WHAT A PLANT KNOWS by Daniel Chamovitz (Scientific American Books/FSG, June 2012)

It is not enough to be a great writer. If you want your book to stand the test of time, you must also be a great storyteller. Whether the subject is history or nature, parenting or pop culture, science or sports, Laurie Abkemeier looks for a distinctive voice and a natural talent for artfully conveying ideas or skillfully crafting a narrative.

When it comes to memoir and narrative nonfiction, the subject matter should appeal to a proven book-buying audience (e.g. dog lovers, foodies, gardeners, armchair travelers), and the writing should be compelling enough to attract readers who aren't in that core audience. In other words, the book should be a great read.

For practical nonfiction, Laurie seeks out authors who have a specific expertise and/or national platform and a knack for writing entertaining prose no matter what the subject.

A successful editor who became an agent in 2003, Laurie represents nonfiction exclusively. She has placed more than eighty books with Abrams, Algonquin, Atria, Ballantine, Broadway, Chicago Review Press, Center Street, Citadel Press/Kensington, Dutton, Free Press, HarperCollins, Globe Pequot/Lyons Press/skirt! Books, Hay House, Three Rivers/Crown, Pegasus, Perigee, Penguin, Berkley, NAL, Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Touchstone/Fireside, Rodale, Running Press, Sasquatch, Simon & Schuster, St. Martin's Press, Ten Speed, University Press of New England, W.W. Norton, Wiley, William Morrow, and Grand Central/Warner.

DeFiore and Company is a full service literary agency founded by Brian DeFiore and headquartered in New York's Flatiron District. Laurie is a member of the Association of Authors' Representatives.

Visit her blog HERE and follow her on Twitter HERE.

Download the AGENT OBVIOUS app that gives authors, editors, and agents one-touch access to hundreds of tips about the publishing biz. Free for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad at the iTunes store.

Kyria Abrahams, Maggie Arana & Julienne Davis, Jennifer Armstrong & Heather Wood Rudúlph, John Austin, Chris Balish, Barbara Diane Barry, Craig Boreth, Laura Brodie (represented by Gail Hochman for fiction), Al Cambronne, June Casagrande, Tovar Cerulli, Daniel Chamovitz PhD, Lisa Cron, Stacey Edgar, Mignon Fogarty (aka Grammar Girl), Shaun Gallagher, Sunny Sea Gold, John Grogan, Nathalia Holt PhD, Keith Houston, Joie Jager-Hyman EdD, Linda York Leaming, Jenna McCarthy, Sona Mehring/CaringBridge.org, Joy Meredith, Cal Newport, Bernadette Noll, Elizabeth Owen, Wendy Pabich PhD, Ronda Rich, Adam Ruben PhD, Marina Koestler Ruben, Lauren Scheuer, Susan M. Schneider PhD, Rebecca Sive, Courtney E. Smith, John Soennichsen, Amy Spencer, Baruch Sterman and Judy Taubes Sterman, Ty Tashiro PhD, Kate Torgovnick, Vivian Wagner, Geoff Williams, Larry Witham, John Zeaman, and "Team Ugly" (Brian Miller, Adam Paulson, and Kevin Wool)

For a complete list of my authors and their books, CLICK HERE.

Memoir
THE LONGEST TRIP HOME: A Memoir by John Grogan (William Morrow)
MARLEY & ME: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan (William Morrow)
THE $64 TOMATO by William Alexander (Algonquin)
GLOBAL GIRLFRIENDS by Stacey Edgar (St. Martin's)
MY (NOT SO) STORYBOOK LIFE: A Tale of Friendship and Faith by Elizabeth Owen (skirt! Books)

Narrative Nonfiction
BRETZ'S FLOOD by John Soennichsen (Sasquatch)
CC PYLE'S AMAZING FOOT RACE by Geoff Williams (Rodale)
CHEER! Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by Kate Torgovnick (Touchstone)
**The basis for the drama series "Hellcats" on THE CW.

Practical Nonfiction
HOW TO WIN AT COLLEGE, HOW TO BECOME A STRAIGHT A STUDENT, and HOW TO BE A HIGH SCHOOL SUPERSTAR by Cal Newport (Broadway)
GRAMMAR SNOBS ARE GREAT BIG MEANIES by June Casagrande (Penguin)
IT WAS THE BEST OF SENTENCES, IT WAS THE WORST OF SENTENCES by June Casagrande (Ten Speed)
HOW TO IRON YOUR OWN DAMN SHIRT by Craig Boreth (Three Rivers Press)
THE SINGLE GIRL'S GUIDE TO MARRYING A MAN, HIS KIDS, AND HIS EX-WIFE by Sally Bjornsen (NAL)
FOOD: THE GOOD GIRL'S DRUG by Sunny Sea Gold (Berkley)
GRAMMAR GIRL'S 101 MISUSED WORDS YOU'LL NEVER CONFUSE AGAIN by Mignon Fogarty (St. Martin's Griffin)
HOW TO TUTOR YOUR OWN CHILD by Marina Koestler Ruben (Ten Speed Press)
MINIWEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 2: Build a Secret Agent Arsenal by John Austin (Chicago Review Press)

