THE SIREN by Tiffany Reisz

Welcome!

I am a Literary Agent at Nelson Literary Agency representing genre fiction including romance, science fiction/fantasy and young adult/middle grade books.

Kristin Nelson founded this agency in 2002 and represents such bestsellers as Jamie Ford, Courtney Milan, Marie Lu, Gail Carriger and Hugh Howey. I've been with the agency since 2006 and was promoted to Associate Literary Agent in 2009. As an agent, I tend to be pretty chatty with my clients - I email regularly with updates on submissions, offers, subsidiary rights, marketing ideas, contract negotiations, etc. I believe in setting clear expectations about the publishing process and communicating as thoroughly as possible.

The majority of submissions recently have been in the young adult genre. Hurray! This branch of publishing feels especially vibrant and exciting right now. I seem to be drawn to contemporary YA novels - stories set in the real world (SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by Trish Doller was one of my favorite reads in 2012). Recently, I fell head over heels in love with KEEPING THE CASTLE by Patrice Kindl because it was so smart and funny and ABOVE by Leah Bobet because it was beautiful and and compelling. Nine of my clients are debut young adult and middle grade authors.

Personally, I want to work on more science fiction and fantasy books for adults. I love complex world building that is tightly woven with intense characters and an exciting story. I loved Jay Kristoff's debut STORMDANCER and I'm a fangirl of anything by Robin McKinley, Carrie Vaughn and Naomi Novik. If you want to submit an sf/f novel, I'm your woman! Be aware that the number one reason I end up passing on these submissions is that writers tend to put too much info-dump in the first 30 pages. So, do a thorough reread for this common mistake before sending.

In terms of romance, I love super sexy stories with a lot of humor. Pamela Clare and Sherry Thomas are two of my favorite authors ever (Sherry was, in fact, my first slush pile find when I started working for Kristin). I am an avid romance fan - paranormal, historical, contemporary - I read it all. My favorite books recently have been LIKE NO OTHER LOVER by Julie Anne Long, ABOUT LAST NIGHT by Ruthie Knox and THE IRON DUKE by Meljean Brook. I am also actively acquiring New Adult manuscripts like ALL OF YOU by Christina Lee.

Sincerely,
Sara

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For more information about the Nelson Literary Agency, please feel free to see our website (www.nelsonagency.com) or check in on Kristin's blog at PubRants

I plan to attend the upcoming conferences:
Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, CO - May 23, 2013
Lighthouse Writers Litfest, Denver, CO - June 12, 2013
ComicCon, San Diego - July 18-21, 2013
San Jose RWA chapter meeting - November 23, 2013

Also, for more information about me, here is a recent interview at the The Bearded Scribe: The Bearded Scribe Interview

And, a blog chat about the romance genre with my author Roni Loren: Janice Hardy Blog post with Roni Loren

Finally, a post on Lisa Gail Green's blog about whether or not authors still need agents: Do You Still Need An Agent?

The Nelson Literary Agency is a Member of:

Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR)
Romance Writers of America (RWA)
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI)

Allison Rushby
www.allisonrushby.com

Ashlyn Macnamara
www.ashlynmacnamara.net

Betsy Dornbusch
www.betsydornbusch.com

Christina Lee
www.christinalee.net

Dave Lowry
davelowrywriter.weebly.com

Derek Sullivan
www.derekesullivan.com

Eleri Stone
www.eleristone.com

Elysia Whisler
www.elysiawhisler.com

Jaleigh Johnson
www.jaleighjohnson.com

Jane Kindred
www.janekindred.com

Jason Hough
www.jasonhough.com

Jennifer Shaw Wolf
www.jennifershawwolf.com

Juliana Stone
www.julianastone.com

Karen Cherry
karcherry.wordpress.com

Karina Sumner-Smith
www.karinasumnersmith.com

Kat Brauer
www.katbrauer.com

Michael Haspil
www.apocprod.com

Michael J. Martinez
www.michaeljmartinez.net

Michael R. Underwood
www.michaelrunderwood.com

Miranda Kenneally
www.mirandakenneally.com

Natalie Bahm
www.nataliebahm.com

Roni Loren
www.roniloren.com

Sarah Skilton
www.sarahskilton.com

Stefan Bachmann
www.stefanbachmann.com

Stefanie Gaither
stefaniegaither.blogspot.com

Steve Vera
www.stevewvera.com

Tiffany Reisz
www.tiffanyreisz.com

CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally (Sourcebooks Fire, December 2011)
THE SIREN by Tiffany Reisz (MIRA Books/Harlequin, August 2012)
CRASH INTO YOU by Roni Loren (Berkley/Penguin, January 2012)
THE PECULIAR by Stefan Bachmann (Greenwillow, September 2012)

