Little GOLDen Book members of 12 x 12 will be able to choose one of two agents to submit their manuscript to each month.

Alyssa Eisner Henken of Trident Media Group will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members April 1-15. Adria Goetz of Martin Literary Management will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members April 16-30. Alyssa’s profile appears first, followed by Adria’s. Please read BOTH and then decide who would be the best fit for your work.

GOLD members: Be sure to check the Submission Station section of the forum for additional instructions from each agent. 

Alyssa Eisner Henken

Here is a little about Alyssa from the Trident Media Group website: 

“After earning her Bachelors from the University of Pennsylvania, Alyssa Eisner Henkin fulfilled a childhood dream that she professed on a home video at the age of six: move to New York and work with books. In 1999, Alyssa began her career in editorial at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Here she found colleagues who loved Anne of Green Gables as much as she did and a children’s book landscape that was growing rapidly. Alyssa’s inner-entrepreneur led her to Trident in late 2006, where she could develop a larger and more varied stable of authors and sell them across the industry.

From extensive editing and idea-honing, to devising lucrative marketing strategies, to shepherding lasting film, foreign, and merchandising partnerships, Alyssa nurtures her books at every stage. ‘There’s no greater professional joy than championing a book that you believe in and watching the world delight in it.’

Alyssa is especially drawn to lyrical prose, tight plotting, school stories, period pieces, diverse regional and ethnic flavors, themes of social justice, intergenerational family sagas, incorrigible underdogs, and lots of humor and authenticity buoyed by a big heart. ‘I am also eager to find authors and author-illustrators who specialize in inventive nonfiction, especially for middle grade. And highly original picture books are always intriguing. It was Madeline and Frances, after all, who kindled my passion in the first place!'”

When asked what she’s looking for in picture books, here’s what Alyssa had to say:

“I am very keen on picture book biographies on figures who are somewhat well-known, especially in 20^th and 21^st century America, but who’ve yet to have a picture book about them. I really enjoy seasonal stories and would love to find something as clever and heartfelt as SOPHIE’S SQUASH. I’m also very much drawn to humor and would love to find the next THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT or DRAGON LOVES TACOS or THE SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA.”

Here are a few resources for Alyssa:

• Alyssa’s Manuscript Wish List
• Alyssa’s interview on Middle Grade Ninja
• Follow Alyssa on Twitter
• On Kathy Temean’s blog
• First Five Frenzy on Amy Trueblood’s blog
• Agent’s Notebook on The Whole Megillah
• Interview with the Literary Mom
• A query letter that worked for Alyssa on YA Highway (Yes, it’s a YA query, but this insight can help any query.)
• Older interviews and links can be found on Literary Rambles

Adria Goetz

A little bit about Adria from the Martin Literary Management website:

“Adria Goetz is a Literary Manager with Seattle-based Martin Literary & Media Management. She primarily represents picture books, middle grade, young adult, Lifestyle books, quirky gift books, as well as everything under the Christian umbrella.

Her mission statement shares that she looks for books that delight readers, that help inspire wonder and imagination, that foster deep empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings, that provide rich character representation of marginalized people groups, that take the reader on an adventure, that uncover fascinating stories from history’s footnotes, that explore issues of faith and how to apply Christ’s teachings to our own life, that celebrate women and the female experience, that ask nitty gritty questions and don’t settle for easy answers, that make people disappointed when they have to close the book and go to bed, and books that add a touch of magic to readers’ lives.

A few books Adria has worked on recently are: the magical coffee table book THE COMPENDIUM OF MAGICAL BEASTS, written by Melissa Brinks and illustrated by Lily Jones (Running Press, 2018); the picture book RICE FROM HEAVEN, written by Tina Cho and illustrated by Keum Jin Song (Little Bee Books, 2018), the picture book WHEN DAY IS DONE by Natalee Creech (Sparkhouse Family, 2019), and the middle grade series THOSE DREADFUL FAIRY BOOKS by Jon Etter (Amberjack, 2019).

Adria is a 2016 graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course in New York City, a six-week intensive course on all aspects of book, magazine, and digital media publishing. She is also a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle with a B.A. in English with a creative writing emphasis.

Adria lives in an old Victorian home in Tacoma (which she hopes dearly is haunted with a few friendly ghosts) with her husband Alex and their two darling kittens, Maple and Mulberry.”

When asked what she’s looking for in picture books, here’s what Adria had to say:

“I’m looking for fun, magical books featuring kids of color, because as the legendary Andrea Davis Pinkney once said: ‘We need to see more Black kids riding dragons.’ I’m looking for picture books that capture ordinary or natural moments that feel like they’re magical—moments like capturing fireflies, bread dough rising, watching a bird murmuration, the Northern Lights, planting a seed and having it grow into a living plant, and so on. I’m also particularly looking for an adoption story, a story about some aspect of Native culture, and picture books that explore something peculiar that happens in nature or science. I’m not looking for super hero, sports, or circle of life stories. ”

Here are some additional resources about Adria:

• Check out Adria’s website (complete with an updated Manuscript Wish List) HERE
• Adria’s client Tina Cho shares how she landed her agent and the path to her debut picture book HERE
• Our own 12 x 12 member Johnell Dewitt interview Adria on her blog
• Follow Adria on Twitter
• Adria was on faculty for the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference
• Adria is part of the faculty for Rhyme Revolution October 25-28, 2018
• Adria is teaching a workshop on using your social media platform at Northwest Christian Writers Renewal this June.

Please note Little GOLDen Book Members may only submit to ONE of these agents. Please choose the agent/agency who is the best fit for you and your manuscript.