Whether we want to believe it or not, August is almost here. With a new month comes new submission opportunities for our 12 x 12 GOLD members! Check out our August Featured Agent profiles below and decide who is the best fit for you and 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 August. (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.)
Sarah Stephens of Red Fox Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members August 1-15. Karly Dizon of Fuse Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members August 16-31. Sarah’s profile appears first, followed by Karly’s. Please read BOTH and then decide who would be the best fit for your work.
Sarah Stephens of Red Fox Literary
A little bit about Sarah:
Sarah Stephens is a children’s book enthusiast in every sense. She has worked as an editor, author, and indie bookseller, and before that she was a book-loving child. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Sarah moved to Rhode Island and got her first editorial job at Houghton Mifflin in Boston. When East Coast winters grew too long for the California native, Sarah returned to the San Francisco Bay Area where she continued her editorial career at Chronicle Books and then Lucasfilm Licensing. Though she eventually left the office for the flexibility of freelance, Sarah never left children’s books. She has continued her work as a freelance editor and authored numerous original (Maiden Voyage, Bug Girl, Rescue Dogs) and licensed (Curious George, Star Wars, DC) titles.
As an agent, Sarah is looking to champion books that make her laugh out loud, delight her with new wonders or quirky surprises, or speak deep truths—books that make her want to say “yes.” She is interested in elevating the voices of marginalized individuals, amplifying stories that need to be heard, and connecting children to nature. She likes authors and illustrators who know their craft and tell their own unique tales with humor, heart, and integrity. Though she enjoys everything from board books to YA, if forced to pick favorites, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade fiction would be top of the heap.
When asked what she’s looking for in submissions, Sarah replied:
“I am looking for stories with distinctive voices, particularly those that are underrepresented. I like quirky tales and innovative devices (when they work), stories that inspire wonder and connect kids to nature, friendship stories, and books that are funny and/or slyly subversive. I love humor, animals, wordplay, and nonfiction that entertains and inspires. I don’t like didactic or sentimental stories or anything that underestimates young readers.”
Sarah is a new 12 x 12 Featured Agent. Here are a few additional resources for Sarah:
- Follow Sarah on Instagram
- Sarah’s bio on the Red Fox Literary Website
- Find Sarah on LinkedIn
- Interview with Sarah’s client, 12 x 12’s own Moni Ritchie Hadley
Karly Dizon of Fuse Literary
A little bit about Karly:
Karly Dizon is an associate agent at Fuse Literary building KidLit universes with stories that matter. She first joined the agency in 2016 as a reader for Tricia Skinner and then promoted to Literary Assistant soon after. In 2019, she was promoted to associate agent. Karly has built a career with a strong background as a freelance editor as well as extensive experience with graphic design and marketing. She is looking to develop long-term career authors and nurture their entire writing journey as a strong editorial agent with marketing, social media, and design support. Karly is also the KidLit track coordinator for the San Francisco Writers Conference.
Karly’s clients have won or been nominated for such awards as Kirkus Best Books of the Year, NCTE Notable Books List, SLJ Best Book of the Year, and Kirkus Prize Finalist.
Children’s Fiction
Karly is aggressively building her client list to boost and give visibility to marginalized voices, experiences, history, culture, folklore, and mythology. She believes that children should be able to see themselves reflected and celebrated within the pages of a book, from contemporary to fantastical adventures. Karly loves stories with grand adventures, imperfect characters, but most importantly, a strong voice that hooks a reader within the first page. If you can make her cry or laugh out loud, bonus points!
When asked what she’s looking for in picture books, Karly replied:
“I’m looking for diverse stories that allow children to celebrate their diversity. I’m really interested in protagonists that represent a wide range of underrepresented cultures and communities.”
This is Karly’s first year as a 12 x 12 Featured Agent. Here are a few resources for Karly:
- Karly’s bio on the Fuse Literary website
- Follow Karly on Twitter
- Karly’s Manuscript Wishlist (#MSWL)
- Karly is a Featured Agent at this year’s Picture Book Summit
- Karly is closed to general submissions at this time. As a GOLD member, your submission is considered a referral when submitting through the 12 x 12 submission opportunity and will be accepted.
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 Sarah Stephens from August 1st at 8am ET/5am PT through August 15th at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC.
Submissions will only be accepted for Karly Dizon from August 16th at 8am ET/5am PT through August 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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