Agent Spotlight: Ted Malawer

This week's Agent Spotlight features Ted Malawer of Upstart Crow.

Note: Mr. Malawer is only accepting queries through conference submissions and client referrals.

About: “Ted Malawer is new to Upstart Crow Literary, but a veteran agent who specializes in middle grade and teen fiction. Before working in children’s publishing, Ted studied Comparative Literature at Columbia University and trained as an opera singer at the Juilliard School. Ted’s favorite kind of author is not afraid to get his (or her) hands dirty to make a manuscript the best that it can be. He especially loves stories with artistic themes—or dachshunds.” (Link)

Status: Closed to submissions.

What He's Looking For:

From an Interview (2007):

"For YA, I am really looking for books that walk the line between commercial and literary. I like high concept novels with great 'hooks,' unique premises, and great humor. I also enjoy lyrical fiction, as long as it has an authentic and compelling voice. I'm a huge fan of mysteries, smart historicals, and urban fantasy about original topics (no vampires, please). I'm not so much into the snarky 'chick lit' voice, but great writing trumps everything...

"For middle grade, I am drawn to unique coming-of-age stories. I like stories that make me laugh, but if you can make me cry, even better. I like projects with fantastical/supernatural elements, too, and action/adventure plots.

"love fun and exciting chapter books, especially with multicultural characters. I'm always on the lookout for the next amazing picture book, but I'd rather not consider anything over 1,000 or so words, and I'm not interested in bedtime or food stories." (Link)

From an Old Bio:

"He likes stories that evoke real emotion (whether humor, angst or love) and narrators who are immediately relatable – even if they don't always make the right choices. Ted is also interested in exciting urban fantasy novels and "big" middle grade adventure/mysteries, but most of all he wants to find those special "unputdownable" novels that will stand the test of time." (Link)

As a vocalist, trained opera singer, and prior theatre performer, "He is particularly interested in projects with musical and/or theatrical themes." (Link)

What He's Not Looking For:

Vampires, snarky chick lit voice (see above), picture books, illustrators, non-fiction.

Quotables:

"I do a select amount of adult books, so if you write in both genres that's not a problem for me." (Link)

Editorial Agent?

Yes. "Ted considers himself editorially ‘hands on’ and enjoys working to further develop manuscripts and proposals with his clients." (Link)

"I tend to be very "hands on" editorially and, depending on the project, am happy to give extensive notes and revision assistance until the manuscript is perfect (if there is ever such a thing!)." (Link)

Web Presence:

Upstart Crow website.

Facebook.

AgentQuery, QueryTracker, & AuthorAdvance. 

Clients:

Josh Berk, Bree Despain, Angie Frazier, Laura Goode, Maurissa Guibord, Danette Haworth, Antony John, Kelly McClymer, Sarah Ockler, Sydney Salter, Laura Quimby, Yvonne Woon, among others.

Sales:

As of 1/2011, Mr. Malawer is listed on Publisher's Marketplace as having made 6 deals in the last 12 months, 7 six-figure+ deals, and 21 overall.  Recent deals include 5 young adult 2 middle grade.

Note: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.

Query Methods:

E-mail: Yes (only).

Snail-Mail: No.

Online-Form: No.

Submission Guidelines (always verify):

Mr. Malawer is only accepting queries through conference submissions and client

Response Times:

I did quite a bit of poking around to get a feel for his actual response times. The result? It varies a lot. His rejections seem to come pretty fast if he isn't interested, while requests can come in hours or weeks. I found quite a few reports of requests (partials, fulls, and even revisions) where authors never heard back (had to SQ), heard back many months later, or were still waiting months after. It sounds like he makes a lot of requests despite being busy, which is bound to push his response times out. On a good note, they seem to be better as of late.

What's the Buzz?

Most of the buzz seems to revolve around Ted's quick success since becoming an agent in 2007 and the six-figure deals he has negotiated for debut novelists. Many writers have him on their short lists and are willing to wait out the months for a chance to be repped by him. There is some writerly angst surrounding his response times, but he otherwise seems to be on the ball, and his clients have many words of praise for him.

Worth Your Time:

Interviews:

Interview with Ted Malawer at the Pacific Coast Children’s Writers Workshop site (2010).

Around the Web:

Successful Queries: Ted Malawer and My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters at the Guide to Literary Agents blog (01/2010).

Ted Malawer on P&E.  Upstart Crow on P&E ($). 

Upstart Crow thread on AbsoluteWrite.

For fun and research, you might want to read Ted's novels, The Diamonds and Crash Test Love, under the name Ted Michael.

Contact:

Please see the Upstart Crow website for contact and query information.

Profile Details:

Last updated: 1/30/2011

Agent Contacted For Review? No.

Reviewed By Agent?  No.

Comments: Closed to general subs.

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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.