Founded by industry veteran Jill Grinberg, the agency’s tastes are wide ranging—born out of deep curiosity and a passion for great writing in all its forms and for all readerships. Our clients win major awards—including the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the Printz Award and Newbery Honor—and regularly appear on U.S. and international bestseller lists. Our select client list features 49 New York Times bestsellers and 28 IndieBound bestsellers.

Our authors include novelists and memoirists; historians and scientists; illustrators and musicians; cultural critics and humanitarians; entrepreneurs and innovators- united by the high quality of their writing, original and authentic voices, passion for their work, and brilliant storytelling.

Tyler Anbinder, Laurie Berkner, Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans, Barbara Dee, Andy Griffiths, Christopher Healy, Kevin Hearne, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Mikki Kendall, Kirby Larson, Margo Lanagan, Rosina Lippi, Alison Goodman, S. Jae-Jones, Justine Larbalestier, John Bemelmans Marciano, Melina Marchetta, Jaclyn Moriarty, Marissa Meyer, Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Garth Nix, Tiffany Pham, Alissa Quart, T.J. Stiles, Jesse Q Sutanto, Scott Westerfeld, Colin Woodard

Early Readers

WE ARE THE DINOSAURS, PILLOWLAND, MONSTER BOOGIE (Laurie Berkner)
MADELINE Series (Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans & John Bemelmans Marciano)

MG Fiction

STAR-CROSSED, HALFWAY NORMAL, MAYBE HE JUST LIKES YOU (Barbara Dee)
The Treehouse Series (Andy Griffiths, illus. Terry Denton)
THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM (Christopher Healy)
OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, TURTLE IN PARADISE, FULL OF BEANS, THE FOURTEENTH GOLDFISH (Jennifer Holm) *Winner of three Newbery Honors*
BABYMOUSE, SQUISH, SUNNY SIDE UP, EVIL PRINCESS v BRAVE KNIGHT (Jennifer & Matthew Holm) *Winner of the Eisner Award*
HATTIE BIG SKY, HATTIE EVER AFTER, NUBS, TWO BOBBIES, DUKE, DASH, LIBERTY, CODE WORD COURAGE (Kirby Larson) *Winner of the Newbery Honor*
Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat Series(Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth)
THE EXTREMELY INCONVENIENT ADVENTURES OF BRONTE METTLESTONE, THE WHISPERING WARS (Jaclyn Moriarty)
THE BOOK OF BOY (Catherine Gilbert Murdock) *Winner of the Newbery Honor*

YA Fiction

THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME (Nafiza Azad) *Finalist for the Morris Award*
EON, EONA, THE DARK DAYS CLUB (Alison Goodman)
WINTERSONG, SHADOWSONG (S. Jae-Jones)
THE SUMMER PRINCE (Alaya Dawn Johnson) *Long-listed for the National Book Award*
TENDER MORSELS, BLACK JUICE (Margo Lanagan) *Winner of two Printz Honors*
LIAR, MY SISTER ROSA (Justine Larbalestier)
JELLICOE ROAD, The Lumatere Chronicles (Melina Marchetta) *Winner of the Printz Medal*
The Lunar Chronicles Series (CINDER, SCARLET, CRESS, WINTER, FAIREST, STARS ABOVE, WIRES AND NERVE 1-2), HEARTLESS, The Renegades Trilogy (RENEGADES, ARCHENEMIES, SUPERNOVA), INSTANT KARMA (Marissa Meyer)
The Ashbury High Series, The Colors of Madeline Series (Jaclyn Moriarty)
DAIRY QUEEN Series (Catherine Gilbert Murdock)
THE LEFT-HANDED BOOKSELLERS OF LONDON, ANGEL MAGE, The Old Kingdom Series (SABRIEL, LIRAEL, ABHORSEN, CLARIEL, GOLDENHAND, TERCIEL & ELINOR), The Keys to the Kingdom Series, FROGKISSER! (Garth Nix)
UGLIES Series (UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, EXTRAS, IMPOSTORS, SHATTER CITY), LEVIATHAN Trilogy, SPILL ZONE (Scott Westerfeld)
SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, WILDLIFE, CLOUDWISH (Fiona Wood)

