A little bit about me…

I write books for children and teens. Like many writers, I’ve been writing since I was a kid. In college I double majored in English and Environmental Studies. For many years after college I had jobs that weren’t related to either of those subjects.

In my heart though, I always knew I was a writer, and I could usually be found scribbling something — poetry, stories, blog posts, or long, newsy emails and letters. In 2016 I decided to get some structure in the area of my writing, so I entered the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at The New School in New York City. While there I was very lucky to study with authors David Levithan, Andrew Eliopulos, Caron Levis, Coe Booth, and Sarah Weeks. My thesis advisor was Jill Santopolo. I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from such great writers.

It took me some time after completing my MFA until I finished writing the middle grade project I’d gone into the program with. And what a different story it had turned into! It had started out as a story about feeling like an outsider and morphed into a story about grief and healing, spirituality and finding magic in the world. It’s called Repairing the World and it was published by Aladdin, an imprint at Simon & Schuster, in the summer of 2022. I’m very proud of how it turned out.

After that, I got together with two writer friends and wrote a historical novel set in 1869. It’s very cool. It’s out on submission right now! And I self-published a poetry chapbook, called re: Besides the joy of being able to hold a book of my own poetry in my hands, I also did a launch for the book with a reading at KGB Bar in New York City. That was a bucket list item to check off, and so much fun!

Besides being a writer, I’m also a senior literary agent at Emerald City Literary Agency, an agency outside of Seattle, Washington. We represent books for kids and teens. I work from our east coast office in New York’s Hudson Valley. I truly believe I have the best job ever! I represent picture books, chapter books, middle grade and young adult novels, as well as select children’s non-fiction. I’m also responsible for the film and television rights for the agency. If you’re interested in taking a look at the books I’ve sold, I have a Goodreads shelf which contains all the books that have been announced.

As a reader, a writer, and as an agent, I like stories for kids that deal with issues of identity, history, sexual politics, feminism, and culture. I also like monsters (if they’re not too scary). And romcoms, especially those that feature marginalized characters (LGBTQ+, BIPOC, religious minorities, disabled, etc). When I read a story, I like to feel all the feels, whether that means laughing out loud, ugly crying, or being blown away by learning something new. I aspire to do the same as a writer. I love writing and reading offbeat, quirky, and left-of-center stories.

In my life outside of books, I’m passionate about art and going to museums. I adore traveling, and I try to visit other countries as often as I can. I like to cook and eat, and I dabble in gluten free baking. I identify as Queer and consider myself a proud, boot stomping feminist. My definition of feminism includes actively working against racism. I’m an ardent environmentalist, as well. I know that addressing climate change and finding alternative energy sources is the only way our planet and our species has a future.

It’s my goal as a writer and an agent to make the world a better place, one book at a time.

I’m represented by Rena Rossner, at The Deborah Harris Literary Agency. You can reach her at rena@thedeborahharrisagency.com