MY LIFE IN PLANTS by Katie Vaz (Andrews McMeel)

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 full service literary agency founded by Brian DeFiore and headquartered in New York's Flatiron District. Laurie is a member of 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)
GENERATION FRIENDS by Saul Austerlitz (Dutton)
THE WAY WE ALL BECAME THE BRADY BUNCH by Kimberly Potts (Grand Central)

General Nonfiction
DIGITAL MINIMALISM by Cal Newport (Portfolio) **an Instant New York Times Bestseller
SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU and DEEP WORK by Cal Newport (Grand Central) **A Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller
THE GIFT OF FAILURE by Jessica Lahey (Harper) **A New York Times Education Best Seller
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)
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 and WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron (Ten Speed Press)
EXPERIMENTING WITH BABIES by Shaun Gallagher (Perigee)
SECRETS FROM THE EATING LAB by Traci Mann, PhD (HarperWave)
AWKWARD by Ty Tashiro, PhD (William Morrow)
THE ENDS OF THE WORLD by Peter Brannen (Ecco)
HOW TO BE A HAPPIER PARENT by KJ Dell'Antonia (Avery)
PLEASED TO MEET ME by Bill Sullivan, PhD (National Geographic Books)
THE THANK-YOU PROJECT by Nancy Davis Kho (Running Press)
ULTRALEARNING by Scott Young (HarperBusiness) **A Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller

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 Gift
MY FRIEND FEAR; MADE OUT OF STARS; and START WHERE YOU ARE by Meera Lee Patel (Perigee) **More than 600,000 copies sold
SISTER BFFs and 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
EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOMENTS by Jorey Hurley (Potter Style)
THE NOCTURNAL JOURNAL and GET LOST! by Lee Crutchley (TarcherPerigee)
BOOK LOVE and QUIET GIRL IN A NOISY WORLD by Debbie Tung (Andrews McMeel)
DON'T WORRY, EAT CAKE; MAKE YOURSELF COZY; and THE ESCAPE MANUAL FOR INTROVERTS by Katie Vaz (Andrews McMeel)

Children's Books
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, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Disney Books/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)

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 2020 (so far)
BEEHIVE by Jorey Hurley (Paula Wiseman Books/S&S)
BABY: A SOPPY STORY by Philippa Rice (Andrews McMeel-US; Square Peg-UK)
POP STAR GODDESSES by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (William Morrow/Morrow Gift)
IN THE WAVES by Rachel Lance, PhD (Dutton)
THE ADDRESS BOOK by Deirdre Mask (St. Martin's Press)
EXPERIMENTING WITH KIDS by Shaun Gallagher (TarcherPerigee)
PROPELLED by Andreas Elpidorou (Oxford University Press; audio from Dreamscape Media)
HAPPILY EVER AFTER (& EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN) by Debbie Tung (Andrews McMeel)
MY LIFE IN PLANTS by Katie Vaz (Andrews McMeel, including audio)
CREATE YOUR OWN CALM by Meera Lee Patel (TarcherPerigee)
NEVERLAND by Andrew Kolb (Andrews McMeel)
THE TIME-BLOCK PLANNER by Cal Newport (Portfolio)

Narrative and General Nonfiction
WALKING WITH THE MOON by Rebecca Boyle (Sold to Random House)
BECAUSE HE'S JEFF GOLDBLUM by Travis M. Andrews (Sold to Dutton)
THE GRIEVING BRAIN by Mary-Frances O'Connor, PhD (Sold to HarperOne)
WHEN WOMEN INVENTED TELEVISION by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Sold to Harper)
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)

Practical Nonfiction
A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL by Cal Newport (Sold to Portfolio)
THE ADDICTION INOCULATION by Jessica Lahey (Sold to Harper)
STORY OR DIE by Lisa Cron (Sold to Ten Speed Press)
TALK WITH HER by Kimberly Wolf (Sold to Penguin)
FAIR PAY by David Buckmaster (Sold to HarperBusiness)
DIRECT by Kathryn Judge (Sold to HarperBusiness)
THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS by Brad Stulberg (Sold to Portfolio)

Illustrated Nonfiction
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING by Lee Crutchley (Sold to St. Martin's Essentials)
HOW TO BE FEARLESS by Jessica Hagy (Sold to Sasquatch)
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)

Children's Picture Books
DISNEY ALL ABOARD!: Mickey's Railway, illustrated by Andrew Kolb (Sold to Abrams Appleseed)

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, Caryn Karmatz Rudy, Adam Schear (also Director of Business Affairs), Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, 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 from prospective clients.