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Agent Spotlight: Natalie Lakosil

This week's Agent Spotlight features Natalie Lakosil of Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
Status as of 7/5/2023: Natalie has left Irene Goodman Literary Agency to open her new agency, Looking Glass Literary & Media. She is currently only open to submission by referrals. You should check the agency website to find out about her submission status.
Status:As of 6/25/2021, Ms. Lakosil has moved to Irene Goodman Literary Agency. She was previously at Bradford Literary Agency.
natalie-m-fischer About: "Natalie Lakosil began her career as a literary agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and Bradford Literary Agency before joining the Irene Goodman Agency in 2021. An honors graduate of the University of San Diego, California, Natalie holds a B.A. in Literature/Writing. For over a dozen years she has championed and helped to build the careers of numerous award-winning, critically acclaimed and bestselling authors. Natalie represents adult nonfiction, adult cozy mystery/crime, female-driven thrillers, upmarket women’s/general fiction, illustrators, and all ages (picture book, chapter book, MG, YA) of children’s literature, both fiction and nonfiction." (Link)
About the Agency:
The only constant is change, and the publishing industry is always full of changes. Our agency is no exception. Over the last few years, we have doubled our staff, expanded and diversified our list, and moved to a lively and beautiful suite in a rapidly growing part of Chelsea. We have more bestselling authors than ever before, both in the U.S. and abroad, and the numbers continue to climb. Our list includes all kinds of fiction — both commercial and literary — topical nonfiction, social issues, pop culture, cookbooks, design, middle grade and young adult books, and anything that captures our interest.
At the end of the day, our agency relies on one simple and timeless fact: a great story always sells. Good writing never gets old. The technology may change, but we're ready to embrace all emerging formats, as long as it contains a story that stops us in our tracks. That is why we are thriving, and that's why we find new and delightful success in a sea of changes.” (Link)
Web Presence:
Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
Adventures in Agentland.
Twitter.
QueryTracker.
Manuscript Wish List.
What She's Looking For:
From her Bio :
"Natalie is currently only accepting unsolicited submissions for nonfiction projects. In adult, she is interested in prescriptive and platform-driven titles in the areas of self-help, parenting, psychology, business, science, and projects featuring under-represented voices. In children's, she is interested in biographies, STEAM, feminist and social issues. She is also selectively open to quirky gift, humor, and New Age titles." (Link)
However, see her blog and Manuscript Wish List for other genres when she opens up to more manuscripts.
What She Isn't Looking For:
Anything that is not what is listed above.
Editorial Agent?
“I’m pretty well known as a hands-on agent. I expect any client I sign to be open to suggestion, and I always discuss this upfront. I don’t expect to re-write a book, and I also expect to have to back off if the writer absolutely feels that what I’m suggesting is not best for their work. I really enjoy a collaborative working relationship.” (Link)
Clients:
There is a page of agency authors on the website. Ms. Lakosil’s clients include:
Amy Alexander, Harry Bernstein,  Monique Domovitch, Julie Eshbaugh, Stephanie Faris, Rachel Mercaldo, Roseanne Thong, J.A. Souders, Elizabeth Spurr, Elle Strauss, Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman. among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.  
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify): 
Query letter, synopsis, and first ten pages of the manuscsript
See the Irene Goodman Literary Agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.
Response Times:
Ms. Lakosil will only respond if interested. However, there is a specialized personal page created when a submitting through the online form so that writers can check the status of their query.
What's the Buzz?
Natalie (Fischer) Lakosil has been representing clients since Sept ‘09. Her clients seem to love her and she's been known to seek out writers online whose excerpts she likes (in other words, she scouts!). The Bradford Literary Agency is very well respected, representing many talented and best-selling authors.
Follow her on Twitter to get a feel for her funny and sweet personality. 
Worth Your Time:
Interviews and Guest Post:
Interview with Agent Natalie Lakosil at Justin Colon Books (02/2019)
Natalie Lakosil and Lindsey Becker Guest Post at Literary Rambles (04/2017)
Interview at Writing and Illustrating (07/2016)
Interview with Literary Agent Natalie Lakosil with Brian Humak (08/2014)
Contest Q&A with Natalie Fischer at Operation Awesome (11/2011).
Literary Agent Natalie Fischer On Nailing Voice, interview at Adventure’s in YA & Children’s Publishing (03/2011).
Natalie has a fantastic blog called Adventures in Agentland.
Contact:
Please see the Irene Goodman Literary Agency for contact and query information.
Last updated: 6/25/2021.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes, when her profile was updated in 4/2019.
Last Reviewed By Agent?  4/30/2019.
***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.






