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

Essie White of Storm Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 Gold members October 1-15. Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 Gold members October 16-31. Essie’s profile appears first, followed by Christa’s. Please read BOTH and then decide who would be the best fit for your work.

Essie White

A little bit about Essie White from the Storm Literary website:

“Essie White used to be a teacher, and before she was a teacher, she was a graduate student studying Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Education. It may have been then, or it may have been long before, but at some point, Essie White fell in love with Children’s Literature, and it has been the focus of her life ever since.

After earning her MA in Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education, Essie spent several years creating and developing literature based curricula for elementary level programs. She provided classes for parents and educators, specifically addressing emergent literacy in children ages birth to age 8, prior to opening Young Child Academy, an early childhood program. During her tenure as Director at Young Child Academy, Essie wrote several books both with other educators, as well as with the children. For often, she discovered, the best books come from the children themselves!

Essie considers Storm Literary Agency an extension of what she loves most: Children and Literature. And she cannot imagine one without the other. She desires to work with clients who have not quite forgotten what it was like to be children, who loved books as children, and love them just as much today.”

Here is what Essie is looking for in picture books today: “Primarily, I look for lovely writing that engages me on multiple levels. I want a book to sound wonderful read aloud, but resonate long after the final words are read. I want it to mean something. In other words, I want to either learn or feel something as a result of this story. I love both fiction and nonfiction as long as the story is well composed with sufficient intensity. I tend to be less drawn to overly silly or ‘loud’ picture books.”

Below are some online resources for Essie:

• Follow Essie on Twitter
• Check out the Storm Literary Blog.
• Several of our 12 x 12 members are represented by Essie. Here are a few of their stories:
  • Here are Vivian Kirkfield’s How I Got My Agent post and Success Story video.
  • Suzanne Poulter Harris is also represented by Essie. Find her on our Success Stories page.
  • Katey Howes is a client of Essie and you can read about her on her blog HERE.
  • Karla Valenti’s work is represented by Essie as well. Read her How I Got My Agent post HERE.
  • Essie also represents international authors like Katie Furze.
• ****NOTE: We feature these 12 x 12 members to give you an idea of the kind of work Essie represents (and because we are super proud of them!). This is not an invitation to ask these writers about Essie or to ask them to look at your work.****
• Essie’s client Emma Bland Smith shares her path to publication HERE.
• See Storm Literary’s full client list HERE.

Christa Heschke

A little bit about Christa from the McIntosh & Otis website:

“Christa Heschke graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children’s Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s.

In picture books she is drawn to cute, funny stories (as opposed to sweet and quiet) that will grab kids as well as the occasional nonfiction biography on a subject whose story has yet to be told.”

Here’s what Christa is looking for in picture books:

“Character-driven picture books or plot driven with a fun twist. I’d love to read about a character (animal or human) who resonates with me and makes me want to read more. I especially like cute and funny stories with read-aloud potential. A nice, subtle message/moral is also a plus. Favorites are: Corduroy, The Paperbag Princess, Tea Rex, Freddie & Gingersnap, anything by Eric Carle and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great.

Non-fiction: I’d love to see compelling, kid-centric picture book bios. I’m interested in takes on musicians, composers, artists, scientists etc. I’d also like to see some lesser-known figures throughout history that made an impact, especially in STEM, strong women and diverse historical figures.”