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  • 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: Miriam Kriss

This week's Agent Spotlight features Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
Status: Open to submissions.
miriamAbout:Vice President of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, has been a literary agent since 2004 with a focus on commercial fiction. She doesn't look for specific stories, focusing instead on finding a voice she can fall in love with and champion. This strategy of taking on only clients she's passionate about has led to six-figure deals for first-time authors and numerous client appearances on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.” (Link)
About the Agency:
“We have been in business for over 30 years, and represent the best in commercial fiction, literary fiction, and non-fiction. Our authors have hundreds of appearances on the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Walden, and Bookscan bestseller lists.” (Link)
Web Presence:
Irene Goodman Agency website
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
Publisher's Marketplace
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
Picture book, middle grade, and young adult
From her Bio:
Miriam is open to all genres of commercial fiction, from picture books through adult. She's especially on the hunt for female driven epic fantasy and thrillers, diverse voices in YA and MG, and any novel that pulls her in and makes her forget she's reading. Basically, if it's fun to read she probably represents it. She's incredibly selective in her non-fiction projects but has been known to jump on the right one. ” (Link)
From AgentQuery:
“Her focus remains on commercial fiction and she represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance, from young adult fiction to kick ass urban fantasies, and everything in between.
Her particular passions are YA paranormal romance and YA urban fantasy.”  (Link)What She Isn't Looking For:
Poetry and screenplays
Editorial Agent?
Clients have praised her revision notes so I’m assuming yes, as needed.
Clients:
There is a page of agency authors on the website.
Ms. Kriss’s clients include: Toni Andrews, Keri Arthur, Jenna Black, Sarah Bromley, Rinda Elliot, Kelly Gay, Jen Hayley, Kelly Keaton, Jackie Morse Kessler, Karen Mahoney, Devon Monk, Jenna Petersen, Vicki Pettersson, Lilith Saintcrow, Brenda Scott Royce, Rachel Vincent, Gayle Ann Williams, among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes (only).
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Email a query letter and the first ten pages in the body of an email to miriam.queries@irenegoodman.com. Include "query" or "submission" in the subject line of your e-mail.
For complete, up-to-date submission guidelines see the agency website.
Response Times:
The agency only responds if interested, usually between 6-8 weeks.  They ask that you do not follow up or call.  Ms. Kriss’s response time on requested material seems to range from days to a few months, though she often responds within a month.
What's the Buzz?
Miriam Kriss is a highly respected agent at a fantastic agency. She’s known for her love of paranormal and urban fantasy and is looking for more YA authors in those genres.  Her clients seem really happy with her representation. 
Contact:
Please see the Irene Goodman Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 4/19/2019. Updated 5/13/2020 as to submission status
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A
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Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.

8 comments:

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Natalie Aguirre said...

Great spotlight. Miriam Kriss sounds so awesome. I'm going to research the links to see if she likes middle grade high fantasy at all. My fingers are crossed

The Pen and Ink Blogspot said...

Thabk you. I am saving the link to this post.

Susan Oloier said...

I am impressed by how thorough you are with your coverage of Ms. Kriss! Very nice!

Unknown said...

I'm in awe of the quality of work produced by Miriam's client list. She sounds absolutely amazing!

Martha Ramirez said...

Wonderful spotlight! Thank you.

Lauren @ Pure Text said...

Wow, this site is amazing. A real resource for writers! I shall tell my clients about it.

Unknown said...

Miriam's my agent and she's been spectacular to work with. If I have a question, she has the answer. Very nice profile!