking YA spec fic, so I've left those on the list.

    Sternig & Byrne, from what I can tell is a legitimate albeit old-school agency with a track record of reputable sales. I've linked to the subsection of their website that houses their literary agency branch.

    That said, your comment is a great reminder for all of us to do our research before submitting!! Agency preferences/websites change, and their submission windows close and open.

    Equally (if not more) important is to double check agency reputations on sites such as QueryTracker, Publishers Marketplace, Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware, Agent Query etc. My list is only a springboard for research, one starting point, not an endpoint!

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  22. This database is incredible! Thank you for compiling such an exhaustive list! You have made my research soooo much easier! xoxo

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  23. You are my hero! Thank you so much! I'm a teenager who plans on publishing fantasy YA the moment she turns eighteen, and now I have a shape of literary agents to talk to. Thank you so much again!

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  24. Thank you for such a great list. Good luck in your writing.

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  25. You are a lifesaver! Thank you :-D

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  26. Thanks for the list! If anybody is interested in my YA, high fantasy novel, check out my site!

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