Leslie Zampetti
Literary Agent
Odom Media Management
Agent at Odom Media Mgmt. Literary agent.Lapsed librarian. Rapacious reader. Working writer. She/her. Member of @SCBWI & @aalitagents .
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
P.S. Forgot to mention, I'm all about complicated stories that explore gray areas. I center under-represented voices. And I'm a big fan of joy! Joy in the everyday and joy for everybody!
#MSWL
Literary Agent
Happy October! I'd planned to open to unsolicited queries as of 10/1/22, but September was a wild month. Mercury was definitely in retrograde - even for skeptics. 😉
Thinking about my #MSWL & hoping to reopen soon. Got a QM link for solicited queries? Go for it! 😊
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
racquel marie 🌹 @blondewithab00k
✨ what was/will be your first read of 2022? ✨First read of 2022 (not counting requests with offers or client manuscripts 😊): Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong. So glad to finally begin the Chief Inspector Chen series!
Hint: looking for adult mysteries like these when I reopen to queries 1/3/22. #MSWL
Literary Agent
#MSWL - I need a gripping, chilling YA mystery. A laugh out loud MG. And some striking voices!
And I’d LOVE a great upmarket adult mystery or romantic suspense!
Literary Agent
Karen Chaplin @CapChapReads
#mswl I am looking for middle-grade mystery. Mysteries were one of my fav things to read and watch as a kid. Take me back to The Goonies and Encyclopedia Brown with mystery, adventure, friendship, and an element finding yourself.Me too!!! #mswl
But I’d really love it with a voice we’ve not seen before.
Literary Agent
Elizabeth Law @elawreads
You know what we're seeing now that's positive? Rather than a picture book bio per se, picture books about a portion of someone's life, about a new art movement, the invention of something, a [fill in the blank] or moment that changed history. #KidlitchatThis! I’ve been seeking books like this! #MSWL 👇👇👇
Literary Agent
Ann Clare LeZotte @annclezotte
I think 2020 had more disabled Own Voices than any previous year. The creators are predominantly white— kids need to see themselves at the intersections. Here are some I read & liked. I didn’t do a lot of YA. Fill in the gaps & share your favs. (Skip my bk; it has enough love.) pic.twitter.com/YatGeNSX5XLove to see more books featuring disabled #ownvoices. (Hint: I'm looking for this, especially BIPOC creators. #MSWL)
Literary Agent
Lane Clarke @lanewriteswords
Like I know we’re anti pandemic books but I’m just saying a found family pandemic book about teens with homes they can’t stay in who instead band together and make a home for themselves would hit so hard. They all adopt each other. It would hit SO HARD.Ok, you got me. #mswl
Literary Agent
Melissa Stewart @mstewartscience
A4: I wish there were more editors, agents, reviewers, and award committee members with an interest in earth science, physics, and chemistry. Why are nearly all science-themed picture books about animals and life sciences?#BlackinSTEM #scicomm #scbwisummerspec #scbwiEquity
I would love to see some great picture books for these sciences. I had second grade patrons who wanted these! #MSWL
Literary Agent
Eva Scalzo 🇵🇷 @evascalzo
I was diagnosed in 1994, and The Babysitters’ Club was the only reason I knew what diabetes was too. I still want a YA with type I diabetes rep. #mswl twitter.com/mariskreizman/…Seconded! Diabetes truly is an invisible disease. Though I’d love MG or YA with Type 1 or Type 2... #MSWL
Literary Agent
Read the late great Barbara Neely’s BLANCHE ON THE LAM yesterday. So sad we only have 4 of these. I’m going to have to dole them out to myself as treats...
I’d love a contemporary #ownvoices mystery that tells it like it is, just as Ms. Neely did. #MSWL
Literary Agent
Shira Schindel @Shiras24
@leslie_zampetti These ideas are awesome (I'd SO love to read them!), and also, I've yet to see a mainstream YA romance with two MO characters, or Conservative characters, or really almost anything mainstream without a bar/bat mitzvah, inter-faith relationship, or the Holocaust.I know! Maybe you’re writing something? 😉
I’d love to see contemporary Jewish YA without the b’nei mitzvot or Holocaust or even anti-Semitism. I am up for inter-faith relationships tho - if done in a fresh way. 😊 #MSWL
Literary Agent
#MSWL Contemporary Jewish romance! What about a cute rabbi who falls in ❤️ with her cantor? Modern orthodox man falls in ❤️ with a Reform fella? Anyone? Anyone?
Literary Agent
Maura Jortner @maura_jortner
She's Jewish. He's in a cult.He's not allowed to talk to girls except to evangelize. But he needs her help to save his little brother. He'll start by talking to her. He'll end doing things far more forbidden.
#YA #KissPitch Inspired by my religion and hometown, Waco, TX #own
#MSWL 😊
Literary Agent
Met with @KatieCarella today about Branches and Acorn! Look at these lovelies - I would have ❤️ed these in my library!
#MSWL authors & author-illustrators who write “modern readers” per @parentsmagazine
Literary Agent
As promised, I’ve updated my #MSWL!
No dramatic changes but a couple more specifics...
manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/lesl…
Literary Agent
I’m back open to queries as of today!
As usual, please send your query & first five pages in the body of the email to query[at]dunhamlit[dot]com.
Submission guidelines & #MSWL are at dunhamlit.com
Thinking about doing a #MSWL update soon...
Literary Agent
Melanie J. Fishbane @MelanieFishbane
Have you seen this @renarossner @LindaEpstein @sarah_aronson heyalma.com/were-obsessed-…Speaking of Jewish (and other diverse) romance... #MSWL