THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS by Brad Stulberg (Portfolio, September 2021)

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, self-improvement 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.

A successful senior editor who became an agent in 2003, Laurie specializes in nonfiction and has placed hundreds of books with every major publisher, as well as mid-size publishers and small presses. As someone with extensive experience about what goes on behind publishers’ doors, she works closely with her talented roster of authors to develop their ideas, polish their proposals, and guide them from deal to publication.

DeFiore and Company is a literary agency founded by Brian DeFiore in 1999 and headquartered in New York's Flatiron District. Laurie is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (formerly known as the Association of Authors' Representatives).

Narrative Nonfiction
SEX AND THE CITY AND US and SEINFELDIA by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Simon & Schuster) **A New York Times Hardcover Best Seller
THE QUEENS OF ANIMATION and RISE OF THE ROCKET GIRLS by Nathalia Holt (Little, Brown) **A New York Times Hardcover Best Seller
PIERO'S LIGHT by Larry Witham (Pegasus Books) **Finalist for the 2015 PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography
CHEER! Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by Kate Torgovnick (Touchstone) **The basis for the drama series "Hellcats" on The CW.
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY by Kristen Green (Harper) **Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
YALE NEEDS WOMEN by Anne Gardiner Perkins (Sourcebooks) **Winner of the Connecticut Book Award
GENERATION FRIENDS by Saul Austerlitz (Dutton)
THE WAY WE ALL BECAME THE BRADY BUNCH by Kimberly Potts (Grand Central)
IN THE WAVES by Rachel Lance, PhD (Dutton)
BECAUSE HE'S JEFF GOLDBLUM by Travis M. Andrews (Plume)

Practical Nonfiction
DIGITAL MINIMALISM and A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL by Cal Newport (Portfolio) **New York Times Best Sellers
SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU and DEEP WORK by Cal Newport (Grand Central) **A Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller
THE ADDICTION INOCULATION and THE GIFT OF FAILURE by Jessica Lahey (Harper) **A New York Times Education Best Seller
MINIWEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION series by John Austin (Chicago Review Press) **More than 250,000 copies sold
GRAMMAR GIRL'S 101 WORDS Series by Mignon Fogarty (St. Martin's Griffin)
IT WAS THE BEST OF SENTENCES, IT WAS THE WORST OF SENTENCES and THE BEST PUNCTUATION BOOK, PERIOD by June Casagrande (Ten Speed Press) **A Wall Street Journal Best Seller
STORY GENIUS; WIRED FOR STORY; and STORY OR DIE by Lisa Cron (Ten Speed Press)
EXPERIMENTING WITH BABIES and EXPERIMENTING WITH KIDS by Shaun Gallagher (Perigee) **Featured on The Big Bang Theory
SECRETS FROM THE EATING LAB by Traci Mann, PhD (HarperWave)
AWKWARD by Ty Tashiro, PhD (William Morrow)
HOW TO BE A HAPPIER PARENT by KJ Dell'Antonia (Avery)
ULTRALEARNING by Scott Young (HarperBusiness) **A Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller
FAIR PAY by David Buckmaster (HarperBusiness) **Longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Awards
THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS by Brad Stulberg (Portfolio) **A JPMorgan NextList 2022 Pick

General Nonfiction
WHAT A PLANT KNOWS by Daniel Chamovitz (Scientific American Books/FSG) **Now in Its Second Edition
THE BOOK and SHADY CHARACTERS by Keith Houston (W.W. Norton)
THE ENDS OF THE WORLD by Peter Brannen (Ecco)
PLEASED TO MEET ME by Bill Sullivan, PhD (National Geographic Books)
THE ADDRESS BOOK by Deirdre Mask (St. Martin's Press) **A Time Magazine Best Book of 2020

Memoir
MARLEY & ME by John Grogan (William Morrow) **A #1 New York Times Hardcover Best Seller for 23 weeks. More than 19 months on the printed hardcover list
THE LONGEST TRIP HOME by John Grogan (William Morrow) **An instant NYT Hardcover Best Seller
THE $64 TOMATO by William Alexander (Algonquin)
THE NINE OF US by Jean Kennedy Smith (Harper)

Illustrated
CREATE YOUR OWN CALM; MY FRIEND FEAR; MADE OUT OF STARS; and START WHERE YOU ARE by Meera Lee Patel (Perigee) **More than 600,000 copies sold
SOPPY by Philippa Rice (Andrews McMeel) **A #1 New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller
THE LITTLE BOOK OF LIFE HACKS (St. Martin's Press) and YOUR ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO BECOMING ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE (Adams Media) by Yumi Sakugawa
THE NOCTURNAL JOURNAL (TarcherPerigee) and NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING (St. Martin's Essentials) by Lee Crutchley
HAPPILY EVER AFTER; BOOK LOVE; and QUIET GIRL IN A NOISY WORLD by Debbie Tung (Andrews McMeel)
DON'T WORRY, EAT CAKE; MAKE YOURSELF COZY; and MY LIFE IN PLANTS by Katie Vaz (Andrews McMeel)

