Hello, dear readers. Meet Sarah LaPolla, today’s spotlighted agent! This is my sixth spotlight in a series of posts focusing on agents attending the May 2012 Backspace Conference. The spotlights are on agents who rep YA. I just realized I’m a tad behind schedule, so I’ll be posting the spotlights a bit more frequently as the conference approaches.
Agent Profile: Sarah LaPolla, agent at Curtis Brown, Ltd.
(Image linked from Curtis Brown website)
Status: Accepting Submissions (as of 5/07/12)
About: “Sarah LaPolla began at Curtis Brown in 2008, working with Dave Barbor and Peter Ginsberg. Sarah is interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, science fiction, literary horror, and young adult fiction. She loves complex characters, coming-of-age stories, and strong narrators. Sarah graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Writing and English, and went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She is always on the lookout for debut authors and welcomes email submissions at [see website].” (Link)
Genre’s she is currently seeking (as of 5/07/12):
Young Adult
Literary Fiction
Narrative Nonfiction
Urban Fantasy
Paranormal Romance
Science Fiction
Literary Horror
(Link)
What Sarah’s looking for:
“My favorite type of YA is for older teens, or anything that can have crossover appeal. I like urban fantasy and paranormal lit, but I’d also love to see a return of realistic fiction. Usually what hooks me in YA is a strong narrator. That’s true for my adult preferences too, but I think it’s even more important in YA to have a voice that readers can connect with.” (Link)
“I really want to see more horror, dark mystery, and fairytales (fractured or otherwise) for YA.” (Link)
What Sarah’s not looking for:
“Creature” YA. Think: vampires, werewolves, zombies, angels, and gods. (But she’s okay with witches, aliens, and ghosts) (Link)
Where to find Sarah on the web:
Blog (Glass Cases): http://bigglasscases.blogspot.com/
Curtis Brown Website: http://www.curtisbrown.com/lapolla.php
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/sarahlapolla
Submission Guidelines (as of as of 5/07/12 –please verify before submitting!):
Query Sarah directly via email at sl(at)cbltd(dot)com
While the Curtis Brown site provides submission guidelines for snail mail submissions, Sarah’s page indicates that she accepts email submissions.
The guidelines from the submissions page are as follows:
Snail mail with SASE. Include the following:
▪ Query
▪ Synopsis
▪ Sample Chapter
▪ Brief resume
▪
Submission guidelines found here: http://www.curtisbrown.com/submissions.php
**Additional note. Sarah also has submission guidelines for her blog, Glass Cases. She posts submissions of up to 1500 words on her site. It sounds like an excellent opportunity for new writers to get some exposure. However, Sarah makes clear that submissions to Glass Cases will not be considered for representation.
very nice to meet you Sarah LaPolla!
David in Maine USA
Love this posting and all of these agent spotlights you are covering. I will be in this agents opening pages workshop at the Backspace conference. Thank you for this great info. I think I missed a couple. Would you be able to list the names of the other 5 you have already covered. Thanks! Love this site!
Me too, Patricia! It’s so exciting to meet another person going. I will be in that group also.
Laura Lee Anderson, another person I’ve recently connected with through the blog, is also going to be our group. She blogs at: http://lauraleeanderson.wordpress.com
Feel free to drop me a line before the conference if you want: writerlious(at)gmail(dot)com. I’d love to see a friendly face or two when I show up! This is both my first conference and my first time to NYC.
You would think at some point people would tire of vampires and demons. I guess I’m on the wrong wavelength for popular literature. LOL. Good luck to Sarah, and to those who she chooses to represent, though.
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I had the pleasure and privilege of picking up Sarah from the airport when she came into St. Louis for the Missouri Writers Guild conference in April. She’s a delight and very sweet. Thanks for posting the links as it caused me to remember to sign up for her blog! Have fun at your conference!
Oh, how exciting! That’s wonderful to hear. I’m hoping to meet her at the conference.
Cool. TY!