Agent Spotlight: Steven Malk

This week's Agent Spotlight features Steven Malk of Writers House, LLC.
Status update on 12/30/2025: Steven is open to submissions.
About: “Steven Malk is the third generation of his family to be involved in the children's book industry. The son and grandson of children's booksellers, he worked at his parents' bookstore all through high school and college and entered the world of agenting immediately after graduating from UCSD in 1995. He opened a west coast office for Writers House in 1998, where he represents a wide range of authors and illustrators, including Jon Klassen, Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, Mac Barnett, Marla Frazee, Kadir Nelson, Ruta Sepetys, Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis, Jennifer Donnelly, Matt de la Pena, Cynthia Rylant, Adam Rex, Sara Pennypacker, Loren Long, Bob Shea, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Nikki McClure, Sonya Sones, and many others.” 
About the Agency:
"Al Zuckerman, a former novelist, TV writer, and teacher of playwriting at Yale, is the founder of Writers House. One of the largest literary agencies in the world, Writers House provides an extraordinary amount of individual client attention combined with the benefits of full service foreign rights, subsidiary rights, and contracts departments. We house an accounting department equipped to provide forensic royalty and financial analysis, as well as a digital department focusing on the ever-changing technological landscape of contemporary publishing. Home to more than a dozen senior agents and several rising junior agents, we work individually as well as collectively and take full advantage of the unparalleled depth of experience we embody. Some of our agents started here as assistants, while others have joined us from other parts of the business, bringing editorial, bookselling, writing, and legal experience. We also pride ourselves on the stability of our firm. Many of our agents have been here together for more than 20 years, as have many of our clients. Writers House is a name which reflects our vision for our authors and ourselves. Our goals are long term, and the environment we strive to create is one that invites authors and agents to stay with us for the duration of their careers." (Link)
Web Presence:
Writers House website.
AgentQuery.
QueryTracker.
What He's Looking For: Genres / Specialties:
Children's authors and illustrators, picture book through young adult. 
From a Q & A (07/2019):
"I love coming across a voice I haven’t read before. I love books that open windows into a wide range of experiences. Not many people know it, but I’m a huge fan of mysteries and read them in my spare time whenever I can. I’d love to find a great mystery, especially a mystery with real emotional stakes and a setting we haven’t seen before. I’ve always been a big fan of flawed or unreliable narrators as protagonists. I love music, history, and sports, so I’m always receptive to books that touch on those subjects as well." (Link)

