WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? by Meg Adams (Andrews McMeel, March 2023)

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
SEINFELDIA by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Simon & Schuster) **A New York Times Hardcover Best Seller
WISE GALS (Putnam) 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.
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)
ON THE TRAIL OF THE JACKALOPE by Michael P. Branch (Pegasus Books)

Practical Nonfiction
DIGITAL MINIMALISM and A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL by Cal Newport (Portfolio) **New York Times Best Sellers
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)
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
ULTRALEARNING by Scott Young (HarperBusiness) **A Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller
THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS by Brad Stulberg (Portfolio) **A JPMorgan NextList 2022 Pick
DIRECT by Kathryn Judge (HarperBusiness) **Longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year
THE GRIEVING BRAIN by Mary-Frances O'Connor, PhD (HarperOne)
DO HARD THINGS by Steve Magness (HarperOne) **National Bestseller

General Nonfiction
WHAT A PLANT KNOWS by Daniel Chamovitz, PhD (Scientific American Books/FSG) **Now in Its Second Edition
THE BOOK and SHADY CHARACTERS by Keith Houston (W.W. Norton) **Featured on #BookTok
THE ENDS OF THE WORLD by Peter Brannen (Ecco) **A Nautilus Silver Award Winner
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
LAKES by John Richard Saylor, PhD (Timber Press)

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) **A 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
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)
NEVERLAND and OZ by Andrew Kolb (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)
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)
ALL ABOARD! series, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Abrams Appleseed)
SECRET ENGINEER by Rachel Dougherty (Roaring Brook Press) **A Cook Prize Honor Book

Published in 2023 (so far)
WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? by Meg Adams (Andrews McMeel)

Narrative and General Nonfiction
WALKING WITH THE MOON by Rebecca Boyle (Sold to Random House)
CHAMBER DIVERS by Rachel Lance, PhD (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)
REGRETTABLE FUTURES 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)
THE ANATOMY OF BOREDOM by Andreas Elpidorou, PhD (Sold to Oxford University Press)
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA by Kimberly Potts (Sold to Gallery Books)
FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE by Anika Burgess (Sold to Norton)
SO FETCH by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Sold to Dey Street)
THE MUSIC UNIT by Sheryl Kaskowitz (Sold to Pegasus)
THE VANISHING TRAIL by Nathalia Holt (Sold to One Signal)
FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY by Keith Houston (Sold to Norton)

Practical Nonfiction
THE POWER OF SAYING NO by Vanessa Patrick, PhD (Sold to Sourcebooks)
MASTER OF CHANGE by Brad Stulberg (Sold to HarperOne)
DO THE REAL THING by Scott Young (Sold to HarperBusiness)
CONSCIOUS LANGUAGE by Karen Yin (Sold to Little, Brown Spark)
SLOW PRODUCTIVITY and THE DEEP LIFE by Cal Newport (Sold to Portfolio)
SLEEP WELL, TAKE RISKS, SQUISH THE PEAS by Hasan Merali, MD (Sold to HCI)
THE GRIEVING BODY by Mary-Frances O'Connor, PhD (Sold to HarperOne)

Illustrated Nonfiction
ALL ABOARD! THE SESAME STREET SUBWAY, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Sold to Abrams)
HOW IT FEELS TO FIND YOURSELF by Meera Lee Patel (Sold to TarcherPerigee)
GO YOUR OWN WAY by Meera Lee Patel (Sold to TarcherPerigee)
THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO MEDITATE, revised edition, by Yumi Sakugawa (Sold to Andrews McMeel)
COSMIC COMFORT by Yumi Sakugawa (Sold to Clarkson Potter)
FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE by Anika Burgess (Sold to Norton)
TINY JOYS by Katie Vaz (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 more than a dozen New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, and she has overseen many 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 foreign rights contacts.

Brian DeFiore, Founder and Principle
Agents: Miriam Altshuler, Reiko Davis, Matthew Elblonk, Lisa Gallagher, Elise Howard, Tamara Kawar, 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 for nonfiction projects. Attachments will not be read unless requested. 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.