Writing Away Refuge Zoom Pitch 

Kristina Sutton Lennon, Founding Agent

Focused Artists​​

 

Kristina Sutton Lennon is a bilingual, Latiné, media executive and the CEO/Co-Founder of Focused Artists. Kristina serves as a literary manager and producer.

We live in a diverse world, and I want to see diversity of all types authentically represented in all genres; I’d love to champion minority voices as I build my list.

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For Focused Artists, she has facilitated book deals with publishers, including HarperCollins, Hachette, and National Geographic. She pitches content to producers, studios and networks, and has projects in various stages of development with production companies. Kristina prides herself on her diverse slate of content and has a proven track record in sourcing material, script development, and talent scouting for the screen and page.

 

Prior to delving into producing and management, Kristina was an actor (SAG-AFTRA) and educator, teaching acting and improv at the college level. She previously served as a film/tv agent and as the Director of the Louisiana Division for a talent agency headquartered in Atlanta. Kristina recently served as the Director of Media Rights at Context Literary Agency and currently serves as a Talent Manager for Citizen Skull.

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See Kristina's complete Manuscript Wishlist here:

https://manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kristina-sutton-lennon/​​

Najla Mamou, Agent

Savvy Literary

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Najla is an avid reader and loves great first chapters, immersive world building, deep character profiles, and well-rounded dialogue. She has taught courses at several writing conferences, including Common Mistakes In First Chapters, Writing Rules That Can Be Broken, Self-Editing Before the Query, Getting The History And Voice Right, and many other topics. She volunteers as co-chair of American Association of Literary Agents’ Professional Development committee and member of the People of Publishing planning committee for the AALA’s annual meeting of literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals.

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See Najla's complete Manuscript Wishlist here:

https://savvyliterary.com/meet-najla

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Alicia Brooks, Founding Agent

Alicia Brooks Literary Agency

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Alicia Brooks began her publishing career over twenty-five years ago as an editorial assistant at Penguin USA (Dutton/Plume).  She advanced to an assistant editor position at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday where she worked with groundbreaking authors, including Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Ian McEwan. She then became an editor at Picador/St. Martin’s Press where she edited over 40 hardcover titles and several trade paper original titles, including Good Morning America Book Club Pick Noelle Howey’s Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods–My Mother’s, My Father’s, and Mine, Nega Mezlekia’s award-winning Notes from the Hyena’s Belly, and Jaclyn Moriarty’s FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, an ALA Best Book of the Year and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

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She became a literary agent at The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2019. Her client list included categories such as Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse backgrounds, Self-Help, Pop Culture, Literary Fiction, Book Club Fiction, YA Fiction, Horror, and Historical Fiction. She represented Boyah J. Farah, author of the earth-shattering memoir AMERICA MADE ME A BLACK MAN (Harper/Nominated for the NAACP Image Award and NPR Best Book of the Year), Kathleen S. Allen, author of the YA Gothic Horror novel THE RESURRECTIONIST (Roaring Brook) Jennifer Sherman Roberts’ THE VILLAGE HEALER’S BOOK OF CURES: A Novel (Lake Union/Named an Editors’ Choice by the Historical Novel Society and Named a First Reads Editors’ Pick by Amazon), internationally renowned Iranian author Nahid Rachlin’s novels MIRAGE and GIVEN AWAY: A Novel Based on True Events (Red Hen Press), and Sofia Romero, author of the linked story collection WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WHO WE ARE (Blackstone/Shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction).

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See Alicia's full manuscript wishlist here:

https://abla.agency/about/

 

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Jackie Kruzie, Associate Agent

Focused Artists

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Jackie Kruzie is a literary agent with Focused Artists representing adult and children’s fiction. She calls herself a book dragon, seeking and hoarding books like buried treasure and has made a career out of creating and sharing books as an author, librarian, and literary agent.