Children's Books
BEEHIVE; SKYSCRAPER; EVERY COLOR SOUP; NEST; FETCH; HOP; and RIBBIT by Jorey Hurley (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster Children's)
EDMUND UNRAVELS by Andrew Kolb (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin)
SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME: SPIDER-MAN SWINGS THROUGH EUROPE and NO WAY HOME: SPIDER-MAN'S VERY STRANGE DAY!, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Marvel Press)
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU by Susan Farrington (Balzer+Bray)
A RACCOON AT THE WHITE HOUSE by Rachel Dougherty (Simon Spotlight)
ALL ABOARD! series, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Abrams Appleseed)
SECRET ENGINEER by Rachel Dougherty (Roaring Brook Press) **A Cook Prize Honor Book

Laurie has also overseen the bestselling series of children's picture books based on John Grogan's MARLEY & ME. They include the #1 New York Times bestsellers BAD DOG, MARLEY! and A VERY MARLEY CHRISTMAS, the top-5 New York Times bestsellers MARLEY GOES TO SCHOOL and MARLEY AND THE KITTENS, and an extension program that includes more than a dozen I Can Read's, Lift-the-Flap books, Touch-and-Feel books, a boxed set, a treasury, and a sticker book.

Published in 2022 (so far)
Stay tuned...

Narrative and General Nonfiction
WALKING WITH THE MOON by Rebecca Boyle (Sold to Random House)
THE GRIEVING BRAIN by Mary-Frances O'Connor, PhD (Sold to HarperOne)
LAKES by John Richard Saylor (Sold to Timber Press)
ON THE TRAIL OF THE JACKALOPE by Michael P. Branch (Sold to Pegasus)
WISE GALS by Nathalia Holt (Sold to Putnam)
THE CHAMBER DIVERS by Rachel Lance (Sold to Dutton)
BRAVE THE WILD RIVER by Melissa L. Sevigny (Sold to Norton)
EMPIRE OF THE SUM by Keith Houston (Sold to Norton)
KIND OF A BIG DEAL by Saul Austerlitz (Sold to Dutton)
THE DISASTER PLANET by Stephen Robert Miller (Sold to Island Press)
GETTING OUT OF SAIGON by Ralph White (Sold to Simon & Schuster)
SAVING MICHELANGELO'S DOME by Wayne Kalayjian (Sold to Pegasus)
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA by Kimberly Potts (Sold to Gallery Books)

Practical Nonfiction
TALK WITH HER by Kimberly Wolf (Sold to Penguin)
FAIR PAY by David Buckmaster (Sold to HarperBusiness)
DIRECT by Kathryn Judge (Sold to HarperBusiness)
DO HARD THINGS by Steve Magness (Sold to HarperOne)
EMPOWERED REFUSAL by Vanessa Patrick, PhD (Sold to Sourcebooks)
DO THE REAL THING by Scott Young (Sold to HarperBusiness)

Illustrated Nonfiction
EVERYTHING IS OK by Debbie Tung (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
HOW IT FEELS TO FIND YOURSELF by Meera Lee Patel (Sold to TarcherPerigee)
GO YOUR OWN WAY by Meera Lee Patel (Sold to TarcherPerigee)
WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? by Meg Adams (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
COTTAGECORE GALORE by Katie Vaz (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
OZ by Andrew Kolb (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO MEDITATE, revised edition, by Yumi Sakugawa (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
THE YUMIVERSE COLORING BOOK by Yumi Sakugawa (Sold to Andrews McMeel)

Originally from northern California, Laurie Abkemeier graduated from Wells College with a degree in communications and a background in broadcast and print journalism. She began her publishing career as an editorial assistant in the Touchstone/Fireside division at Simon & Schuster before moving to Hyperion, where she acquired and edited dozens of books, including five New York Times bestsellers and many national bestsellers. In 2003, she joined DeFiore and Company as a literary agent. She has represented multiple New York Times and national bestsellers, and she has overseen book-to-screen deals, including those that led to the #1 blockbuster movie Marley & Me and The CW drama Hellcats. She also invented a sandwich. You should try it.

DeFiore and Company actively markets its titles through an extensive network of sub-agents who specialize in dramatic and foreign rights. Visit our agency website for a complete list of contacts.

Brian DeFiore, Founder and Principle
Agents: Miriam Altshuler, Reiko Davis, Matthew Elblonk, Lisa Gallagher, Chris Park, Tanusri Prasanna, Caryn Karmatz Rudy, Adam Schear (also Director of Business Affairs), and Rebecca Strauss.
Linda Kaplan, Foreign Rights Director

Laurie Abkemeier accepts only email queries (attachments will not be read unless requested) for nonfiction projects. Snail mail queries will be discarded. Please include the word "QUERY" and your book title in the subject line, and send your brief query to Laurie@defliterary.com. Submissions need not be exclusive, and response time is generally between two hours and two weeks. If you have not heard from me during this time, please check that the defliterary.com domain name is on your email server whitelist; my response might have been rejected by your server. Please note that Laurie does not consider fiction queries of any kind.