Adult Fiction

INTO THE WILDERNESS Series, THE GILDED HOUR, WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS (Sara Donati)
The Iron Druid Chronicles, The Seven Kennings Series, Tales of Pell series, Ink & Sigil series (Kevin Hearne)
TROUBLE THE SAINTS (Alaya Dawn Johnson)
THE PLACE ON DALHOUSIE, TELL THE TRUTH, SHAME THE DEVIL (Melina Marchetta)
GRAVITY IS THE THING (Jaclyn Moriarty)
DIAL A FOR AUNTIES (Jesse Q Sutanto)

Adult Non-Fiction

FIVE POINTS, CITY OF DREAMS (Tyler Anbinder)
ADRIFT (Tami Oldham Ashcraft with Susea McGearhart) *Adapted into a feature film starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin*
MANIFESTA (Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards)
YOUNG QUEENS (Leah Redmond Chang)
PRIUS OR PICKUP (Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler)
CONNECT FIRST (Melanie Katzman)
HOOD FEMINISM (Mikki Kendall)
YOU ARE A MOGUL (Tiffany Pham)
SQUEEZED, BOOTSTRAPPED (Alissa Quart)
THE FIRST TYCOON, CUSTER'S TRIALS (T.J. Stiles) *Winner of the National Book Award and two Pulitzer Prizes*
COCKPIT CONFIDENTIAL (Patrick Smith)
AMERICAN NATIONS, THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES (Colin Woodard)

New and Upcoming Titles (Spring & Summer 2021)

THE PEOPLE WE CHOOSE by Katelyn Detweiler
SKY BREAKER by Addie Thorley
DA VINCI'S CAT by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
WHAT ZOLA DID ON SATURDAY & WHAT ZOLA DID ON SUNDAY by Melina Marchetta
TURTLE IN PARADISE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Jennifer L. Holm (illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau)
WHISKER WIZARD (Babymouse: Tales from the Locker #5) by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
A BRAIDED HEART by Brenda Miller
THE WILD ONES by Nafiza Azad
PAPER & BLOOD (Ink & Sigil #2) by Kevin Hearne
KLAWDE: EVIL ALIEN WARLORD CAT: REVENGE OF THE KITTEN QUEEN (Klawde #6) by Johnny Marciano & Emily Chenoweth

2021 Deals

Author of MAYBE HE JUST LIKES YOU and the forthcoming VIOLETS ARE BLUE Barbara Dee's TEAR THIS DOWN, about a girl campaigning to remove the statue of her town's namesake after learning that he was actively against giving women the right to vote, and to replace it with one of an inspiring suffragist, to Alyson Heller at Aladdin, for publication in fall 2024, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Author of LAST TANG STANDING Lauren Ho's THIS IS NOT ABOUT LOVE, in which an ambitious single Singaporean woman in her late 30s joins a platonic parenting platform to find a Mr. Right-Enough with whom to start a family, a plan that proceeds perfectly until her controlling family and ex-fiance get involved, to Kate Dresser at Putnam, for publication in 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA). Rights to Ore Agbaje-Williams at Harper UK. Film/TV: Jason Richman at UTA

Katalina Gamarra's BEN & BEATRIZ, pitched as an #OwnVoices, Latinx retelling of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, set in the early days of the Trump presidency, in which a queer, biracial young woman must untangle her complicated relationship with the scion of a wealthy, white dynasty; a rumination on race, colorism, passing, class, wealth, sexuality, and privilege, to Brittany Lavery at Graydon House, at auction, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Actor and founder of The Archibald Studio Craig Archibald's THE ACTOR'S MINDSET: ACTING AS A CRAFT, DISCIPLINE AND BUSINESS, providing a view of the actor's journey, and the tools to develop a mindset and focus that will allow actors to direct their careers where they want to go; with a foreword by actress Constance Wu, to John Cerullo at Applause Books, for publication in March 2022, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Founder of Raising Digital Natives and author of SCREENWISE Dr. Devorah Heitner's GROWING UP PUBLIC, guiding parents in helping their teens and tweens develop healthy boundaries with regard to privacy and public-facing identity in an increasingly screen-centered world, to Sara Carder at Tarcher Perigee, in a pre-empt, for publication in Fall 2022, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

