Submissions
Query Status
Jill Grinberg: Open to queries from authors in all categories. To view Jill’s recent deals, click here.
Katelyn Detweiler: Open to queries from authors in all categories. To view Katelyn’s recent deals, click here.
Sam Farkas: Currently closed to queries
Larissa Melo Pienkowski: Currently closed to queries
Jessica Saint Jean: Open to queries from illustrators and author-illustrators in all children’s categories. Jessica does not currently represent writers. To view Jessica’s recent deals, click here.
Please research our agents and their lists before submitting to determine who is best suited to your project. JGLM agents who are open to queries have listed what they are interested in representing below their bio on our “Who We Are” page. Submissions sent to agents who are not open to queries or are temporarily closed will be deleted unread.
Query Guidelines
We share queries and materials internally, so please do not send identical queries to all our agents simultaneously. As such, a pass from one agent on a project is generally considered a pass from all of us; please do not immediately re-query another JGLM agent with the same project if you receive a pass.
If you receive an offer of representation from another agent or agency, we appreciate you letting us know by re-forwarding your original query and including OFFER OF REPRESENTATION in your new subject line, and providing any relevant information about the deadline for a response.
If you are submitting as part of a Twitter or online pitch event, please be sure to mention the hashtag or name of the event in your query’s subject line, and include your original pitch/tweet in the query letter.
If you were referred to our agency directly by one of our clients, please note their name in the subject line of your email and in your query letter.
We no longer accept or consider mailed hard copy submissions, and any materials received will be discarded unread.
While we endeavor to respond to every query, due to the volume of submissions we receive and our commitments to our existing client list, it is not always be possible. If we decide to pursue your submission, we will be in touch with you. We appreciate your understanding, and we look forward to reading your work.
How to Query – Authors
Please submit to us at info [at] jillgrinbergliterary [dot] com
Your email subject line should follow this general format: QUERY: Title of Project by Your Name / Your Book’s Age Category and Genre / ATTN: Name of Agent.
Please paste your query letter in the body of the email, and address your letter directly to the agent you would like to consider it.
Attach your materials as a docx file. Do not attach zip folders, Pages files, links to Google Docs, or links to download materials from file sharing sites.
You will receive an auto-response confirming your submission was received.
Fiction
Please send a query letter and the first fifty (50) pages of your manuscript. If we are interested in reading more, we will reach out to request the full manuscript.
Poetry
Please send your query letter and submit the complete collection as an attachment.
Nonfiction
Please send a query letter and proposal. Your nonfiction proposal should include a project overview or outline, proposed chapter summaries, comparable titles, a sample chapter, your biography, and a bibliography of any additional works. You may also include promotional ties and materials if relevant. Please note in your query letter if you have completed a manuscript for the project, as we may request more materials if we are interested in reading further.
Picture Book (text only)
Submissions should include the full text, which can be attached as a docx file or pasted in the body of the email below your query. (You do not need to do both.) If you are an author-illustrator, please see guidelines below.
Graphic Novel (text only)
Submissions should include a full pitch package, including the project overview, full synopsis, comparable titles, character profiles, and sample script pages. If you are an author-illustrator, please see guidelines below.
How to Query – Illustrators & Author-Illustrators
At this time, Jessica Saint Jean is the only agent at JGLM actively seeking illustrators and author-illustrator clients
Please submit to us at info [at] jillgrinbergliterary [dot] com
Paste your query letter in the body of the email; you may address your letter directly to the agent you would like to consider it. Please include a link to your website or online portfolio.
Please attach files as per the guidelines below. Do not attach zip folders, very large high-resolution files, or links to view/download materials from file sharing sites like Google Drive or Dropbox. These queries will be deleted unread.
Only send one email per submission or update. If the size of the files you wish to attach are too large for one email, please reduce the files’ size before sending. Screen resolution, or 72 dpi, is ideal.
You will receive an auto-response confirming your submission was received.
Picture Book (text + illustrations)
Your email subject line should follow this general format: QUERY: Title of Project by Your Name / Your Book’s Age Category and Genre / ATTN: Name of Agent.
Please attach an illustrated dummy (as a low-res PDF) with the full text and at least 2 final art samples; the rest of the illustrations can be work-in-progress sketches. Additional art samples from your portfolio can be sent as separate jpeg attachments.
Graphic Novel (text + illustrations)
Your email subject line should follow this general format: QUERY: Title of Project by Your Name / Your Book’s Age Category and Genre / ATTN: Name of Agent.
Submissions should include a full pitch package. Industry standards for GN pitches are evolving, but at minimum your pitch should include a synopsis, a full or partial script, and 5-10 fully-illustrated consecutive sample pages. Attachments can be a mix of docx, PDF, and jpeg files as appropriate.
Illustrations
Your email subject line should follow this general format: ART SUB: Your Name / ATTN: Name of Agent. If an agent has encouraged you to send periodic updates of your work, please replace ART SUB with ART UPDATE in your subject line, and include your previous query correspondence in the quoted email text.
Be sure to include a link to your portfolio website in your query letter. If you have social media sites dedicated to your art, you may include links to them as well.
Attach 5 to 10 low-res jpeg sample illustrations with your name in the file (i.e. “leigh-smith_1.jpeg”), or a multi-page PDF of your portfolio.