Many of the nation’s best-known and best-loved agents will be in The Big Easy this year to review and consult with you. Enjoy this closer look at our agent and editor faculty.

Heather_Alexander_Agent, Children's materialHeather Alexander is an agent at Pippin Properties in New York. Her heart has always been in books for kids, and after one children’s lit class in college, her path became clear. She came from the editorial side of the business, and after six years with Penguin Random House, she made the leap to agenting.

She represents all ages of children’s books, including picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels. As Heather builds her list, she is looking in particular for books that will stand the test of time, and yet feel fresh and unique. She is on the hunt for literary writers, particularly in Young Adult.  Beautiful writing is a must, followed closely by a character-driven narrative. She loves contemporary realism, light fantasy, gothic horror, and magical realism.

To paraphrase Richard Peck, she doesn’t want to see stories that give teens a mirror; she wants to see stories that give them a ladder. Heather loves middle-grade in which a character grows in a significant way, learning to see the world through a new perspective. She wants to see that moment when a kid steps through the veil from childhood to adolescence, and knows she can’t ever go back. The picture books Heather loves best have a strong emotional core and a great sense of humor; plot is often secondary or incidental. Some of her clients and titles include Scott McCormick and RH Lazzell (Mr. Pants), Andrew Harwell (The Spider Ring), and Darren Farrell (Thank You, Octopus). Recent sales include The Very Fluffy Kitty Papillon by A.N. Kang (Disney Hyperion) and Felix by Jennifer Goldfinger (HarperCollins).

Brandi-BowlesBrandi Bowles is an agent at Foundry Literary + Media, a full-service literary and media-development agency in New York. Brandi represents idea and platform-driven nonfiction in all categories, but she’s particularly interested in humor, narrative nonfiction, and big-idea books that change the way we think about the world. Some of her upcoming books include The Hollow Bone: Secrets From the Life of a Reiki MasterThe Vice Lords: A History of Wayward Writers, and a memoir from Youtube sensation Ted Williams, the most honest and inspiring story about homelessness you’ll ever read. Brandi also represents literary fiction, commercial fiction, women’s fiction, and YA, particularly novels that feature strong female bonds, as well as psychological or scientific themes. Previously, she was an agent with Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, NY and an editor at Three Rivers Press.

She represents a wide range of authors, from burlesque performers to archeologists, as well as illustrators, professors, CEOs, chefs, rappers, folk musicians, and fitness gurus. As Brandi said in one interview, “I really love big idea books, and books about broad sociological phenomena, but will only consider them if they are written by experts in their fields. I love books that shed new light on something in pop culture, media culture, and everyday life. In terms of fiction, I like Southern fiction, experimental fiction, and cross-cultural novels. Quirky, funny, edgy, or naughty book ideas are always welcome in my inbox, and bonus points go to any authors that can make me laugh.”

Michelle_Brower_AgentjpgMichelle Brower began her career in publishing in 2004 while studying for her Master’s degree in English Literature at New York University.  During that time, she assisted the agents Wendy Sherman and Joelle Delbourgo, and found herself in love with the process of discovering new writers and helping existing writers further their careers. After graduating, she became an agent with Wendy Sherman Associates, and there began representing books in many different areas of fiction and non-fiction.  In 2009, she joined Folio Literary Management, where she is looking primarily for literary fiction.

She is often drawn to literary fiction with an angle of suspense, novels that appeal to book clubs, and novels that uncover a previously hidden corner of the world. She also enjoys commercial concepts that are written with a literary voice.  Michelle enjoys digging into a manuscript and working with authors to make their project the best that it can be.  Her list includes the authors Hazel Gaynor, Rebecca Rasmussen, Tara Conklin, Jason Mott, and Michele Young-Stone.

