Agent Spotlight: Hannah Bowman

This week's Agent Spotlight features Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates.
Status: Closed to submissions.
About: “ Hannah Bowman joined Liza Dawson Associates as an agent in 2011. She graduated from Cornell University in 2009, earning a B.A. in English and mathematics. While a student, she spent four summers working in particle physics at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter, where she is also pursuing an MA in Religious Studies. (From the agency website)
About the Agency:
" Our seven agents are supported by a strong team that sells audio, foreign, licensing and television and film rights.

We have offices in New York City and Los Angeles, and have subagents all over the world.

We represent big commercial fiction and literary fiction. In nonfiction, we want to make the world a better place and are drawn to narratives that explore life’s complexities. We represent books for (almost) all ages. Some of them are award winners, several are New York Times bestsellers…and if they aren’t, many deserve to be.

It’s thrilling when we sign up a talented debut novelist, work with them for a few months and then place them with a passionate editor. It’s equally exciting to relaunch a much-published writer. We spend considerable time helping our nonfiction writers craft their proposals.

We’re talent hunters and then, once a sale is made, we become ferocious talent guardians.” (From the agency website)
Web Presence:
Liza Dawson Associates website.
Twitter @hannahnpbowman.
QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
"Hannah specializes in science fiction and fantasy, with clients including #1 New York Times bestseller Pierce Brown and award-winning authors Kameron Hurley and Brian Staveley. Her list also includes young adult novels. She is also interested in nonfiction in the areas of mathematics and science, religious studies, women’s studies, and criminal justice policy."
What She Isn't Looking For:
“I'm not the right agent for memoirs.”
“I'm a hard sell on thrillers, unless they're offbeat, and on anything that could be described as ‘hard-boiled.’ I'm also likely not the right agent for a literary fiction project.” (FYI Link unavailable.)
Agenting Philosophy:
“In general, I’m a very hands-on agent. I love to edit, and I edit every client’s work before it goes on submission. I also try to keep in close contact with authors, although of course there are times when one needs to communicate more and times when one needs to communicate less. I look for authors who are looking for a partner for their entire career, not for an agent who will sell one book quickly and then back off.” (FYI Link unavailable.)
Clients:
There are lists of client titles on the agency website.
Ms. Bowman’s clients include: Dianna E. Anderson, Melinda Braun, Pierce Brown, Rosamund Hodge, Kameron Hurley, Shallee McArthur, Lisa Ann O'Kane, Brian Staveley, among others.
Query Methods: FYI Hannah Bowman is closed to queries.
E-mail: Yes (preferred).
Snail-Mail: Yes.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query letter only by e-mail, or by snail-mail with SASE.
See the Liza Dawson Associates website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.  
Query Tips:
“The key things for me when I’m reading a query are: 1. Who’s the main character, and why is he or she interesting/appealing?; 2. What’s the plot, and how will it surprise me and take my breath away?; 3. What’s the setting, and what interesting elements of it make it seem real? If I see a compelling, three-dimensional character in a well-realized setting (whether it’s realistic or speculative) with a page-turning story to tell...I’m hooked.” (Link)
For additional tips, please read the interviews linked below.
Response Times:
Ms. Bowman’s response time for queries is one month; if you have not heard from her within this timeframe, resend your query (FYI Link unavailable).
Stats on the web show Ms. Bowman responding to most queries within hours to a few weeks and requested material within a week to a month. 
What's the Buzz?
Hannah Bowman joined Liza Dawson Associates in 2011 and has since sold to Del Rey/Random House, Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, HarperTeen Impulse, Strange Chemistry, Jericho Books/Hachette, Tor, and more. Her clients seem very happy with her representation and conference-goers report  positively on her workshops.
I recommend following her on Twitter for further insight and great writing advice. She’s found at least one client through Twitter.
Worth Your Time:
Not updated as Hannah Bowman has been closed to queries for some time.
Contact:
Please see The Liza Dawson website for additional contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last Updated: 1/7/2023
Agent Contacted for Review? No
Last Reviewed By Agent? 8/29/13
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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 an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.

