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Agent Spotlight & Agent Spotlight Updates

  • Agent Spotlights & Interviews have been updated through the letter "H" as of 5/11/2023 and many have been reviewed by the agents. Look for more information as I find the time to update more agent spotlights.

Agent Spotlight: Kerry Sparks

This week's Agent Spotlight features Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency.
Status: Accepting submissions.
Kerry Sparks About: “Kerry Sparks joined LGR in 2008, coming to book publishing after several years in the film and television industry. With a love for all these mediums of storytelling, she gravitates toward books that have a cinematic feel or visual element that lend to film or television adaptation. She primarily represents fiction with a specific focus on novels for teens and young adults but regardless of age is always on the hunt for books that combine a solid hook and great writing and that have an undeniably fresh yet relatable voice. She also represents a select list of nonfiction writers. A few of her clients include NYT and International Bestselling author Jennifer Niven, National Book Award Finalist Carrie Arcos, illustrator and author Mark Pett, bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert, novelist Camille Perri, essayist and poet Shayla Lawson, and a robust list of Jennifers— Jennifer Mathieu, Jenny Lundquist, Jennifer Gray Olson, and Jenny Torres Sanchez to name a few.
"Kerry grew up in the woods of Oregon as the extroverted early bird in a family of introverted night owls, and, as a middle child, learned how to negotiate while keeping the peace at a young age. She graduated with honors from California State University, Los Angeles with a degree in English, where she also published short stories and wrote and produced plays. After a decade in Manhattan, Kerry now heads up the LGR Oregon outpost in Portland where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Kerry is the co-author of the hipster baby name book Hello, My Name Is Pabst and will gladly help clients name their characters upon request.” (Link)
About the Agency:
"Founded 30 years ago – now a full-service agency with 11 agents in New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle –- we’re proud to be known throughout the publishing community for our:
"Collaboration: We are fully engaged as creative and business partners throughout the entire publishing process, from the development of concepts, proposals and manuscripts through publicity, marketing, sale of film and television rights, and more, across every category of fiction, non-fiction, and books for young readers. We represent careers, not just individual projects,
"Culture: We’re known for trust, transparency, and teamwork – and for being a great place to work. People stay here for a long time, fully committed to serving our clients and supporting their colleagues.
"Success: 30 New York Times bestsellers in the last two years alone, in every category on the list, with even more bestsellers on other lists. Our clients have won PEN, Edgar, Newbery, MacArthur, and the Nobel Prize in Economics, among other awards. Numerous projects we represent have been produced for film and television, with many others optioned for development." (Link)

What She's Looking For:
Interests: Children’s books (picture books through young adult), general fiction and select nonfiction (Link)
What She Isn't Looking For:
Adult fiction, screenplays.
Dislikes (Don'ts):
Unknown.
Editorial Agent?
Yes.
Web Presence:
Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency website.
Publisher Marketplace page.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
Clients:
There is a page on the Levine Greenberg Rostan website featuring the agency’s client list and on Ms. Sparks' bio page. She also mentions some of her clients in her bio above.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.
Snail-Mail: No.  
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query and attach no more than 50 pages. You can also query via the online form attaching no more than 50 pages. See the Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines. 
Response Times:
The agency only responds if interested, usually within three weeks but sometimes more than. 
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
None that I could find online.
Contact:
Please see the Levine Greenberg Literary Rostan Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 6/1/2020.
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 6/8/2020.

***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7(at)gmail(dot)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.

19 comments:

Theresa Milstein said...

Thanks for the info. Too bad she shies away from paranormal.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Another terrific spotlight, Casey! You pull together the best information for agents. I especially love that you have a "buzz" section. Well done.

Casey McCormick said...

Theresa, might be worth a shot if you have a great story and strong voice.

Thank you, Carol!

Ms. Sparks has reviewed her profile.

Chris Phillips said...

These are very helpful.

cleemckenzie said...

Nice spotlight. Informative and interesting. Thanks.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great spotlight. I'm going to add her to my list. I'm glad to see that she didn't say she's not looking for fantasy. Now if I can just get that query letter right.

Thermocline said...

Thanks, Casey. It's good to know we can ask to submit to her since their website doesn't suggest you can request to submit to a particular agent.

Richard Levangie said...

Casey...

I've only just found you, and it's been a merry meeting! Thanks for your hard, hard work and for the valuable service.

I've been whittling down my submission list this week, and you've helped me determine that I've made some good choices.

Thank you I'll be adding a link on my blog and resources page soon!

Ishta Mercurio said...

Thanks for the spotlight, Casey! (I like the "buzz" section, too - it gives me a much better sense of the potential quality of agenting than anything else out there.)

And Whoa - new picture! I like, I like!

Casey McCormick said...

Thank you, Chris, Cleemckenzie, Natlie, Thermocline, and Ishta.

Richard, welcome! Best of luck as you begin to submit.

Donea Lee said...

Hi Casey - just came across your blog via a link from Shannon Messenger's blog. And - wow! In-depth agent info is totally what I'm looking for! Can't wait to dig more into your blog for some great info. Thank you! :)

Buffy Andrews said...

Casey, Thanks as always girlfriend for great information. I will definitely have to check Kerry out. Oh, and did I tell you I love your new do? (Smiles)

Casey McCormick said...

Hi Donea! Welcome! I'm so glad you found Lit Rambles. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks Buffy! It takes awhile to curl my hair like that but I love it!

Anonymous said...

Casey with your hard work you leave us to get on with the writing, talk about handing it to us on a plate - thank you!

Laura Pauling said...

Thanks Casey! I'd never heard of this agent before. I'm sure she'll get flooded with ms!

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Anonymous said...

I like this site. Really nice place for all

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic said...

Casey, I just found you via SCBWI and want to thank you for this. I just had a productive and exciting conversation with Kerry today about my first picture book and wanted to do some agent research.