Deborah Grosvenor 2Deborah Grosvenor  has more than 25 years’ experience in the book publishing business as an agent and editor. During her career, she has edited or represented several hundred nonfiction books. As an editor, she acquired Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October. Her distinguished client list includes nationally prominent writers, New York Times bestselling authors, and prize-winning historians and journalists. Among them are Stephen Coonts, Eleanor Clift, Morton Kondracke, Thomas Oliphant, Charlie Engle, Harrison Scott Key, John Sexton, Henry Allen, Aaron Miller, Scott Wallace, Curtis Wilkie, Nina Burleigh, Thomas Fleming, Jonathan Green, Jay Rubenstein, Willard Randall, Mark Geragos, Peter Cozzens, Meg Noonan, Barbara Dreyfuss and Elizabeth Pryor.

Deborah is interested in narrative nonfiction in the categories of history, biography, politics, current and foreign affairs, memoir, food, the South, humor, Italy, the environment, and travel. For fiction, she is simply interested in great storytelling, especially in an historical context. Deborah is the recipient of the TWIN award (Tribute to Women in Industry), given by the YWCA and industry to “outstanding women who have made significant contributions to their companies in managerial and executive positions.” She has been a part of the Faulkner Society’s annual fall festival since Word & Music was created and regularly judges a category of the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition.

Jeff_Kleinman_photoJeff Kleinman is a literary agent, intellectual property attorney, and founding partner of Folio Literary Management, LLC, a New York literary agency which works with all of the major U.S. publishers (and, through subagents, with most international publishers).  He’s a graduate of Case Western Reserve University (J.D.), the University of Chicago (M.A., Italian), and the University of Virginia (B.A. with High Distinction in English).  As an agent, Jeff feels privileged to have the chance to learn about an incredible variety of new subjects, meet an extraordinary range of people, and feel, at the end of the day, that he’s helped to build something – a wonderful book, perhaps, or an author’s career.

His authors include Garth Stein, Eowyn Ivey, Robert Hicks, Charles Shields, Bruce Watson, Neil White, and Philip Gerard. His interests include Nonfiction, especially narrative nonfiction with a historical bent, but also memoir, health, parenting, aging, nature, pets, how-to, science, politics, military, espionage, equestrian, and biography; and Fiction: very well-written, character-driven novels, some suspense, thrillers, mainstream upmarket commercial (i.e. book club), and literary fiction. He has absolutely no interest in children’s, romance, mysteries, westerns, poetry, screenplays, novels about serial killers, suicide, or children in peril (kidnapped, killed, raped, etc.). For more information about Jeff (including interviews, books sold, and so forth), please visit him at his site.

Thao_LeThao Le is a literary agent who also handles finances and selected contracts at the Dijkstra Agency. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, with a double major in Econ-Management Science and Chinese Studies. While interning at the agency during college, she realized where her true love lies— books—and joined the agency full-time in the spring of 2011.

Thao currently is building her list and is looking for Adult Science- Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, Young Adult (of all genres), Middle Grade (of all genres), and the occasional New Adult. Her taste for speculative fiction is eclectic and she enjoys both gritty, dark narratives and fantastically quirky stories. She is also looking for light-hearted, funny, and moving contemporary Young Adult books with a raw, authentic teen voice. She’s particularly drawn to memorable characters, smart-mouthed dialogue, strong plots that can balance romance and action, and tight writing. She would also love to see more culturally diverse characters featured as the heroes and heroines in mainstream fiction. Her favorite books are the ones that can reimagine familiar tales and tropes in a completely fresh and new way. Recent sales include: Katherine Harbour’s fantasy, Thorn Jack (Harper Voyager), Lisa Freeman’s surf YA, Honey Girl (Sky Pony Press), IPPY Award Winning S.K. Falls’ currently Untitled New Adult (Forever Yours), and James Kendley’s paranormal thriller, The Drowning God (Harper Voyager Impulse). Thao is NOT looking for: Biographies, business books, cook books, memoirs, picture books, poetry, religious/spiritual books, screenplays, self-help, short stories, travel books. I accept children’s only if the books are for middle graders and up.