Agent Spotlight: Judith Engracia

Profile pulled January 2014.

Ms. Engracia is staying on at Liza Dawson Associates as the Director of Digital Media but is no longer representing writers as an agent. Do not query.

INTERVIEW WITH LITERARY AGENT JUDITH ENGRACIA

First I’m going to announce the winner of CLARITY by Kim Harrington. The winner is:

RANE ANDERSON!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can mail you your book.

Today I’m so excited to interview Judith Engracia, a literary assistant at Liza Dawson Associates. She handles their audio rights and digital publishing and is building up her own client list.

Welcome Judith. Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you became a literary assistant.

When I was still undecided in college, the advice I kept hearing was “do what you love.” Since books have always been my passion, I decided to try an internship with a literary agency and, sure enough, I’ve been in love with this job ever since.

2. That’s so cool you’re following a career that you love. I read in your bio that you interned at Random House, FinePrint Literary and Nancy Coffey Literary Management. How will these experiences help you as an agent?

Well my three internships with literary agencies were reading and writing-intensive, and everything I did as an intern (slush, requested manuscripts, client manuscripts, and editorial letters) are all part of a normal day for an assistant and agent. Meanwhile, my internship at Random House with the Special Sales department really showed me the business side of publishing. The special sales team had to be creative in thinking of new possible markets for their upcoming titles, which is also the mindset agents need to have. An agent’s job isn’t over after he or she pitches a book to an editor—we continue to think of other ways to sell our client’s work, whether it’s through merchandising or uploading a client’s backlist as e-books, if we control the rights.

3. What types of manuscripts are you interested in receiving? Are they any different in middle grade vs. YA?

I’d love to work with more urban fantasies and paranormal romances, as well as YA’s and middle grades with a spunky, sassy protagonist. And yes, the main difference I’ve noticed between a middle grade novel and a YA is that the themes in a middle grade tend to explore family and friendship issues with a crush somewhere in the periphery, whereas romance is often more prominent in a YA.

4. Are there any genres or story lines that you aren’t interested in representing?

I enjoy pretty much all types of fiction—YA, middle grade, urban fantasy, paranormals, thrillers, romance, and literary—which is more than enough to keep me busy right now. So I think I’ll most likely shy away from nonfiction projects at the moment.


5. What books are you really excited about now that you wished you represented?

Oh, I’m sure I’m not the only agent who wouldn’t mind representing any of the books on this week’s New York Times bestseller list!

6. Ha! And we’d all have loved to have written those books. I know some agents say that the market is saturated with books about vampires and werewolves. Are there any types of books that are harder to sell right now?

The market is pretty crowded with vampires and werewolves right now, and it looks like fairies, angels, and demons are becoming harder to sell, as well. But of course, if the manuscript is stellar, people will pay attention.

7. What do you want to see in a query letter? Do you have any pet peeves?

I think agents all basically look for the same format: a short pitch or hook, a one-paragraph summary, and a brief bio listing any awards or writing experience. And above all, we’re looking for tight writing in the query. Unnecessary words and wandering sentences are flags that the manuscript is probably written in the same manner, which means more rounds of revision and more work for the agent. As for pet peeves, mine would have to be nasty replies from authors after I (politely) passed on seeing their manuscript. Rude replies don’t happen often, but when they do, it can be quite jarring.

8. Yes, rudeness is so unprofessional. Do you have any other advice that we haven’t discussed?

My advice would be to keep in mind that this is an extremely subjective business so it’s important to never give up! A pass isn’t necessarily a judgment on your writing—we might recognize that the writing is solid, but the project just really isn’t for us. So don’t be discouraged. Keep querying, and above all, keep writing!

That’s such an important piece of advice and one we aspiring authors sometimes forget. Judith will stop by and may answer some of your questions in the comments so be sure to check back.