In adult fiction Jackie enjoys speculative elements set in a contemporary world where abilities are not publicly known or understood. She likes Women and Book Club fiction with a budding romance that develops organically. She has been known to devour a spicy romance or romantasy in record time. Essentially she wants a book she can live in for a while and feel the bittersweet loss when her time there is over. 

 

In children’s fiction, Jackie likes punchy fast-paced kid-focused books with no heavy moral. As a formal children's librarian, she looks for picture books and board books that are fun read-a-louds perfect for storytime. For middle grade and young adult, she looks for stories that put young readers in the driver’s seat and allow young readers to feel free and seen.

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See Jackie's complete manuscript wishlist here:​

https://manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/jackie-kruzie-2/

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Stuti Shah, Associate Agent &

Associate Film and TV Agent

The Rights Factory

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Stuti Shah is an Associate Literary Agent and Film & TV Associate Agent at The Rights Factory.

She brings a unique combination of publishing experience and legal training to her work. A licensed lawyer in both Ontario and India, Stuti also holds a Diploma in Intellectual Property Law, and has undertaken the Publishing course at Toronto Metropolitan University. Prior to joining The Rights Factory, Stuti worked in international rights at Transatlantic Agency, advising on publishing contracts and collaborating with authors, publishers, and co-agents across domestic and international markets, giving her a close look at what makes a project stand out and a deal work for everyone at the table.

Before moving into publishing, she practiced at a top-tier law firm, and that experience has shaped how she reviews deals and advocates for her clients. When Stuti believes in a project, she is a fierce and dedicated advocate for it, in her authors' corner at every stage of their publishing journey.

She's interested in commercial and upmarket fiction and narrative-driven nonfiction for adult and YA readers, including book club fiction with an edge, historical fiction, thrillers and psychological suspense, cozy mysteries, speculative and genre-blending fiction, fantasy, sci-fi & cli-fi, dark academia, coming-of-age sagas, romcoms, contemporary relationship fiction, and funny or whimsical fiction. On the nonfiction side, she prefers memoir, true crime, and narrative nonfiction with a compelling voice. Stuti is also actively seeking concept-driven books with cross-format or adaptation potential for film and TV.

Stuti loves working with authors whose heart and voice distinctly come through on the page. She has a soft spot for witty, sharp writing, sarcasm, satire, and pointed political undertones, with an appetite for bold, unflinching work that balances humour, warmth, or escapism with emotional insight.

Stuti is based in Toronto. She serves on the Board of Directors of BIPOC Publishing in Canada and, when she's not advocating for her authors, she's usually at the theatre, on a comedy stage performing stand-up, or on her yoga mat.

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Brianna Aideen, Associate Agent

The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency

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Brianna Aideen joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency after interning with both JDLA and Triada US. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Film and Creative Writing. When she’s not reading, she’s painting, writing, or pointing out production mistakes in feature films.

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Brianna exclusively represents Adult, New Adult, and select YA fantasy, with a particular love for romantasy. She is drawn to stories that combine immersive fantasy worlds with compelling romance, high-stakes plots, and characters who are impossible to look away from. She is especially seeking enemies-to-lovers, rivals, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, deadly games and trials, mythology retellings, and fresh takes on dragons, vampires, werewolves, wizards, and sorcerers. She has a particular weakness for sharp banter, mutual hatred, morally gray characters, and plenty of chemistry.

Brianna loves fantasy with a strong romantic thread and enjoys books with plenty of romantic tension and spice, but she is looking for stories where the romance and spice serve the larger plot rather than overshadow it. She is especially drawn to the balance of fantasy, romance, and tension found in Fourth Wing, One Dark Window, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and The Ever King.

She is less likely to be the right fit for contemporary fantasy, fae-centered romantasy, winged or tailed protagonists, or stories built around humiliation, miscommunication, or student/teacher dynamics. She is, however, always interested in a clever new take on familiar fantasy creatures and worlds.​​​​​