The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Celebrating 24 Years!  
New York *  Los Angeles

Tori Sharp joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in 2020 after a two-year internship.
She has a BFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and she is the
bestselling author/illustrator of the graphic novels JUST PRETEND, STAND UP!, and the
forthcoming WING IT from Little, Brown Ink. Prior to her career in publishing, Tori developed a
fascination for pitching and art direction during her seven years as a consultant for a large
marketing agency. She also enjoys swing and blues dancing, the thrill of baking without a recipe,
and doodling her D&D characters literally thousands of times in beautiful Seattle, WA. Tori
represents all manner of children’s literature. You can learn more about her
at www.torisharp.com.

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What I'm looking for

 

CHILDREN’S GRAPHIC NOVELS

 

As a graphic novelist myself, I am eager to represent magical, thrilling, adorable, and important comics for kids of all ages, including early readers. Send me deeply funny or transportive fantasies, contemporaries, animal stories, romcoms, graphic memoirs, and more. I am currently not accepting scripts without an artist attached.

Some of my favorite comics are Space Boy, Crush, Amulet, The Mighty Onion, Tiffany’s Griffon, Lights, The Prince and the Dressmaker, If You’ll Have Me, Witch Hat Atelier, Zita the Spacegirl, and On a Sunbeam. See my #MSWL Pinterest board for examples of illustration styles I’d love to find in my inbox: https://www.pinterest.com/noveltori/mswl/comics-illustration/

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MIDDLE-GRADE AND “LOWER” YOUNG ADULT PROSE
 

I am very selectively considering middle-grade and young-adult fantasy, heist, and spy manuscripts. I want stories that transport readers and make them think about the world around them in a new way. I have a big soft spot for queer and neurodivergent protagonists! Send me angsty romantic subplots that throw around tropes like confetti. I welcome spice in YA for older teens.

My favorite MG and YA novels include Saffy’s Angel, Deltora Quest, The Thief, The School Story, Ella Enchanted, Eliza and her Monsters, Howl’s Moving Castle, Binny Bewitched, Spinning Silver, and Front Desk.

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NOT FOR ME

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Please do not send me any unsolicited queries for the picture book or adult markets. I’m not the right agent for horror or “grimdark” projects, stories about sexual assault, medical dramas, religious fiction, conflicts centering around bullying, or “issue books”.

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How to submit

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I am currently open to select children’s fiction and children’s graphic novel queries as outlined above. Please email a one-page query letter to querytori.jdlit@gmail.com. Include “Query” and the title of your project in the subject line and follow the instructions below:

 

Prose authors: please paste the first five pages of your manuscript below your query letter. If available, please also paste a one- to two-page synopsis in the body of your email. Prose queries with attachments will be deleted.

 

Graphic novelists: please paste a one- to two-page synopsis and five to ten finished sample comic pages in the body of the email. Include a full link to your online portfolio in your query, and please do not use link shorteners like bit.ly. Graphic novelists should have one of the following available upon request: a full script, a thumbnail draft, or a thorough synopsis (similar to a film treatment).

I accept only digital queries via email. Do not mail me hard copies or original artwork. While I try to respond to every query, if you don’t receive a response within three months, feel free to query another JDLA agent or send a nudge to let me know that the project is still available.

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