Emily Van Beek
A few of the Authors and illustrators I represent:
About Me:
I moved to New York City from Toronto armed with dual citizenship, a dream to work in children’s publishing, and inspiration from my favorite (if clichéd) Zen magnet, “Leap and the net will appear”. I became an editor at Hyperion Books for Children before deciding to explore the view from the agent’s side of the desk, where I fell head over heels in love with my role as a literary agent. I spent the next six-and-a-half years as an agent and the rights director at Pippin Properties, Inc. before joining Folio Jr. where I'm a partner and literary agent. Some of the New York Times bestselling and award-winning clients I represent include Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, Siobhan Vivian, Adele Griffin, Philip & Erin Stead, Matthew Reinhart, Julie Morstad, and Sydney Smith as well as striking debut and emerging voices. I am an editorial agent passionate about negotiating the best deal possible, working with our esteemed subsidiary and contracts teams to squeeze as much juice out of a property as it will yield, and helping my clients to publish books that will stand the test of time.
WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:
PICTURE BOOKS/GRAPHIC NOVELS: I am exclusively interested in AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATORS. I’m especially looking for award-worthy artwork, character-driven series, humor and fun, and work by diverse creators featuring diverse stories. I am open to graphic novels of all kinds, but especially relatable stories made more accessible to reluctant readers through visual elements. Again, humor is most welcome.
MIDDLE-GRADE: I’m looking for a limited selection of extraordinary, excellently crafted middle grade only. At this time, I’m interested in boy-facing, diverse, epic, cinematic, action-packed, adventuresome, mysterious novels that are both heartfelt and comedic.
YOUNG ADULT: Give me something bold and fresh with a voice that’s impossible to put aside. I love romantasy and dark academia. I’m also open to anything conceptually unique, and am always seeking diverse perspectives and points of view, stories that tackle some untold and original corner of history, or approach adventure with a fascinating, original high concept. I’m probably not the best choice for "message” or hard science-fiction books. What I’m really looking for is the intersection between stellar writing and plot, something that leaves me puffy eyed or laughing out loud. Oh! Something else--I would love, love, LOVE to discover a FUNNY manuscript, a novel to make me LOL as Louise Rennison's ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING did.
I am not looking for board books, novelty, and picture book texts at this time.
HOW TO Submit:
Please send along your query letter and first ten pages of your manuscript in the body of the email to emily@foliolitmanagement.com. Please send your query to this email address ONLY. Queries sent to any other email address may not be considered.
If you'd like to submit a picture book, please attach a PDF of your dummy. Links to online portfolios are always welcome. I would very much like to be able to respond to every query, but unfortunately time doesn’t allow for it. Please be sure to write QUERY in the subject line as this will ensure I do not miss your letter.
N.B.: This email address is for queries and submissions only. For all other inquiries, please call (212) 400-1494. If you haven’t heard back from me within six weeks, I'm sorry to say I've decided I'm not the ideal match for your project. Thanks again for the opportunity to consider your work.