From a Q&A (05/2010):
"My general philosophy is always that I don’t look for specific things, but rather strong, original voices that I haven’t read before, whatever genre they may fall under.  That said, one thing I’ve noticed is that I’m seeing quite a few submissions that seem derivative of books or genres that are popular at the moment, which isn’t as interesting to me.  If anything, I’d much rather find the next Munro Leaf, Ruth Krauss, Beverly Clearly, or Judy Blume; I’m always in search of people who have an appreciation for the classics and are able to identify what was so special about those books, and bring that same quality to their own work, but in a way that’s completely their own and feels unique to them." (Link)
"I do represent fantasy, but it’s hard to specify a certain kind of fantasy that I’m most interested in. As with other genres, I’m just looking for a strong voice and well-developed characters.  I will say that for fantasy, world-building can be crucial, so it’s something that I keep my eye on very closely." (Link)
What He Isn't Looking For:
"I tend to see too much stuff that's derivative of whatever's popular at the moment; stuff that's trying to capitalize on a trend. I want manuscripts that would succeed and stand out independent of any time or place. I have no interest in what's ‘hot’ at the moment." (Link defunct)
His Advice to Writers:
"I can't stress enough how important it is to find the right agent for you as opposed to just any agent. I understand the impulse to want to get your work out there as quickly as possible, but it's important for writers to take a step back and take their time in making the decision about where to submit their work. A writer needs to figure out what he/she wants in an agent, and spend as much time possible trying to figure out who that is, rather than just shooting blind. Ideally, once you find an agent who likes your work, you've already done your homework and know a lot about them...." (Link defunct)
"Be professional. It's amazing to me how many people don't send a SASE, or write their cover letters in pencil with things misspelled, or send me something, then three weeks later send a whole new draft saying, ‘I sent you the wrong story.’ I really like a good cover letter—it makes an impression on me. But your work's going to speak for itself no matter what." (Link defunct)
Editorial Agent?
"Yes, it's quite uncommon for me to send something out - especially by a first-time writer - and not ask for revisions first. The market is more competitive than ever, and it's worth it to me to take the time to make something as polished as possible. The goal isn't just to sell a manuscript; it's to put it in the best possible position to succeed. And the better shape a manuscript is in, the more likely this is to happen." (Link defunct)
Clients:
Mac Barnett, Brian Biggs, Sheela Chari, Lena Coakley, Matt de la Pena, Peter de Seve, Kelly DiPucchio, Jennifer Donnelly, Carson Ellis, AG Ford, Marla Frazee, Gris Grimly, Brett Helquist, Stephanie Hemphill, Deborah Hopkinson, Amanda Jenkins, Jon Klassen, Loren Long,  Colin Meloy, Nikki McClure, Kadir Nelson, Kenneth Oppel, Sara Pennypacker, Greg Pizzoli, Aaron Renier, Adam Rex, Chris Rylander, Cynthia Rylant, Ruta Sepetys, Paul Schmid, Jon Scieszka, Bob Shea, Lane Smith, Sonya Sones, Yoko Tanaka, Amy Timberlake, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Deborah Wiles, Karma Wilson, David Yoo, Michelle Zink, Justina Chen, Jillian Tamaki, Amanda Gorman, Tui Sutherland, David Barclay Moore, Kelly Barnhill, Christian Robinson, Magdalena Mora, Shawn Harris, Luke Pearson, among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.
Snail-Mail: Yes.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
E-mail: Query only.
Snail-mail: Query and SASE.
Query Tips:
"I just look for a query letter to be professional, concise, and to the point. It should include a good description of your work, and show that you have a good handle on your work as well as establish you as a professional..." (Link defunct)
Response Times:
His policy is to respond within two weeks, though response times fluctuate between minutes and several weeks.
What's the Buzz?
Steven Malk has a large list of award-winning and best-selling clients and is consistently a top dealmaker. He is very passionate about children’s literature and a great advocate for authors. You can find him annually at the SCBWI-LA conference and on Twitter @stevenmalk.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
What Agents Want at The Writer (07/2019).
Q&A with Children's Book Agent Steven Malk at Publishers Weekly (07/2019).
Steven Malk Podcast at All the Wonders (01/2017).
Steven Malk Podcast at Let's Get Busy (06/2015).
Q&A with Steven Malk here at Literary Rambles (03/2014).
Q&A with Steven Malk here at Literary Rambles (05/2010).
Please see Steven Malk's AgentQuery page or the Writers House website for additional contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 12/29/2024.
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 5/15/2020.
***
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.

Wednesday's Word Count

How is it already Wednesday again? *scratches head*

Yesterday's post was awesome. I loved meeting some of you lurkers and getting to know everyone better. If you haven't stopped by, please do, and if you've got the time, drop in and answer some of the questions people asked. Oh, and check out each other's blogs, too!

As for my work-in-progress report...

Prior Goal: 60 revised pages.

Accomplished: 30 revised pages, maybe.

Goal for new week: 60 revised pages?

Excuses / comments: This wasn't a good week for me. I could try to blame it on the 4th and my dad's birthday and my son's six-month (!) appointment and, and, and... but I won't. I just wasn't feeling the rewrite. My novel has a complicated structure (it needs to be this way for the story - it's not just stylistic) and it's still giving me a lot of mental grief.

Hopefully YOU had a much better week than me. There were some great goals posted last Wednesday. Tell me you've made up for my slackage!

P.S. My layout seems to be on the fritz - no idea why!