22 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks, Casey - she's definitely going on my list!

Hanna C. Howard said...

I agree. She seems like she'd be great to work with. Thanks for your research, Casey!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for the great spotlight. She's definitely going on my list too. Wouldn't it be cool for an author named Natalie to be represented by an agent with the same first name?

Anonymous said...

Great information as usual Casey! I'm for sure going to look into this one. She seems a great fit for my WIP!

Jill Wheeler said...

I follow her on Twitter, and she really seems to know her stuff! I plan on querying her once my ms is polished. Just wish she took e-queries!

Martina Boone said...

Another great profile. Thanks for doing these Casey. They are such a gift!

BTW, she tweeted something interesting a few days ago:

"GET A BLOG (blogger is nice). Put a two-sentence desc. of ur book and contact info. I SCOUT. #pubtip, #askagent "

Julie said...

Wow! You profiled my agent!!! This was a great post; you did an excellent job describing Natalie and what she is looking for. She is WONDERFUL to work with - very approachable and accessible. I would highly recommend her to any serious authors who write in the genres she represents. ~ Julie Eshbaugh

Casey Something said...

Thank you for all the great comments, everyone.

Julie, great feedback! Thank you so much. She seems wonderful.

Ms. Fischer has reviewed her profile. Everything should be current!

Sherry said...

Great interview, Casey!

After reading it, I went to the website and read her Bio, then emailed her a query for my YA. I love the fact that she likes “beautiful dark” novels. ;-)

Casey Something said...

Did you read her submission guidelines, Sherry? The agency is snail-mail only right now.

Also, these are just profiles, not interviews.

Good luck! Maybe you'll get a response anyway.

Unknown said...

Great post! It also helped me connect with some of my agent sisters, so thanks for the links.

Ann Marie Wraight said...

This was oozing with personal and professional details Casey. EXCELLENT!

Shame about not accepting e-mail queries, though...at least not YET - right?

I always go to the pet peeves before anything else. I find it really enlightening and beneficial learning what people DISLIKE.

THANK YOU BOTH LADIES!

Faith E. Hough said...

Thanks, Casey! Your blog is SO helpful in the search-for-really-great-agents part of querying! Natalie sounds wonderful.

Ruth Donnelly said...

Great interview! Thanks for sharing this helpful information.

Carrie Harris said...

This is really a great idea, Casey. You = awesome!

Crystal said...

Great profile, Casey! Natalie seems like a wonderful agent to have for representation . . . thanks so much for your research! :)

Heather Boyd said...

I was all set to submit a historical romance mss to her but then I noticed the agency doesnt accept email query. A pity - she seemed a good fit for me.

Warhall said...

As of September Natalie is accepting e-queries. She asks for the query, synopsis, and first 15 pages in the body of the email. The address: nfsubmissions (at) dijkstraagency (dot) com.

Casey McCormick said...

Thanks Warhall! Updated submission guidelines.

Anonymous said...

Hi Casey,
Natalie has a new last name - didn't find her when I did my inital search here.
HouseofProwse

Unknown said...

As Anonymous said, Natalie got married last September, and is now Natalie M. Lakosil if anyone is looking for her.

Casey McCormick said...

Thanks Anon and S. Kyle. I got her profile updated!