April 24, 2013
Urban Fantasy
Author of GEEKOMANCY Michael Underwood's YOUNGER GODS, about a sorcerer raised by demon cultists who turns away from the family to learn about the real world and a sequel, to Adam Wilson at Pocket Star, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal including a story about Ree Reyes for the GEEKOMANCY series, by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency (World).

April 8, 2013
New Adult
In a second deal at Penguin’s NAL imprint this week, Jesse Feldman bought world English rights to two books by Christina Lee, including the author’s new adult title, In the Spaces Between. Agent Sara Megibow, at Nelson Literary, represented the author and said six publishers made offers on the book before she accepted “an aggressive preempt” from Feldman. NAL will be releasing the book as All of You—it’s about a nursing student who meets a handsome guy at a party, makes out with him, then discovers he’s a virgin—in September 2013, with a second book, a tie-in, scheduled for early 2014. In an unusual twist, NAL plans to make the series an e-only one, exercising its print option only if it feels there is a market for the book in that format.

April 4, 2013
Middle Grade Fantasy
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books has signed a two-book deal with PW Flying Start Stefan Bachmann, author of The Peculiar and its forthcoming sequel, The Whatnot. The first book, Dead Man's Palace, is about a group of American teens in France, exploring what archaeologists assume is an 18th-century sewer system, except it isn't: it's a secret and mysterious Versailles, buried 100 feet below the suburbs of Paris. What happened to the family who fled there centuries ago, and are they really alone in the depths? Publication is planned for 2015; Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary did the deal for world rights.

February 20, 2013
Romance
Eleri Stone's REAPER'S TOUCH, about a heroine entrusted with the power to save her world from a horde of slathering half-human monsters, and the darkly attractive man who has combatted the disease for two hundred years, to Angela James at Carina Press, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2014, by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency (World).

May 14, 2013
International Rights/ Fiction
German rights to Christina Lee's debut ALL OF YOU, a New Adult with a virgin hero, to Hannah Scharf of Blanvalet, by Jenny Meyer on behalf of Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency.

February 6, 2013
International Rights/Children's
Australian rights to Allison Rushby's MY SISTER IS AN ALIEN WHO SAYS I AM GOING TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE SOME DAY, to Anna McFarlane at Allen & Unwin, by Whitney Lee of The Fielding Agency on behalf of Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency.

January 3, 2013
International Rights/ Fiction
Australian and New Zealand rights to Allison Rushby's THE HEIRESSES, pitched as Downton Abbey for the New Adult market, to Claire Craig at Macmillan Australia, by Whitney Lee of The Fielding Agency on behalf of Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency.
wlee@fieldingagency.com

Nelson Literary Agency 2006-present

Graduate of Northwestern University

Foreign Rights: Jenny Meyer of The Jenny Meyer Literary Agency

Dramatic/Film Rights: We work with a variety of co-agents depending on the project including Steve Fisher of APA Talent & Literary, Kassie Evashevski of United Talent Agency, Jon Cassir of Creative Artists Agency, Amy Schiffman of Intellectual Property Group, and Eddie Gamarra of The Gotham Group.

Kristin Nelson, President and Senior Literary Agent
Anita Mumm, Literary Assistant
Lori Bennett, Digital Liaison
Angie Hodapp, Contracts and Royalties Manager

Please visit our website www.nelsonagency.com for submission guidelines, sample query letters, recommended resources and FAQs (all located on the "Submit Manuscript" page).

Query by email only (no attachments, headshots, sample pages or synopses please). We do not accept snail mail queries or submissions or queries by phone or in person. Please send email to query@nelsonagency.com. You are encouraged to include the link to your author website in your query letter.