You There! Yes, You!

It's been all research, info, research, opinion, research on the blog lately.  Let's do something different.  Let's put the Spotlight on YOU. 

Tell me something about yourself, your blog, your web site, your book or WIP - anything!  If you read Lit Rambles but never comment, I'd LOVE it if you stepped out of lurkdom for a moment to say Hi!  Hey, even if you're stopping by the blog for your first time today, feel free to pop into the comments to promote yourself or just touch bases with some other reader/writer types.

Want to help propel the getting-to-know-youness?  After you tell us something about yourself or your work, throw out a general question for people to answer.  

Here's my first question:  Who's going to start?

: )

Links! Agent Research

Here are a few more links I'd like to share regarding lit agents and representation.

Agent Rachelle Gardner did a post awhile ago on what questions you might ask when you get THE CALL (really great stuff), a fab post on author-agent agreements, and what happens after you accept representation.

Fran Caldwell (who recently landed a lovely London agent) wrote a post on researching literary agents and why it's never too soon, and then followed it up with a post on what happens after you get a literary agent.  One thing I love about Fran is how much she respects herself.  By reading her posts, you can tell she knew what she wanted in an agent and wasn't afraid to cross agents off her list if she didn't think they'd be a good match. 

And today, author Lauren Barnholdt has an excellent post on why "dream agents" shouldn't be, well, dream agents.  Something I'd like to point out: she admits she's on her third agent, and you know what?  She's in good company.  A lot of writers go through two or more to find a good match. 

Do the best research you can, absolutely, and take advantage of THE CALL (or e-mail, as it may be) by asking as many questions as needed, but don't be too disheartened if you sign with an agent and it doesn't work out.  There is only so much you can learn beforehand, and if you did all the research you could, you know you gave yourself and the agent the best chance of working out. It's okay, rally up your self-respect and put your research smarts to use again - there's a better agent-author match out there for you. 

Have you read any other great posts recently on researching agents or the umbrella of?  Leave em' in the comments. 

Researching Literary Agents Part III

This weekend I realized I never put up Part III in my Agent Research series. So here it is!  If you're just tuning in, you may want to read Part I & Part II.

***

By now you should have a pretty good handle on your list of agents.  You know who you can potentially query and who's worth your time.  Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty stuff, i.e. submission guidelines and personalizing queries. 

Submission guidelines:

Hopefully most of your agents have web sites.  It's likely some of them don't.  For those that do, I'd highly recommend reading everything, but particularly their submission guidelines, what they are and aren't looking for, and their FAQ if they have them.  If they don't have a web site, I'm assuming you've located their submission guidelines via your market book, an online database, or Publisher's Marketplace.  All respectable agents have submission guidelines.  If you haven't found them - there's probably a reason for that.  Keep researching.   

Think of submission guidelines as one of your (many) keys to success.  They're important.  If you can't follow submission guidelines, you're inviting agents to assume any number of things about you.  Examples include but are not limited to:  You did not do your research, you don't know how the business works, you can't follow simple instructions, you're not from this planet, you think you are beyond respectful compliance, you want to waste their time, you do not respect them, you're sub-intelligent, etc. 

So, if they're asking for query only, seriously, only send a query.  If they want a query and the first three chapters, don't send more than that.  Even if things start to get really good in chapter four.  If they want a proposal.  Well, that's what you send.  Whatever it is - do it.  It's not a matter of bowing down to agents because they're almighty beings that rule the literary earth.  It's a matter of respect.  They're telling you want they want in order to assess what you're trying to sell.  It's a simple as that.  Would you walk into a job interview with your resume, all of your references in person, and an autobiography to boot?  No.  At least I hope not.  Don't lessen your chance for an offer by disagreeing with an agent's submission guidelines.  If you really don't agree - maybe you shouldn't be querying that agent at all.  Remember, you want the best agent for you and your work.  It's not just about getting your book published.  It's a long-term relationship that will only work well with communication, respect, and partnership. 

