It’s July and that means we’re officially on the second half of the 12 x 12 challenge and the GOLD submission opportunities for 2022! Check out our July Featured Agent profiles below and decide who is the best fit for your work. Then read the guidelines on the forum as you prepare your submission. Be sure to double check everything before you hit the send button. Little GOLDen Book members will be able to choose one of these two agents to submit their manuscript to in July. (If you are a SILVER member, you may use this info for research. Check out our How to Use 12 x 12 Featured Agent Posts article here.)
Hilary Harwell of KT Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members July 1-15. Katherine Wessbecher of the Bradford Literary Agency will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members July 16-31. Hilary’s profile appears first, followed by Katherine’s. Please read BOTH and then decide who would be the best fit for your work.
Hilary Harwell of KT Literary
A little bit about Hilary:
As a proud member of the KT Literary family, Hilary Harwell represents children’s and young adult authors. She joined the team in 2016 as an assistant to both Kate and Sara and began taking on her own clients in 2017. Hilary is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she earned a degree in Anthropology. She went on to work in the back office of a major Swiss Investment Bank for eight years before deciding to trade numbers for letters. When not reading or editing or writing stories of her own, Hilary likes to hike the Rockies with her family and dreams of one day owning her own horses. As an agent, Hilary partners with her growing list of clients to develop their projects in preparation for submission and strategizes to help them build long-term writing careers as published authors. She’s highly communicative, empathetic, and supportive as an agent–tailoring her approach to each client’s unique needs, acting as a strong advocate, and helping them navigate the business side of publishing their work.
When asked what she’s looking for, Hilary replied:
“Stories that include culture and diversity, but are not issue-driven and lead with joy. Environmental stories. Not a big fan of rhyming stories and anthropomorphic stories, unless they’re very well executed. Please send me humorous projects—I don’t have many on my list and would love to see more. For author/illustrators, I’d love to see more whimsical artwork a la Gillian Gamble.”
Hilary was a Featured Agent in 2021. You can see our previous profile of her here. A few more resources for Hilary are listed below:
- Hilary’s Manuscript Wishlist (#MSWL)
- Read about Hilary and her clients on the KT Literary website
- Follow Hilary on Twitter
- 7 Questions with the Middle Grade Ninja
Katherine Wessbecher of Bradford Literary Agency
A little bit about Katherine:
Katherine Wessbecher joined the Bradford Literary Agency in 2020. Prior to becoming an agent, Katherine edited children’s and young adult books at Putnam, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, and was the science and technology editor at an academic book review journal. She holds a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary. As an editor, Katherine worked with debut and veteran authors, including Sherri L. Smith, Stacey Lee, Keir Graff, Jeff Seymour, and Eliot Sappingfield. She brings to her work a nuanced understanding of the publishing industry and a practiced editorial eye.
When asked what he’s looking for in picture books, Katherine replied:
“Some of my top categories at the moment: nonfiction (all kinds – not just biographies!), humor, and texts that play with format or narrative in unexpected ways. I love stories where the ‘message’ comes through very subtly rather than being front and center. Also, I love author-illustrators! I’m generally not the best fit for rhyming texts, or overly familiar themes (e.g. bedtime, etc).”
This is Katherine’s first year as a 12 x 12 Featured Agent. Here are a few resources for Katherine:
- Check out Katherine’s page on the Bradford Literary website
- Take a look at Katherine’s Manuscript Wishlist (#MSWL)
- Agent Spotlight on Literary Rambles
- Follow Katherine on Twitter
- Interview on Kathy Temean’s blog
Remember: Little GOLDen Book Members may only submit to ONE of these agents. Please choose the agent who is the best fit for you and your manuscript. Look for submission guidelines in the Submission Station on the 12 x 12 forum.
Submissions will only be accepted for Hilary Harwell from July 1st at 8am ET/5am PT through July 15th at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC.
Submissions will only be accepted for Katherine Wessbecher from July 16th at 8am ET/5am PT through July 31st at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC.
Please double check the times for your time zone on your submissions. Anything received before or after the submissions window is open will be disqualified and you will not be able to submit again this month.
Remember, it is NEVER okay to submit your manuscript twice. Contact Kelli if there is a problem with your submission.
Good luck!
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