Tuesday, October 4, 2016

7 Literary Agents Seeking Picture Books

Updated 4/20/23

These seven agents are seeking picture books. As long as people continue to have children, picture books will never go out of style. (They are even quite entertaining for adults.)

Note: You can find dozens of new and established agents seeking clients here: Agents Seeking Clients

IMPORTANT: You should NEVER query an agent without checking the agency website first. Submission requirements change, and agents may close their lists, or switch agencies.

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Emily Van Beek (Folio Jr. / Folio Literary Management)

"Representing an author or artist, whether aspiring or established, is an honor and a commitment I take very seriously. I am passionate about children’s and young adult books. I am passionate about negotiating the best deal possible. I am passionate about working together with our experienced and esteemed subsidiary rights and contracts teams to squeeze as much juice out of a single property as it will yield. I find it incredibly rewarding to work with new voices (and I’m thrilled to say that I’ve discovered several irresistible projects by debut authors and artists in the submissions pile). I’m also committed to helping established authors and artists continue to grow their careers. I am an “editorial” agent, in that I’ll work through as many drafts over the course of as many years as it takes to polish a manuscript I believe in to a high shine prior to submission. My goal is to build long-term relationships with authors and artists and to help them publish books that will stand the test of time."

What she is looking for: Author-illustrator submissions only please. No submissions that are text-only.

How to submit: emily [at] foliolitmanagement.com. “To submit a picture book, please attach a PDF of your dummy. Links to online portfolios are always welcome. I would very much like to be able to respond to every query, but unfortunately time doesn’t allow for it. Please be sure to write ‘QUERY’ in the subject line as this will ensure I do not miss your letter. If you haven’t heard back from me within six weeks, I’m sorry to say I’ve decided I’m not the ideal match for your project.”

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Ms. Christie Megill
of The CAT Agency

Christie Megill joined The CAT Agency in 2022 after interning with Writers House, Triada US, and Cardinal Rule Press. She’s overjoyed to be working with artists and children’s book authors, offering long-term support in their careers and creative journeys. Christie comes from a background in elementary education and before pursuing education, she previously worked as an editorial assistant at an academic press in New York City, as a volunteer at the Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo, and as a bookseller at the bygone Borders Books and Music in Columbus Circle. She holds a BA in English Literature from Fordham University. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now considers New York City her forever home.

What she is seeking: Christie Megill: is eager to work with illustrators, author/illustrators, and picture book authors, offering long-term support in their careers and creative journeys. Please send her: children’s illustration portfolios, picture book dummies, picture book manuscripts, children’s graphic novel pitches, and the select chapter book project. While her taste is broad, she’s especially excited to find fresh stories and artwork from voices that have previously been underrepresented.

How to submit: Illustrators: send 4-6 jpegs of samples, a live link to your website and a short letter of introduction. Please send work that shows character development, style, color and narrative story-telling.

Author/Illustrators: email a brief synopsis of your manuscript, along with several accompanying illustrations or samples of your artwork. If we are interested in reviewing your dummy, we will request that you send it.

Please submit to SUBMISSIONS@CATAGENCYINC.COM & let us know who you are submitting to in the subject line!
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Ms. Rachel Petty of The Blair Partnership (UK)


Before joining The Blair Partnership Rachel was editorial director at Macmillan Children’s Books, working with authors such as Frances Hardinge, Chris Riddell and Tomi Adeyemi.

What she is seeking: I represent children’s fiction and non-fiction, from picture books up to YA and crossover. I am looking for ambitious storytelling, a bold approach to structure and voice and a fresh take on genre, and I’m particularly interested in submissions from author/illustrators and people from underrepresented and marginalised communities. I like YA romance, horror and thrillers (or a combination of all three, especially with a twist), hooky sweeping fantasy (I want excellent world building with a simple, clever pitch), hilarious middle grade, bold graphic picture books, and anything that has the potential to jump off the page and onto the screen.

How to submit: Please attach the first thirty pages of your manuscript and a one-page synopsis in one Word document or PDF along with your query letter to rachelsubmissions@theblairpartnership.com. ____________________


Wendi Gu (Sanford Greenburger)

Wendi grew up in the sleepy suburbs of Chicago and studied Creative Writing at Northwestern University. As an undergraduate, she interned with children's book agent Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, and continued working there as a literary assistant after graduation. She soon began representing her own picture books, middle-grade, and young adult titles with a special interest in girl power, family relationships, and the immigrant experience. She likes stories that root for the underdog. Her favorite books have voices that range from warm and lyrical, to witty and deadpan.

How to submit: You can query Wendi at wgu@sjga.com with QUERY in the subject line, with query letter and a 10-page sample in the body of the email. For illustrators and author/illustrators, please attach full sketch dummies and portfolios as a PDF or FTP link.

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Bibi Lewis (Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency)

“Bibi is actively acquiring clients in Children’s (picture books through YA, both fiction and non) and Adult. For Adult titles she is primarily interested in Romance, Women’s Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers. She manages subsidiary rights for the agency in addition to her duties as an agent and general office manager.”

How to submit: Please send submissions to agent@ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Bibi Lewis.

For email submissions, paste all materials into the body of the email in the order mentioned below. For picture books, please include:

  • a brief query letter
  • complete manuscript (text only)
  • 4-5 images of sample illustrations pasted into the body of the email, if you have them. Illustrations are not required for picture books and you may submit only the text.

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Ms. Amy Flynn
of Rubin Pfeffer Content

Amy Thrall Flynn joined Rubin Pfeffer Content in 2019. A former Editor with Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, she believes in the power of books to connect, inspire, and affirm the lives of young people. In addition to her experience acquiring and shepherding dozens of books to publication while an editor, Amy holds a BA in American Literature from Middlebury College in Vermont, an MA in English (Simmons), and an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons University, Boston. Amy has two grown children, and lives with her husband and a pair of lovable scruffy dogs on a farm in Connecticut.

What she is seeking: Picture books, middle-grade, or YA fiction or non-fiction.

How to submit: For submissions to Amy Thrall Flynn, please address correspondence to  amy@rpcontent.com. For picture books, please send the complete manuscript as a DOC or PDF file. Queries for novels and longer works should include a synopsis in the cover letter, and an attachment with the first 50 pages. Specifically for illustrators, please attach a dummy and art samples or a link to your portfolio. 
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Ms. Shannon Gallagher
of Wernick & Pratt Agency

Shannon Gallagher spent more than twelve years in the marketing departments at various adult trade publishers, including Rodale, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. After moving from Brooklyn to upstate New York, she spent several years as a book reviewer and copywriter. When she saw an opening at Wernick & Pratt, she was intrigued at the thought of learning about both literary agencies and children’s literature, two facets of publishing she had not yet had the opportunity to explore. After two years learning as much as she possibly could from the accomplished, dedicated agents here, Shannon was thrilled to become an Associate Agent, where she could utilize her marketing experience -– getting the right information to the right people –- to better identify, encourage, and promote authors and illustrators. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College (go, Seven Sisters!), Shannon lives with her husband and daughter in the beautiful Hudson Valley.

What she is seeking: Shannon is interested in both fiction and nonfiction in all categories of children’s literature, from picture books to young adult, and she especially welcomes underrepresented perspectives.

How to submit: Please send all submissions to submissions@wernickpratt.com. Read their guidelines HERE.

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