Updated May 27, 2011

The Andrea Brown Literary Agency was founded in August 1981 and has offices in the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Our agency works to bring to light the voices and perspectives of new writers as well as to nurture and develop the careers of experienced authors. Our goal, whether seeking to secure a publishing contract for a first book or a fiftieth book, is to make sure that clients are not only published, but published well.

Our philosophy is to remain a "small" agency at heart. We invest a great deal of personal care and attention in each project, and we are hands-on in all aspects of our interactions with clients. We work closely with clients in an editorial capacity and we devise a strategy at every stage of the writing process that will enable us to find the best publisher for each book. In doing so, we think about both short term and long term goals for our clients, always keeping the trajectory of a successful career in mind.

Our agents have backgrounds in New York publishing, editing, academia, business, teaching, writing and film, and one of our strengths as an agency is that we work collaboratively. Our clients have the benefit not only of their individual agent’s expertise but of the combined experience and vision of the group.

As a West Coast based agency, we follow a tradition of West Coast innovation in our passion for discovering new voices, in our efforts to make New York publishing more inclusive of voices from other parts of the country, and in our attempt to see publishing trends that result from this broader perspective. We combine this approach with access, standing, and visibility in the publishing community at large. Our agents make regular trips to New York, attend industry conventions, and participate as faculty at writers’ conferences all over the country. We ensure a high profile for our clients and actively keep our fingers on the pulse of publishing.

We represent:

We do not represent:

Submission Guidelines

We have specific instructions for submitting to the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Please make sure you follow the appropriate guidelines so that your work can be seriously considered.
The Andrea Brown Agency ONLY accepts email submissions. If you have consulted a guidebook that says otherwise, please note that our guidelines changed in 2007, and our website reflects our current policies.

Submission Directions

Visit the agents’ bios on our website and choose only one agent to whom you will submit your e-query.
Send a short email query letter to that agent with QUERY in the subject field. (By putting "Query" in the subject line, you will receive an automated email, confirming that your submission was received.)
- Your query letter should include publisher submission history and previous publishing credits, if applicable.
After your query, paste in a short sample of your writing. Your writing sample needs to be pasted into the email (we do not open attachments except in the case of illustrations). See below for what type of sample material to include, based on the type of project you are submitting.
If the agent is interested in your work, she will contact you and give you specific instructions about how to send the rest of your material.

You are free to submit to other agencies at the same time, but it is a professional courtesy to let us know, up front, that yours is a multiple submission. If you receive an offer of representation from another agent, please let us know immediately so we can respond accordingly. Please be sure to enclose a contact phone number as well as your email address.

What to include in your submission
(All text must be pasted into the body of your email; NO attachments):

Picture books—query letter and full manuscript text
Fiction—query letter and first 10 pages
Non-fiction—query letter, proposal, and sample chapter
Author/Illustrators—query letter and 2-3 illustration samples (in jpeg format), and text of picture book, if applicable
Graphic novels—query letter, summary, and 2-3 sample page spreads in .jpg or .pdf format

Response Time
In the past, it has been our policy to respond to every query. We regret that, because of the high volume of queries we receive, this has become increasingly difficult for us. Within a week, our agency can receive close to three hundred queries and often times more than one agent is involved in the review process.
If we are interested in your work, we will certainly follow up by email or by phone. However, if you haven’t heard from us within 6 to 8 weeks, please assume that we are passing on your project. We do understand and appreciate the effort that goes into getting your work out, and we wish we had time to respond personally to all submissions. Unfortunately, this is no longer a business reality given the amount of material we receive.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL TO FOLLOW UP.

Suggestions

Be professional and courteous in your approach to any agent. Agents do form an impression based on your e-query, and you want it to be a good impression. Do not write your query in a rush. Take the time to write it well. Make sure your query and manuscripts are polished and error free.
Remember, no attachments, with the exception of jpeg illustrations from illustrators.
Remember, a "no" from one of our agents is a "no" from the agency as a whole. If your work is rejected, please do not resubmit the same work to another agent at our agency. However, you may submit a new work to another agent, or to the same agent. And, if the work is significantly revised, you may resubmit it after 6 months.
Please do not call to query us. It is not possible to gauge your writing ability by talking to you on the phone.
Look carefully at our bios and choose the right agent for your work.

Message to Authors
We understand that writing is a passion, an intensely personal calling, a long-time dream for many, and frequently a lonely endeavor. We have great respect for authors, and we share the writer’s passion—that is why we are literary agents.
Unfortunately, publishing is a business that necessarily involves a lot of rejection, at every stage. One of the most difficult things for us as agents is to have to say no. Yet, we can take on only a small fraction of all the work we see, and this is simply a business reality.
We say no for many reasons—because of changing trends in the market; because we already have something similar on our list; because we know of similar published or forthcoming titles; because something isn’t right for us; because although something may be strong, well-written and even publishable, we didn’t fall in love with it.
Try to keep "No" in perspective. This is a highly subjective business and another agent may adore your work. All it takes is one "Yes." We wish you success in finding that "Yes," whether with us or another agent and publisher.

Andrea Brown
President
andrea@andreabrownlit.com

Laura Rennert
Senior Agent
Query email address: lauraqueries@gmail.com (ALL queries must be sent here or they will not wind up in Laura’s Query box)
General email address: ljrennert@mac.com
Laura’s author website

Caryn Wiseman
Agent
caryn@andreabrownlit.com

Jennifer Rofé
Agent
jennifer@andreabrownlit.com
Jen’s author website

Kelly Sonnack
Agent
kelly@andreabrownlit.com

Jennifer Laughran
Agent
jennL@andreabrownlit.com

Jamie Weiss Chilton
Agent
jamie@andreabrownlit.com

Jennifer Mattson
Associate Agent
jmatt@andreabrownlit.com

Mary Kole
Associate Agent
mary@andreabrownlit.com