There are always exceptions, right?  If you've had a direct request from an agent to do so, feel free to disregard their guidelines.  Perhaps you met the agent at a conference and they requested that you send them a full rather than their stated five pages (or whatever).  If that's the case, them by golly, send them the full, but you should remind them of the conference in your query letter so they know who you are and why you're possibly straying from their usual guidelines.

Personalizing Queries:

The most basic personalization you can and should do is to address the agent properly by last name. 

Dear Mr. Bransford:

Dear Ms. Reamer:

A comma does nicely as well.  It takes very little time and it's a truly simple courtesy used it nearly all business correspondence. 

Other personalizations can include: Mentioning you met them at a conference, mentioning you read their blog, mentioning something they said in an interview or market guide, mentioning a book they represent that you liked or that's similar to yours, etc.  Just don't go overboard.  There's almost an art to this - do your research.

Agents Who Blog:

If the agent has a blog, you've got veritable a gold mine at your disposal.  Take the time to read it.  And don't just read the three most recent posts.  DIG.  Look in the archives.  Try to find posts where they've specified preferences, pet-peeves, detailed what they like in a query letter, etc.  If you've already been reading their blog regularly, all the better.  And even if the agent rarely talks about the business and what they're looking for, you're still getting an invaluable look at their character.  Is this someone you'd want to work with?  Finding a good match personality-wise is just as important as anything else. 

Books They Rep:

Another great way to get a feel for what an agent represents and to personalize your query is to read books they already rep.  This can obviously become very time consuming, especially if it just means adding one personalized sentence to your query.  However, it may set you apart, if you do it well, so you may want to consider reading something that each of your top agents represent, particularly if it's similar to yours.

Random Tips:

• You can find an agent's gender on LitMatch.
• You can occasionally find font/type preferences on AgentQuery.
• QueryTracker is a fabulous tool for research and, well, tracking queries, or course.  
• Never ever query multiple agents in one e-mail.
• Never use a general salutation such as "Dear Agent."
• Don't knock yourself down by saying things like "If you have time," or "I know you're busy," etc.
• Do not use fancy paper. 
• Do NOT send THINGS to agents.  Even if they have a professed love of Godiva chocolates.  Resist.  You can send them Godiva when they're officially your agent, they've sold your book, and they're not concerned that you're psycho.
• Have a list of questions ready or know what you're going to say if/when you get "the call."  Seriously, use this opportunity to find out everything you couldn't during your research.
• Prioritize your list and query small batches at a time.  You can learn a lot from rejection, but that's a post for another day. 

And finally, don't just take my word for all this.  What did I say about not trusting any single source of information?  Gosh, get out there and research researching!  Google "researching literary agents," "literary agent scams," "personalizing queries," and so on and so forth.

Best to everyone preparing to query.  If there is something else you'd like me to cover or expand on, let me know in the comments!  I'll do a more thorough post on personalizing queries one of these days.

Happy 4th of July!

What are you plans for this lovely day of Independence?  Hope everyone has a great one full of good ol' American food, comradery, and twinkles in the sky.

Wednesday's Word Count

Happy 1st of July!

Prior Goal: 10 revised pages a day and swap with Heather.

Accomplished: No. Idea.

Goal for new week: 60 revised pages.

Excuses / comments: I haven't been looking forward to reporting in this week. I've done very little. I needed to stop, reassess, and take a breather from my MS. Every time I would figure out what I needed to do, I'd immediately jump in and start rewriting, only to realize something still wasn't working. So, I read some articles online, read some of my Plot and Structure book, brainstormed more, played with note cards, thought things through without touching my MS for a couple days, etc. Now I'm working on what I hope is my final plot summary before jumping in once more. I'm challenging myself to have this rewrite done by August and into the hands of beta readers about then but it might need until Sept. We'll see.

How are you doing with your goals? And what are your plans for the 4th? We're going to barbecue at my dad's, watch a movie, and light a few fireworks off for the kids.