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Agent Spotlight & Agent Spotlight Updates

  • Agent Spotlights & Interviews have been updated through the letter "H" as of 5/11/2023 and many have been reviewed by the agents. Look for more information as I find the time to update more agent spotlights.

Agent Spotlight: Jill Grinberg

This week's Agent Spotlight features Jill Grinberg of Jill Grinberg Literary Management, LLC.
Status: Open to submissions.
About:
 "Jill Grinberg has worked in New York publishing over the past two decades. She grew up in the storied circus town of Sarasota, Florida, near the beach and on the same street as The Flying Wallendas. She then went north and across the pond to complete her B.A. in English Literature at Tufts University and Oxford. After interning at Boston Magazine and the Boston Review, Jill moved to Manhattan to enter book publishing, starting in the publicity department at HarperCollins, where she worked with high-profile authors and books like Amy Bloom’s National Book Award finalist Come to Me, and Thomas Moore’s #1 New York Times bestseller Care of The Soul. Realizing, thanks to Amy Bloom’s wise counsel, that she had a passion for author advocacy and book development from the ground up, she then moved to the agenting side of the business. She was a founding partner of Anderson Grinberg Literary Management, then went on to found her own firm, Jill Grinberg Literary Management, in 2007. Jill feels a strong kinship with her great-grandparents who founded the historic Cafe Royal, a mecca for Jewish intellectuals and artists in New York City in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, and she continues their tradition of hosting tea and conversation with visiting writers and illustrators.Her current list of authors sets the bar high, but as she is addicted to the joy of discovering new work, she is always open to queries." (From the agency website)
About the Agency:"

"WE CHAMPION AUTHORS THROUGHOUT THEIR ENTIRE, VARIED CAREERS
"We represent nonfiction and fiction across the entire age and audience spectrum: adult, children’s, teen, and books that cross audiences. We also represent and are personally drawn to a variety of formats – straight text, text with visuals, graphic fiction and nonfiction. Whichever direction our authors move in, we are able to effectively represent their work and support them in the ways they require.
"Our relationship with our authors transcends any one book. It is about the way they write, the way their mind works, their particular passions and perspectives. We enter into partnerships with our authors from this place of deep connection and with the conviction that we can expertly champion their work over the course of their career.
"Partnership is the operative word here. We enjoy speaking with prospective clients about how we collaborate with our authors, and are very happy to put prospective clients in touch with our current clients for their perspective. We are career managers in the truest sense. Longtime collaboration is our specialty. In our experience, there is no substitute for — or shortcut to — the wisdom and experience amassed through the agency’s two decades in publishing and its having managed a great many successful careers that span an author’s debut book through their next 20 books.This is the base of knowledge from which we agent, and we believe these deep roots in the business; comprehension of its many aspects and nuances; and understanding of its cyclical and evolving nature, give our authors a great advantage. At JGLM we do not rest on our laurels; we know that great agenting is also about drive, passion and curiosity. We have created a workplace culture and business that encourages and thrives on this energy. Each of us is personally driven to help our authors and illustrators to dream big, and to achieve those dreams."(From the agency website)

Web Presence:
Jill Grinberg Literary website.
Publisher's Marketplace page.
Twitter @JillGrinbergLit.
AgentQuery.
QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
Fiction: General, literary, romance, fantasy/science fiction, historical, young adult, children's middle grade, multicultural, Offbeat/Quirky
Non-Fiction: Biography, history, travel, lifestyle, science, feminism, pop culture, current events
What She Isn’t Looking For:
Screenplays.
Editorial Agent?
Yes. See this post in the SCBWI Western Washington Newsletter
Clients:
See the agency website for a list of current clients.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send your query letter to info(at)jillgrinbergliterary(dot)com and attach the first 50 pages (fiction) or proposal (non-fiction) as a .docx file. 
See the Grinberg Literary website for detailed instructions and complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.
Response Times:
Ms. Grinberg attempts to respond to all queries but cannot always do so given the volume of queries she receives.
What's the Buzz?
Ms. Grinberg is a long-established agent with an impressive clientele and track record.  Her clients seem quite happy under her representation and are quick to praise her. She’s noted to have a nice rejection letter and continues to respond to most submissions. 
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
None that I could find online.
Around the Web:
Podcast with Marissa Meyer at The Happy Writer (Date unknown)
Jill Grinberg and the Art of the Query at the SCBWI Western Washington Newsletter (10/2013).
Jill Grinberg on Her Editorial Process at the SCBWI Western Washington Newsletter (10/2013).
Contact:
Please see the Grinberg Literary Management website or Ms. Grinberg's Publisher's Marketplace page for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 2/112023.
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes
Last Reviewed By Agent: 4/18/2023
***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's/teen fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying. The information found herein is subject to change.

15 comments:

Tyler said...

Hmm, this is very interesting, thanks for digging up all this information. With clients such as Garth Nix and the like, I'm shocked she's not a member of AAR. But her track record does seem to speak for itself.

Other than the web presence, she seems right up my alley!

Fran Caldwell said...

I just can't get excited over agents who only accept snail mail. AND no web site. How ancient is she?

It's not just that it's inefficient, but it's a sort of snobbery: "WE don't do that sort of thing..."

This would be like dealing with my aging Auntie Mabel, sorry.

Casey Something said...

Fran, a lot of veteran agents have full lists and don't need the influx of submissions that comes with having a large web presence. If you don't have a specific reason to want to query her, just focus on those with the web presence and visibility you're looking for.

Casey Something said...

Submission guidelines updated 01/08/10.

Unknown said...

Just emailed her at the "info" address and got back an autoresponse saying that they received it. That's pretty cool. I like that. No wondering if it got lost in the nexus.

Anonymous said...

It's my understanding that Richard Abate, formerly of WMA/Endeavor, is now at Grinberg. Anyone know for sure?

Casey McCormick said...

I'm not sure, Anon. I don't think so. There's a Dec deal listing on PM that has Richard Abate as being with 3 Arts Entertainment. QueryTracker has him listed there as well.

The Pen and Ink Blogspot said...

i got to this from your most recent post. Thank you

Casey McCormick said...

Received this lovely feedback from a client:

"Would like to give Jill Grinberg and her associate Cheryl Pientka a five star rating. They are outstanding agents and negotiated a lovely publishing contract for us with Disney Hyperion. Could not ask for better representation."

Eric Steinberg said...

These agent spotlights are great for those querying. Thanks! I wanted to add an update here. The agency Publisher's Marketplace page reads:

"Please send your query letter to info@jillgrinbergliterary.com and attach the first 50 pages (fiction) or proposal (non-fiction) as a .doc file. All submissions will be read, but electronic mail is preferred."

Casey McCormick said...

Thanks Eric!

CarolWeis said...

Hi Casey ~ You have a wonderfully helpful site. Just wanted to let you know, the links to her website are dead.

Casey McCormick said...

Thank you, Carol. It's due for an update!

Unknown said...

Does anyone know her current response time? I know on here it says 1-6 weeks, but it seems she's taking longer now.

kathrynjankowski said...

I just sent her a query with a doc. file attached.
Then I got a response saying to attach a docx. file!
Looks like the old links are wrong, the Publishers' Marketplace info is correct.