YA & Children’s Book Agent Panel sponsored by SCBWI & HVWC

Penny Moore represents standout authors including Morris Award Finalist, Akemi Dawn Bowman, author of titles such as Starfish and Summer Bird Blue; Beth Evans, author/illustrator of I Really Didn’t Think This Through; Nicki Pau Preto, author of Crown of Feathers; Lyla Lee, author of The Mindy Kim Series; and Katie Zhao, author of The Dragon Warrior.Moore graduated from the University of Georgia with a double degree in Linguistics and Japanese Language & Literature. During her time as an undergraduate, she also studied comparative literature at top universities in Japan and South Korea. Penny joined Aevitas in 2018, starting in the industry as an assistant/associate agent at FinePrint Literary Management in 2014, then joining Empire Literary as an agent two years later, where she built out the children’s portion of the agency’s list.Moore mainly represents children’s literature, including picture books, middle grade, and young adult. She also has an interest in select platform nonfiction projects that speak to younger audiences. Though she’s interested in all genres, she’s specifically seeking inventive works featuring breakout voices and compelling plot lines that will make young readers feel seen and heard for the first time.

REBECCA SHERMAN

Rebecca Sherman is a senior literary agent at Writers House, LLC where she began her career over 17 years ago. She represents a range of children’s, middle grade, and YA fiction and non-fiction, specializing in the representation author/illustrators of picture books, graphic novels, and highly illustrated fiction. Her client list includes: Daniel Salmieri, New York Times bestselling illustrator of Dragons Love Tacos; Grace Lin, recipient of the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon; Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author/illustrator of the graphic memoir Hey, Kiddo; Andrea Beaty, author of New York Times Bestselling series The Questioneers, and many more. She is a graduate of Northwestern University. More information can be found at www.writershouse.com.

SUSAN HAWK

Susan Hawk has worked in children’s books for over twenty-five years and represent books for children and teens: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult, along with graphic novels and some non-fiction for children and teens too. She’s looking for diverse stories, elegant writing, and books that make the reader feel.

Her clients include Alison Oliver, illustrator of the bestselling Baby Lit board books and the picture book Moon; Ruth Spiro, author of the Baby Loves Science board book series; Marcie Colleen, author of the Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series and the picture books Love, Triangle and The Adventure of the Penguinaut; Lisa Tyre, whose second middle-grade novel, Hope in the Holler, was published earlier this year; and Rachael Allen, author of the YA novels 17 First Kisses, The Revenge Playbook, and A Taxonomy of Love.

Before agenting, Susan worked in the Children’s Marketing departments of Penguin Books for Young Readers, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and North-South Books, where she managed campaigns for many books and authors including Eric Carle, Mary E Pearson, Richard Peck and Joan Bauer. She’s also been a children’s librarian and bookseller, and spent some time in Dutton Editorial, acquiring select picture book and YA projects for that list.