submissions

Here you’ll find everything you need to submit work to Upstart Crow Literary.

(Should you want to learn more first, our Writer's Toolbox has a handful of useful links for writers wanting to improve their craft before seeking publication.)

Writer's Toolbox
How to Submit to Upstart Crow
  • Please put your query and sample in the body of the email. We will not open emailed attachments.
  • Author/illustrators: NB—Please include a link to your online portfolio and/or to your downloadable dummy. (Thank you!)
  • Submit a QUERY and TWENTY PAGES of your manuscript to one of the agents listed below.
If your submission is received by our system, an automated response will be emailed to you.

Upstart Crow runs a nearly paper-free office (or that’s what we aim for, anyway), and trust that we are serious when we tell you: we do not accept hard copy submissions via the US mail. We consider only electronic submissions. Mailed submissions will be thrown unread into the recycle bin.
Agents currently accepting submissions
Danielle Chiotti

Danielle will be closed to queries from Oct-Dec 2024.

Please check back in January 2025 for a new query schedule.

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‍A bit about Danielle's tastes

Danielle is actively seeking projects in a variety of categories.

For adult fiction, Danielle is seeking upmarket commercial fiction and literary fiction. She prefers books that explore deep emotional relationships in an interesting or unusual way and unreliable narrators who challenge our notions of "good" or "bad". She likes an unusually told or episodic narrative (novels told in short stories, verse, etc.).

For middle grade and YA: She is actively seeking fresh young adult and middle grade fiction across all genres. She is drawn toward gorgeous writing and strong, flawed characters. Her dream project for young readers is one that challenges and inspires, with a compelling voice that will make her stay up all night reading. She enjoys familiar narratives told in an unconventional way and stories that explore the limits of friendship.

For nonfiction: she is looking for compelling, voice-driven projects that shed a humorous or thought-provoking light on a previously unknown topic in the areas of narrative nonfiction/memoir, lifestyle, relationships, humor, current events, food, wine, and cooking.

She is not considering the following adult categories: romance, political thriller, science fiction, horror, or erotica.

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Submit to Danielle Chiotti
Susan Hawk

Susan is open to queries for one week per month (with some exceptions - see the schedule below). In the intervening weeks she catches up on any backlog and reads the materials she’s requested. Her tentative schedule for open query periods is listed here; please check back for updates: 

Closed in July

Aug 19-25

Sep 30-Oct 6

Nov 11-17

Closed in December

‍A bit about Susan's tastes

Susan represents work for children and teens only: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult, along with some non-fiction for young readers. She doesn’t represent adult projects. 

Susan believes that books can change lives — inspire a passion for reading and story; unlock imagination and empathy; move readers to feel, think, wonder, examine, explore, to laugh really hard. Books invite joy. 

Books that tell the stories of people, places, and cultures that have been overlooked and ignored for too long are at the top of her list. 

She’s drawn to projects that are character-driven, tightly plotted, and have a singular, specific voice; always on the hunt for: 

  • Layered, flawed, completely human characters.
  • Writing that’s confident, vivid, addictive; work that’s both ambitious and wise.
  • Humor is important, even in a narrative that’s dark or sad or edgy.
  • Sense of place matters—precise, expressive settings delight her.
  • Both literary and commercial work. Send her your high-concept and hooky; your award-winners; the books that will become backlist gold.
  • She wants to be surprised—there’s nothing like the feeling that you’re reading something entirely new.

She looks for projects that know kids are smart and perceptive and feeling deeply; that make the reader feel seen. If you’re creating work that could be described as generous, nuanced, and at ease with complexity, she’d love to read it. 

For more specifics on what Susan is looking for, including information about genres and categories, please look here. Susan's submission email is: susanhawk.submission@gmail.com. Thank you for submitting your work!

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Submit to Susan Hawk

Any agents not listed above are CLOSED to submissions. Manuscripts sent to them will be discarded unread.

RESPONSE TIMES

We respond to most queries within twelve weeks. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming number of submissions received, personal responses are only very rarely possible. But if we are interested, we will request your full manuscript.

Many writers fear writing queries, but it shouldn’t frighten you off! They’re easy. If you don’t know how to write a query, please read the Writer’s Toolbox post “How to write a query letter” for a quick tutorial.

Thank you for trying us, and all good luck! We’ll try to get back to you as quickly as possible.