The Agents Panel Begins!

The Agents Panel at #SCBWISummerSpec

A screen shot of Lin Oliver (top left, moderating) and the panelists Regina Brooks (top right), Linda Camacho (center left), Brooks Sherman (center right), Rosemary Stimola (lower left), and interpreter Jennye Kamin (lower right.)

Agent Panel: Marietta Zacker and Brooks Sherman

Marietta Zacker is the owner of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. She is a literary agent who has worked with books, authors, and illustrators throughout her career – studying, creating, editing, marketing, teaching, and selling. She supports independent bookselling, believes in libraries, and takes pride in her work as a Latina in the world of publishing. She is always on the lookout for visual and narrative stories that reflect the world we live in, not the bubbles in which we put ourselves. She loves books that make readers feel and shies away from those that set out to teach the reader a lesson. Whether she is reading a young adult novel, a middle grade novel, or a picture book, Marietta looks for a book in which young readers can identify with the actions and reactions of the characters, not the perspectives of the author or illustrator. She aims to shine the spotlight on soulful, insightful, well-crafted, literary or commercial projects aimed at any age group. Some of the books she is championing during 2018 include This Is It by Daria Peoples-Riley, Sometimes You Fly illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt, Trace by Pat Cummings, It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy, and the Narwhal & Jelly series by Ben Clanton.

Brooks Sherman is a literary agent with Janklow & Nesbit Associates. He client list includes #1 New York Times best seller Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), New York Times best seller Adam Silvera (They Both Die at the End), Morris Award winner Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), acclaimed author/illustrator Sam Garton (I Am Otter), and many more. Brooks is currently on the lookout for middle grade fiction of all genres (especially fantasy and contemporary), young adult fiction of all genres except paranormal romance, and character-driven picture books with an emphasis on humor. Across all categories, he seeks projects that balance strong voice with gripping plot–ones that make him laugh earn extra points! He is particularly drawn to stories that elevate marginalized voices and where contemporary social issues are either prominently centered or woven into the worldbuilding; he prefers nuanced narratives over “issue books.” You can find him sharing publishing perspectives and horrible puns on Twitter at @byobrooks.

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The panel opens with a joking challenge Brooks puts down, about how he's sure he has the "most random path to publishing." He shares his very circuitous path that includes the Peace Corps – and then Marietta takes the challenge with one sentence, "I was a math major in college."

Brooks speaks about the "absence of trends in the YA space" and how that's a good thing from his perspective, as it allows the focus to be on each story individually, He worries, with the new focus on diversity and #ownvoices, if publishers are starting to emphasize diverse author's identities over their stories.

Marietta also touches on the opportunity the lack of a current YA trend creates, telling us there's now space for all of us to tell our own stories. "Give yourself permission to write your own story" in the way only you can, and how that leaves room for everyone to speak... and how that also means that sometimes, you have to ceed the floor.


The panel talks more about books being relevant to today's issues versus being ever-green, diversity, the line children's and teen books walk between protecting innocence versus telling the truth, and much more!

Tha Agent Panel Begins!

Lin Oliver (far left, at podium) moderates the agent panel, with (from left to right): Erin Murphy, Molly O'Neill, Kirsten Hall, Brooks Sherman, and Marietta Zacker.

Agent Panel: Brooks Sherman

Brooks Sherman is an agent at the Bent Agency. He took a more roundabout path to publishing. He studied theater, went to work for a talent agency, and then joined the Peace Corps after being a Hollywood agent.

There are nine agents at his agency, and he represents authors and illustrators picture books, and middle grade, and YA (and would love to do adult books as well). He remains a theater geek, and the new Netflix show "Stranger Things" is the sort of thing that lights him up and reminds him of his childhood.

"I have the arrogance of assuming that if I love something, other people are going to love it too." He does make a distinction between loving a project and recognizing its excellence—and realizing it's not for him. For example, he was completely unimpressed with Twilight when it came out, and everyone was walking about it. "It was a nice ego check. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean it doesn't have cultural relevance."

If he does get something and loves it, he has to try selling it.

The first thing he looks for is voice. It's not just about liking the story, it's about liking how the story is told, because he's going to spend a lot of time with those characters.

He wants to represent careers, and likes to know what other ideas potential clients have in mind. He also wants to make sure potential clients agree with his notes and can have a conversation about these things. Shared vision is important. "I don't want to impose my own [vision] over it."

In a query, Brooks likes to get a sense of you, your idea, your professional demeanor, and your writing chops. "Based on those things, I'm going to look at your pages and see if I connect to the voice."

The marketplace is crowded and competitive, so he is editorial with his clients. "A project has to be that close to perfect before an editor is going to get the go-ahead from the rest of their team to acquire it." He also loves that blend of creative professional.

That agents are more editorial doesn't mean you should send work you haven't made as good as you can get it. "At every step in the way, you think it's perfect, and the next person in the process takes it that much further."

It's the Agent Panel!

Moderated by Lin Oliver (standing, far left), the agent panelists are, left to right: Victoria Wells Arms (Victoria Wells Arms Agency), Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown, Ltd.), Kirsten Hall (her own agency, Catbird), Brooks Sherman (The Bent Agency), Erica Ran Silverman (Stimola Literary Studio), and Tina Wexler (ICM Partners.)

Happy Hour Hangouts

A new opportunity at the SCBWI Summer Conference, these informal conversations with faculty members including agents and artist reps (Ginger Clark, Erica Rand Silverman, Tina Wexler, Kirsten Hall and Brooks Sherman) and editors and publishers (Krista Marino, Neal Porter, Sara Sargent, Melissa Manlove, Stacey Barney, Kat Brzozowski, and Reka Simonsen) are a big hit!

Attendees with agent Ginger Clark

Attendees with Publisher Neal Porter