Let’s get to know agent
Julie Just, of Pippin Properties. I had the chance to meet Julie at the Western
Washington Spring SCBWI conference.
First off, what is
Julie’s background? Julie spent sixteen years as an editor at The New York
Times. In 2006, she veered towards children’s literature when she became the
children’s book editor of The New York Times Book Review. She has been a judge for the Boston
Globe-Horn Book awards and is an ongoing member of the Irma Black Committee
(which chooses finalists for the Excellence in Children’s Literature Award).
In 2010 Julie became a
literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. This Spring she switched agencies and is now at Pippin Properties. She has almost 3 years
as an agent under her belt.
What does Julie like
about Pippin Properties? She told us that Pippin is more of a group atmosphere
for agents. They all work together and help each other out.
What is Julie’s
agenting style- editorial or not? Julie admits to having a very hands-on
approach with her authors, after all, she has a background in editing. She
understands that an author knows what they want, but points out that agents
know the market.
What is Julie looking
for? Well, Julie told us that she, “responds to strong writing” and is “looking
to be moved”. She focuses mainly on middle grade and young adult. Regarding
genres, she has an interest in sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, ghost stories,
graphic novels, and mixes of reality with the surreal.
Inside scoop- Julie
loves the slush pile. She’s picked several manuscripts from them already.
Her advice to aspiring
writers- Have a social media presence and “be positive online”.
If you are interested
in sending a query, here are the Pippin guidelines, “If you are a writer who is
interested in submitting a manuscript, please email your query to info@pippinproperties.com, including
a synopsis of the work(s), your background and/or publishing history, and
anything else you think is relevant. Picture book manuscripts may be included
in the body of the email. No attachments, please. Unfortunately, we are not a
large enough agency to respond to each query individually. If you don't hear
from us within three weeks, please understand that we have read and considered
your query, and have concluded that we are not the right agency to represent
your work at this time. If we do request additional material, we would
appreciate the exclusive opportunity to review it for one month.”
Glad to know that Julie likes fantasy. I'm getting ready to query and will add her to my list. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteGlad I could help :)
DeleteJulie sounds like an awesome agent!! This is great info. I'll go tweet!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa!
DeleteGreat agents are hard to come by and she looks like an amazing one!! I love this post!! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks Meg!
ReplyDelete