Thanks so much Judith for letting me interview you. Good luck! You can check the Liza Dawson Associates website in the next few weeks for Judith’s bio and her e-mail to send her your queries. You can also check out her blog here.

This week and next I’ll be blogging on Wednesdays as well as Mondays so I can spotlight two middle grade authors. On Wednesday I’ll be interviewing Hillary Homzie abut her new book THE HOT LIST and giving away a copy of it. Hope you'll join us.

I want to remind you of The Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays started by Shannon Whitney Messenger to spotlight middle grade authors. Check it out here.

And check out these other Marvelous Monday Middle Grade Reviewers:

Joanne Fritz
Shannon O’Donnell
Sherrie Petersen
Myrna Foster

I follow them every week because I love finding out about middle grade books and it’s important that we all help promote middle grade authors.

Next Monday I’ll be sharing a really helpful resource to help you with your query letters that’s FREE and something else that is totally awesome. Hint. Hint. It involves Elana Johnson’s new book POSSESSION. I’ll be giving away a copy of her ARC! Trust me, you want to read it as soon as possible so be sure to enter.

Agent Spotlight: Caitlin Blasdell

This week's Agent Spotlight features Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency.
About: "Caitlin Blasdell  has been a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates since 2002 with a list split evenly between adult and children’s books. Before becoming an agent, she was a senior editor at HarperCollins Publishers. A graduate of Williams College, she lives in Westchester with her husband and four sons. 
Status: Accepting submissions.
What She's Looking For:
Interests: "Specializing in: quality commercial fiction including science fiction & fantasy (adult, young adult, and middle grade), romance, historical, mysteries, thrillers, and women's fiction." (From the agency website)

Update 12/31/2022:

 Caitlin specializes in quality commercial fiction including science fiction & fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and women’s fiction.  She also handles a few select middle grade and YA authors.
What She Isn't Looking For:
Picture books, illustrators, screen plays, poetry collections. 
Quotables:
About the Agency:
"Our five agents are supported by a strong team that sells audio, foreign, licensing and television and film rights.

"We have offices in New York City and Los Angeles, and have subagents all over the world.

"We represent big commercial fiction and literary fiction. In nonfiction, we want to make the world a better place and are drawn to narratives that explore life’s complexities. We represent books for (almost) all ages. Some of them are award winners, several are New York Times bestsellers…and if they aren’t, many deserve to be.

It’s thrilling when we sign up a talented debut novelist, work with her for a few months and then place her with a passionate editor. It’s equally exciting to relaunch a much-published writer. We spend considerable time helping our nonfiction writers craft their proposals.

We’re talent hunters and then, once a sale is made, we become ferocious talent guardians." (From the agency website)
Editorial Agent?
Yes, she is a former editor and several of her clients have mentioned doing revisions with her before submission.
Web Presence:
Liza Dawson Associates website.
LinkedIn.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
Clients:
There are lists of client titles on the website.  Ms. Blasdell's clients include:  Harry Connolly,  Jack Hart, Rachel Neumeier, Brian McClellan, Charles Stross, Rebecca Zanetti,Sage Blackwood, Zen Cho, Scott Hawkins, Joel Ross, and Alan Smale among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.  
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query ONLY.
See the Liza Dawson Associates website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.  
Response Times:
Fast!  Ms. Blasdell usually responds within a week on e-queries. Response times on requested material range from a week to a couple months.  There are occasional instances of longer or no response. 
What's the Buzz?
Ms. Blasdell seems to be a fabulous agent.  She works for a well-respected agency, has invaluable editorial experience, and is recommended by P&E standards.  Her clients come across as very loyal and happy with her representation.  While her list includes mainly adult titles, she has made several sales in the children's market and has a particular interest in sci-fi/fantasy.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews and Podcasts:
Podcast with Brian McClellan (01/2022)

Podcast with Writers Drinking Coffee (11/2019)
Around the Web:
Last Updated: 12/31/2022
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed by Agent: 2/4/2023
Contact:
Please see the Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
***
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 fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.