Tarcher Perigee | May 14, 2019

Kathleen Ortiz is a Literary Agent who has over a decade of experience in the industry, both as an agent and licensing expert. She focuses on a diverse list of picture books, young adult books, and heavily-illustrated non-fiction titles, especially titles that can make her laugh out loud (bonus points if to the point of tears or snorting!). Her passion for travel (visited 17 countries and counting) strongly connects her with a book that exposes the reader to a lifestyle or world outside of their own every day life.

On the non-fiction side, she’s specifically looking for prescriptive (especially geared toward parents, millenials and generation z), memoir, pop culture, and illustrated.

For both fiction and non-fiction, Kathleen loves looking beyond the book – while the story is most important, she likes to find other opportunities for her clients to help expand their platform and compliment their books. She’s worked in licensing everything from stationery to calendars to greeting cards and more.

Before New Leaf, Kathleen worked in newspaper journalism, earned her Masters of Publishing, and was a veterinary nurse for almost a decade. While she’s based in the West Coast, her skymiles argue that she lives in NYC half the year.

New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. is a passionate agency with a relentless focus on building our clients’ careers. Our approach is big picture, offering a one-stop shop built without silos and access to a variety of services including international sales, film and television, and branding resources for all clients. Our aim is to challenge conformity and re-imagine the marketplace while equipping our clients with the tools necessary to navigate an evolving landscape and succeed.

She is an agent member of the Association of Authors' Representatives.

Liz Climo
Catana Comics
Huda Fahmy
Dan Haring
Adrienne Hedger (Hedger Humor)
Sarah Marino
Jaime Reed
Procrastination.com
TheDadLab
Genevieve Santos

Selection of Recent Sales
for a more complete list of recent sales, please see the PM database

Fiction: General/Other

Former illustrator for The Simpsons and web comic star Liz Climo's YOU'RE MOM: A LITTLE BOOK FOR MOTHERS (AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM), a humorous story about the challenges and joys of motherhood, along with YOU'RE DAD, a follow-up about fatherhood, to Sarah Murphy at Flatiron Books, in an eight-bidder auction, in a two-book deal, by Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media (NA).

Wall Street Journal bestselling author and illustrator, whose debut LITTLE MOMENTS OF LOVE has 215,000 copies in print in its first year Catana Chetwynd's SNUG: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT DATING YOUR BEST FRIEND, to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel Publishing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in February 2020 (world English).

Instagram artist for @yesimhotinthis Huda Fahmy's THAT CAN BE ARRANGED: A MUSLIM LOVE STORY, in which the author explores, as a Muslim, the set guidelines for meeting and marrying a future spouse; outlining the story of her relationship with love: her first crush, her first suitor, her first proposal, and eventually her first love, to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2020, by Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).

Entrepreneur and business consultant Petr Ludwig's THE END OF PROCRASTINATION, to Corinne Roberts at Murdoch Books, by Joanna Volpe and Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc (UK/Commonwealth).

With more than 3.5 million online followers, Sergei Urban's THEDADLAB, an illustrated collection of 50 DIY science and art projects for parents to do with kids using materials found around the home with easy-to-follow science explanations, to Lauren Appleton at TarcherPerigee for publication in May 2019, at auction, in a six-figure deal, by Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. (NA).

Entrepreneur and business consultant Petr Ludwig's THE END OF PROCRASTINATION, equipping readers with science-based tools and illustrations to defeat the powerful foe of procrastination and to live each day to its productive potential, to Joel Fotinos at St. Martin's Essentials, in a six-figure deal, in a five-house auction, for publication on December 31, 2018, by Joanna Volpe and Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media (NA).

Catana Chetwynd's 2019 monthly calendar and 2020 page-a-day and monthly calendars to Michael Nonbello at Andrews McMeel Publishing, in a pre-empt, by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc (world English)

Jacqueline Chen's 2020 monthly calendar to Michael Nonbello at Andrews McMeel Publishing by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc (world English)

Liz Climo's 2020 page-a-day calendar and family planning calendar to Michael Nonbello at Andrews McMeel Publishing by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc (world English)

Adrienne Hedger's six new comics to Music&Arts for promotions, by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.

Web comic artist Jacqueline Chen's LOADING PENGUIN HUGS, a collection of comics from Chibird, which focuses on the high moments of everyday joys and inspires you to get through the struggles of life, to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel, by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, for publication in Fall 2018 (World English).

Animator Dan Haring and author of the forthcoming SHADOW WEAVER, MarcyKate Connolly's STAR SHEPHERD, featuring a boy who with the help of the town grocer's daughter and his trusted dog, must rush to rescue a slew of fallen stars after his father, the local Star Shepherd, goes missing, to Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, for publication in Fall 2018, by Kathleen Ortiz for Haring and Suzie Townsend for Connolly, both at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).

Liz Climo's RORY THE DINOSAUR NEEDS A CHRISTMAS TREE, where the young dino searches for the perfect tree with a little help from his dad, to Mary-Kate Gaudet at Little, Brown Children's, in a two-book deal, in a six-figure deal, for publication in Fall 2017, by Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media (World English).

Aimee Friedman at Scholastic has acquired World Rights to Jaime Reed's YA contemporary novel Perfect Match. When eighteen-year-old Janell’s childhood-BFF- turned-rival, Alyssa, is hospitalized due to complications from diabetes, Janell sets their differences aside, defies the risks of racially mixed transplants, and volunteers as a donor. But the test results reveal that Janell is the only kidney donor match for Alyssa in the entire state -- a fact that could save (or take) Alyssa’s life. Scheduled for 2019 publication; Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. negotiated the deal.

See PM database for partial listing.

Foreign Rights: Veronica Grijalva vgrijalva@newleafliterary.com and Mia Roman mroman@newleafliterary.com

Film/TV: Pouya Shahbazian, pouya@newleafliterary.com

Click here for a list of CoAgents.

See our web site for a full list.

How to submit your query:

Send a query to QUERY(at)newleafliterary.com

Make sure the word QUERY is in the subject line AND "Kathleen Ortiz" (if you do not put my name in the subject line, it won't get to me -- and I'll never see it).

Paste the query and the first five pages of the manuscript in the body of the email.

Do not attach anything.

You will receive an auto-response confirming receipt of your query.

The agency's policy is that if you do not hear from me within 2 weeks of submitting your query, check my blog query update counter. If the date you sent your query has passed, then I regret to inform you that my decision is to pass.

If you do NOT receive an auto-response message within 24 hours of sending your query, please resend.