Today I’m thrilled to have agent Renee Runge here. She’s an associate agent at Spencerhill Associates Literary Agency.
Hi Renee! Thanks so much for joining us.
About Renee:
1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.
I took a pretty traditional path to agenting; I spent a year as an intern at Red Fox Literary and another year as Ali Herring’s assistant at Spencerhill before our president offered me an associate agent role. I officially became an agent in May 2025, so it’s been about 9 months of building a client list, preparing them for submissions to editors, and for a few clients, negotiating deals…
About the Agency:
2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.
Spencerhill Associates was founded in 2001 by Karen Solem, and we originally specialized in commercial women’s fiction and romance. Now, we represent (almost) all audiences and genres, and I’m proud to be contributing to our efforts to expand our influence in the children’s sphere. We offer individualized attention to all of our authors and aim for career relationships no matter where a client is coming from in their publishing journey.
What She’s Looking For:
3. What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do you represent, and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?
At this time, I represent solely MG and YA; however, I am hoping to soon expand into picture books and graphic/illustrated novels, as well as children’s nonfiction. I’m actively acquiring in all genres, with particular interest at this time in contemporary, romance, dystopian, historical, and thriller/horror.
4. Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?
I’m STILL looking for my MG animal fantasy epic series, which I think
I’ve become slightly known for in the writing community.
What She Isn’t Looking For:
5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?
I’m generally not very interested in fairytale/mythological retellings, novels-in-verse, or romantasy. I also do not enjoy stories that see pets experiencing sad situations, and people send me these quite a bit when they see that I like animal fiction.
Agent Philosophy:
6. What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to work with and the books you want to represent?
I want to work with people who enjoy being challenged. Problem-solving tough edits is such a fun process but can only be that way if the client is willing to accept criticism and actively interrogate how they can become more effective as a writer. One of my favorite ways of connecting with my clients is brainstorming!
The kinds of books I want to represent are those that you want to finish in one sitting because they’re just so addictive. I want stories that actually speak to today’s children, with issues that they can relate to – even in fantasy contexts.
Editorial Agent:
7. Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re working with your authors before submitting to editors?
I’m a highly editorial agent; I almost feel like you need to be these days, with how selective editors are due to their heavy workload. I want the projects I submit to be as close to what the client and I consider “perfect” before it hits editors’ inboxes! I typically do 1-2 rounds of developmental edits and a round of line edits with my clients, but every client’s process looks a little different based on their own editing style and whether they prefer check-ins, deadlines, or to disappear for a while and come back to me with a complete new draft.
Query Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)
8. How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?
Authors should ONLY query me via QueryTracker. I promptly delete queries that are emailed to me without my express permission, and I don’t read them first. In your query letter, I want to know your hook, including the stakes for the main character, comp titles, and an engaging introduction (mini synopsis) of what to expect in terms of plot.
9. Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?
If I could be so hypocritical for a moment: avoid cliches! People love to start their stories with characters waking up from dreams, or hearing the bell ring to start a school day… boring! I also need to see a decent balance of exposition and dialogue, and to learn about what’s at stake for the main character quickly, but naturally.
Response Time:
10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?
It depends. I bounce around my inbox depending on what I’m most in the mood to see. I do respond to all queries, though, and I ask that you allow 6 months before nudging me.
Self-Published and Small Press Authors:
11. Are you open to representing authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?
I will say that I am generally less interested in representing authors who have self-published or who have been published by smaller presses. This is simply because it gives them a sales record, and low sales can make selling future work much more challenging without rebranding under a new pseudonym, which can feel like a big ask for authors. I do have a client who has published with a smaller press, and another whose self-published work was recently acquired by a large publisher, so I’d never completely close the door to authors with prior writing credits in non-traditional spaces!
Clients:
12. How many authors do you represent?
I currently represent six clients, and at the time of this interview, have recently extended another offer of representation!
Interviews and Guest Posts:
13.
Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think
would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.
n/a
Links and Contact Info:
14. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.
Query Renee Runge at Spencerhill Associates
Additional Advice:
15. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?
We covered opening pages earlier, so I wanted to add that some of the best writing advice I ever heard re: opening pages was from an agent at a conference a few years ago that I attended as a writer. She said to try to make your opening lines capture the mood of the entire story, which is now something I always challenge my writers to do. My favorite example, and the one that was used during this presentation, is The Outsiders, which opens with:
“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."
It’s deceptively simple, but look how much you learn about Ponyboy from this one sentence right from the get-go.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Renee.
Giveaway Details
Renee
is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you
need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on
the right sidebar) and leave a comment through March 7th. If you do not want to enter the contest,
that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not
have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must
leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email
address.
If you follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or email 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.
Sunday, March 1, I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
Monday, March 2, I have a guest post by Donna Galanti and a giveaway of her MG The Secret Winners Club
Wednesday, March 4, I have an interview with Stacey Lee and a giveaway of her YA Heiress of Nowhere
Monday, March 9, I have an interview with Ciera Burch and a giveaway of her MG Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away
Wednesday, March 11, I have an
agent spotlight interview with Lindsey Aduskevich and a query critique giveaway
Monday, March 16, I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
I hope to see you on Sunday!