TJ Alexander's CHEF'S KISS, an #OwnVoices LGBTQ+ rom-com starring a type-A pastry chef whose professional goals are interrupted by not only a career transition, but the introduction of her wildly attractive nonbinary kitchen manager, who happens to be undergoing a transition of their own, to Lara Jones at Emily Bestler Books, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Jenny Howe's THE MAKE-UP TEST, pitched as ONE TO WATCH meets BEACH READ, about a 20-something woman whose prestigious literature PhD program becomes a battle of wits (and lit) when she discovers that her college ex and biggest regret is now her rival TA for a once-in-a-life-time research opportunity, to Sarah Grill at St. Martin's, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Billy Sharff's WHEN SANTA CAME TO STAY, pitched as the offspring of THE GRINCH and SNOWMEN AT CHRISTMAS, the story of a family who learns the true meaning of Christmas when Santa (and sundry other holiday characters) outstay their welcome in an attempt to prolong the holiday magic, illustrated by Eda Kaban, to Jessica Garrison at Dial, at auction, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for the author, and Shannon Associates for the illustrator (world).

Garth Nix's TERCIEL AND ELINOR, the latest in his Old Kingdom series, about a ploy by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsen that brings the Abhorsen-in-Waiting across the Wall to Elinor—who, after facing fire, death, and loss, finds herself on a path taking her away from her life of seclusion and into Terciel's, embroiling her in the struggle of the Abhorsen's against the dead; and a 25th-anniversary edition of SABRIEL, the series starter, to Katherine Tegen at Katherine Tegen Books, for publication in fall 2021, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA). Rights to Emma Matthewson at Bonnier Books UK (UK); and Eva Mills at Allen & Unwin (ANZ), by Fiona Inglis of Curtis Brown Australia.

Poet, Undocupoet fellow, and contributor to THE BREAKBEAT POETS VOL.4: LATINEXT anthology Aline Mello's MORE SALT THAN DIAMOND, an #OwnVoices debut poetry collection meditating on the visible and invisible fractures between the self, family, and memory as experienced by a Brazilian immigrant living in diaspora, determined to be authentically seen in a country that would either silence her or shape her into something politically palatable, to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Cave Canem fellow, poet, and essayist Remica Bingham-Risher's SOUL CULTURE: BLACK POETS, BOOKS, AND QUESTIONS THAT GREW ME UP, a part-memoir, part-cultural artifact that intertwines personal essays and interviews with distinguished Black poets, such as Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others to explore the impact of identity, joy, love, and sociohistorical context on Black poetic craft and artistic process in the latter half of the 21st century, to Haley Lynch at Beacon Press, in a nice deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Sarah Glenn Marsh's THE MYSTERY OF THE LOVE LIST, the story of a lonely porcupine who feels lonelier than ever with Valentine's Day approaching, until she discovers her name on one of her classmate's love lists—a list of all the things they love best—and sets out to solve the mystery of who this potential friend might be, illustrated by Ishaa Lobo, to Tamar Brazis at Viking Children's, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for the author, and by Jennifer Rofa at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).