General Nonfiction
IF IT WAS EASY, THEY'D CALL THE WHOLE DAMN THING A HONEYMOON by Jenna McCarthy (Berkley)
RECORD COLLECTING FOR GIRLS by Courtney E. Smith (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books)
SURVIVING YOUR STUPID, STUPID DECISION TO GO TO GRAD SCHOOL by Adam Ruben, Ph.D. (Broadway)
UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY BOOK by Brian Miller, Adam Paulson, and Kevin Wool--aka Team Ugly (Abrams Image)

Published in 2012
ART SCHOOLED by Larry Witham (University Press of New England)
BRIGHT SIDE UP by Amy Spencer (Perigee)
THE MINDFUL CARNIVORE: A Vegetarian's Hunt for Sustenance by Tovar Cerulli (Pegasus Books)
MINIWEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION TARGETS by John Austin (Chicago Review Press)
WHAT A PLANT KNOWS by Daniel Chamovitz (Scientific American Books/FSG)

Narrative Nonfiction
UNTITLED ON THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW by Jennifer Armstrong (Sold to Simon & Schuster)
PICASSO AND THE CHESS PLAYER by Larry Witham (Sold to University Press of New England)
WASHED AWAY by Geoff Williams (Sold to Pegasus Books)
THE RAREST BLUE by Baruch Sterman with Judy Taubes Sterman (Sold to Lyons Press)

General Nonfiction
SHADY CHARACTERS by Keith Houston (Sold to W.W. Norton)
THERE'S A BETTER DAY A-COMIN' by Ronda Rich (Sold to Running Press)
HOPE CONQUERS ALL by Sona Mehring (Sold to Center Street)
CORRELATED by Shaun Gallagher (Sold to Perigee)
ONCE UPON A FLOCK by Lauren Scheuer (Sold to Free Press)

Practical Nonfiction
WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron (Sold to Ten Speed Press)
SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU by Cal Newport (Sold to Grand Central)
THE FEMINIST BOMBSHELL by Jennifer Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudúlph (Sold to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books)
THE A+ COLLEGE ADMISSIONS GUIDE FOR B STUDENTS by Joie Jager-Hyman, Ph.D. (Sold to Ten Speed Press)
SLOW FAMILY LIVING by Bernadette Noll with an Introduction by Carrie Contey, Ph.D. (Sold to Perigee)
EVERY DAY IS ELECTION DAY by Rebecca Sive (Sold to Chicago Review Press)
EXPERIMENTS ON BABIES by Shaun Gallagher (Sold to Perigee)
MINIWEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 3 by John Austin (Announcement Pending)
THE SCIENCE OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Ty Tashiro, Ph.D. (Announcement Pending)
THE BEST PUNCTUATION BOOK EVER by June Casagrande (Sold to Ten Speed Press)
PAINTING YOUR WAY OUT OF A CORNER by Barbara Diane Barry (Announcement Pending)

Science and Nature
THE BERLIN PATIENTS by Nathalia Holt, Ph.D. (Sold to Dutton)
TAKING ON WATER by Wendy Pabich, Ph.D. (Sold to Sasquatch Books)
THE SCIENCE OF CONSEQUENCES by Susan M. Schneider, Ph.D. (Sold to Prometheus)
DEERLAND by Al Cambronne (Sold to Lyons Press)

Dramatic rights to MARLEY & ME to FOX 2000 in an outright purchase, in conjunction with Matthew Snyder at CAA. Film released on December 25, 2008, and spent two weeks as the #1 movie in the country--surpassing the $100 million mark in its first ten days.

Television rights to Kate Torgovnick's CHEER!: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders, optioned to Warner Bros Television and Tom Welling Productions for development as a drama series for the CW, with Kevin Murphy attached to write, in conjunction with CAA. Picked up by The CW as "Hellcats" for a full season run.

Calendar rights for John Austin's MINIWEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION to Orange Circle for a 2012 wall calendar.

Television rights to Jenna McCarthy's IF IT WAS EASY, THEY'D CALL THE WHOLE DAMN THING A HONEYMOON, option to be announced.

Originally from California, Laurie Abkemeier began her publishing career in 1992 as an editorial assistant in the Touchstone/Fireside division at Simon & Schuster. In 1994, she moved to Hyperion where she was responsible for five New York Times Bestsellers, and many national bestsellers. In 2003, after a five-year hiatus to start a family, she returned to publishing as a literary agent.

DeFiore and Company actively markets its titles through an extensive network of sub-agents who specialize in dramatic and foreign rights.

UK/Australia/NZ: Aitken Alexander Associates, Ltd.
Foreign: Andrew Nurnberg Associates et al

Visit www.defioreandco.com for a complete list of contacts.

DeFiore and Company: Brian DeFiore, Founder and Principle; Agents: Kate Garrick, Matthew Elblonk, Caryn Karmatz Rudy, Meredith Kaffel; Adam Schear, Associate Agent and Foreign Rights Director

Laurie Abkemeier strongly prefers to be queried in a brief email (attachments will not be read unless requested). Please include the word "QUERY" and your book title in the subject line. Submissions need not be exclusive, and response time is between one hour and three weeks. If you must query by snail mail, include an SASE for response only, which may take one month or more. Return of materials cannot be guaranteed. [NOTE: Laurie is not currently considering new clients for fiction, and if you call your manuscript "a novel," that implies fiction. She is also not considering children's books, screenplays, or poetry.]