Our Agents
Our Agents
Laura Rennert has been with the agency since 1998. She specializes in all categories of children's books, from picture books to young adult. On the adult side, she represents literary-commercial fiction, thrillers, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, speculative fiction, and select historical fiction. Her sweet spot in the market is literary voice and commercial conception. The common threads in the diverse range of projects Laura represents are an original, unexpected point of view, a fresh literary voice, a strong commercial hook—and conflicted characters who win your heart (sometimes against your will).
Laura would love to find:
Fantasy and spec fiction with a magical element based on Jewish lore or non-Western culture and mythology. Bonus points for delving into real social-political-cultural issues.
A police procedural or thriller in the vein of Tana French, especially by BIPOC or underrepresented authors
A modern-day Gothic novel (in the vein of MEXICAN GOTHIC)
Graphic novels for all ages, especially by author-illustrators
Illustrators with a distinctive, recognizable style
Laura has a Ph.D. in English Literature and was a faculty member in the English departments of the University of Virginia, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, and Santa Clara University.
RECENT DEALS
Shelley Parker-Chan's SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN, pitched as Mulan meets the SONG OF ACHILLES, a queer, alt-history re-imagining of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty as an iron-willed peasant girl who steals her brother's identity and great fate. Sold at auction for six figures, to Tor/Macmillan.
NYT bestselling author, Catherine Ryan Hyde's SEVEN PERFECT THINGS, about a teenage girl who rescues and raises seven abandoned puppies with the help of a recently widowed man, with unexpected, life-affirming results. Sold in an exclusive high six-figure, three-book deal to Lake Union/Amazon.
NYT bestselling author of CRANK, Ellen Hopkins's CLOSER TO NOWHERE, the story of two cousins Cal, a boy with PTSD, and Hannah, well-liked at school and a competitive gymnast, who are more alike than they realize and the family they both want to save. Sold at auction for six figures to Putnam/PRH.
Lily LaMotte's MEASURING UP, a graphic novel debut in which a Taiwanese girl who immigrates to the U.S. with her family joins a cooking competition to win enough money to bring her beloved Amah to America in time for Amah's 70th birthday. Sold in a pre-empt to Harper Alley/HarperCollins.
Author-illustrator of IN A JAR Deborah Marcero's OUT OF A JAR, in which a young bunny tries to hide his feelings in glass jars until discovering life is more vivid and rich when he sets his emotions free. Sold in an exclusive submission to Putnam Children’s.
Shannon Messenger’s NYT and USA Today Bestselling series KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES to Disney, with Ben Affleck through his Pearl Street Banner attached to direct and produce, and Affleck and Kate Gritmon adapting the script.
THINGS I LOVE:
19th-century Brit Lit
Hidden worlds
Secret knowledge
Chihuahuas
Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea
I’m a genre gal—I love thrillers and works of fantasy, horror, and spec fiction that grapple with real social-political issues. Bonus points if the protagonist is flawed, vulnerable-tough, and morally ambiguous.
REPRESENTATIVE TITLES
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel… is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
— Ursula K. Le Guin
AWARD WINNERS
& BESTSELLERS
