Literary Agent Mary Kole, of kidlit.com fame, will be speaking and conducting one-on-ones at the 2012 Central California Writers' Conference. Mary is a co-agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, which has offices in San Francisco Bay, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but Mary resides in New York City at the heart of the publishing industry.

Mary came to children's literature from a writer's perspective and started reading at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency to see what it was like "on the other side of the desk." She quickly found her passion here and, after a year of working behind the scenes, officially joined the agency in August, 2009. In her quest to learn all sides of publishing, she has also worked in the children's editorial department at Chronicle Books and earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of San Francisco. Mary is passionate about exciting, high-concept story ideas and editorial work. With all of her clients, she uses her well-honed editorial eye to develop each project to its full potential. She especially enjoys traveling to conferences and SCBWI events to meet writers and actively build her list. Mary lives in Brooklyn and operates the East Coast office of the agency.

At this time, Mary is only considering young adult and middle grade novels and truly exceptional, funny, quirky and character-driven picture books (she especially loves working with author/illustrators). She's seeking fresh, unique voices and idiosyncratic characters who, by book's end, are more flesh than fiction. Her favorite stories are upmarket, high-concept, character-driven and well-plotted...featuring a mix of fast pacing, emotional resonance, and beautiful writing. In essence: literary spark with commercial appeal.

While she's not interested in high fantasy (think Tolkien), she would love to consider realistic/contemporary, character-driven fantasy (think GRACELING), urban fantasy, action/adventure, issue books, romance, light science fiction, and absolutely unique paranormal (no vampires or werewolves or Greek mythology), and humor manuscripts. She is especially looking for horror, ghost, mystery, dark/edgy, thriller and dystopian tales. One of her favorite genres is magical realism: a story set firmly in our world, only with a twist—something that turns "reality" on its ear—to make things more interesting. Favorite themes include: family, home, unlikely heroes, discovering one's voice, and finding one's equilibrium after a big life event. Mary adores manuscripts that make her laugh, make her tear up or punch her in the gut. She also loves YA stories of friendship, romance, and betrayal; manuscripts full of those "first time" moments that make teenage life electric and unforgettable.

For all projects, voice and character development are absolutely essential, as is a high-concept or upmarket commercial premise. Make sure your manuscript is as strong and polished (revised, revised after feedback, revised again) as possible. She looks forward to reading your work!