Activist and founder of the Ella Mae Foundation Beverly Gooden's SURVIVING: WHY WE STAY AND HOW WE LEAVE ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, in which the author chronicles with unflinching vulnerability the steps she took to free herself from an abusive marriage and offers survivors guidance on overcoming barriers and rebuilding oneself after leaving abusive relationships, to Suzanne Staszak-Silva at Rowman & Littlefield, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Lori Anne Goldstein's LOVE, THEODOSIA, about Theodosia Burr, a scholar with the skills of a socialite, who, in the midst of aiding her father, Aaron Burr, in his quest for the presidency in the pivotal election of 1800, falls for Philip Hamilton, the son of his greatest rival, and the two must choose between love and desire, family and loyalty, and preserving the legacy their powerful and flawed fathers fought so hard for—or creating their own, to Lilly Golden at Arcade, for publication in fall 2021, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Jesse Sutanto's debut WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED, about a girl whisked from L.A. to her mother's native Indonesia in order to "get back to her roots," who—through a comedy of errors and overzealous parents—finds herself fake dating the son of one of the wealthiest families in Indonesia, and is surprised when she actually starts to fall in love with the boy, with the country, and with the big family she never knew before now, to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Shivaun Plozza's A RELUCTANT WITCH'S GUIDE TO MAGIC, about an ordinary girl who discovers she's not so ordinary after all, but instead is a witch prized by two terrible warring covens, and she must master her magic and choose a coven before her 13th birthday—or explode, to Nicole Sclama at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, with Amy Cloud editing, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Author-illustrator of A GREEN PLACE TO BE Ashley Benham-Yazdani's THE COMET, told from the perspective of Halley's Comet as it passes by Earth every 75 years, witnessing the evolution of human history and the many changes to life on Earth, to Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Jessica Saint Jean at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Britney Lewis's debut THE UNDEAD TRUTH OF US, pitched as a mix of SADIE, THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER, and WARM BODIES, which follows a young Black dancer who, after her mother's sudden death, has been seeing zombies, but when she meets an undead boy, he helps her unravel the truth about how love can change someone—for good or for dead, to Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion, with Brittany Rubiano and Christine Collins editing, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Sajni Patel's MY SISTER'S BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING, a rom-com in which a 17-year-old aspiring violinist with dreams of attending music college must secretly juggle the obligations of her sister's extravagant wedding week with auditions for a prominent music contest—all while trying to dodge her boisterous family's matchmaking schemes, to Anne Heltzel at Amulet, at auction, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Subagents

Andrew Nurnberg Associates (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine)
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Sofia (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia)
The Grayhawk Agency (China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam)
Kristin Olson Literary Agency (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia)
La Nouvelle Agence (France)
Mohrbooks AG Literary Agency (Germany)
Read-n-Right Agency (Greece)
Lex Copyright Office (Hungary)
The Book Publishers Association of Israel
The Italian Literary Agency
Japan Uni Agency, Inc.
Korean Copyright Center
Mo Literary Services (The Netherlands)
Graal, Ltd. (Poland)
The Van Lear Agency (Russia)
Ia Atterholm Agency (Scandinavia)
Sandra Bruna Agencia Literaria (Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Brazil)

Jill Grinberg - President & Literary Agent
Denise Page - Head of Operations & Assistant to Jill Grinberg
Katelyn Detweiler - Literary Agent
Sophia Seidner - Head of Rights, Contracts, and Legal & Literary Agent
Sam Farkas - Foreign Rights Associate & Literary Agent
Larissa Melo Pienkowski - Literary Agent
Jessica Saint Jean - Literary Agent

We are accepting submissions in all categories for: adult fiction and nonfiction, and children's fiction and nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult). We are also accepting art and illustration-only submissions in all categories.

Please send your query letter to info [at] jillgrinbergliterary [dot] com and attach your materials as a .docx file. Address your submission directly to the agent you would like to consider it, and use the following format for your subject line: QUERY: Title of Project by Your Name / Age Group and Genre / ATTN: Name of Agent.

Please visit our website for art submission requirements, more detailed query guidelines, and information about what our acquiring agents are looking for.

We no longer accept hard copy submissions by mail, and any received will be discarded unread.

While we endeavor to respond to every query, due to the volume of submissions we receive and our commitments to our existing client list, it may not always be possible. If we decide to pursue your submission, we will be in touch with you. We appreciate your understanding, and we look forward to reading your work.

Curtis Brown Australia
Margaret Connolly and Associates (Australia)
Curtis Brown Ltd. (UK)
Rogers, Coleridge & White (UK)
Georgina Capel & Associates (UK)