Category Archives: Lauren

January 08, 2016   Lauren   Lauren, lists, reading  
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Reading Goals

I’m the kind of person who loves a good To Do List.  (As I’ve probably mentioned before, since I’m also the kind of person who talks too much about the kind of person I am.) In fact I keep several kinds of lists, varied in form, content, technology, and location. I used to keep a To Read list on my phone, but then I found that I wasn’t actually ever reading anything from it except by accident, so now I keep my To Read list in the form of stacks of books. I’m far more likely to read a book if it just happens to be in my apartment when I finish reading another one. (Now is the time some of you will be tempted to tell me that this is where e-books come in handy, but I don’t read digitally except for submissions and manuscripts. The strict divide between work reading and pleasure reading does me a world of good psychologically and makes me better at turning my editor brain on and off as befits my reading purpose, so I’m sticking with it.) I even keep a high-priority To Read list in pile form (things I’m super excited about, plus DGLM galleys, plus books for my office and personal book clubs) right next to my TV, to shame me into not neglecting them in favor of rewatching The West Wing for the 83rd time.

So naturally I love when other people make lists of books I should read, so I can mine them for new reading goals. I was pleased to see that Esquire enlisted eight “female literary powerhouses” to help them make a list of books everyone should read. You see, the last time they did that, it was kind of a disaster. The fantastic Rebecca Solnit (go read her collection Men Explain Things to Me) rightly called them out for their myopia, so they called in some reinforcements to give it another go.  It’s a pretty fantastic list—and not just because it features DGLM’s own Tayari Jones and her excellent Silver Sparrow.

Hey, credit card, looks like we need to stop by the bookstore on our way home from work.

December 11, 2015   Lauren   Lauren, what we're looking for, why we are agents  
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All I Want for Christmas, 2015 Edition

1512522_736265656401481_1811941197_nIn this time of festivity, merriment, and the Union Square Holiday Market, naturally my thoughts turn to myself. Time with family and friends is all well and good, but more important, what do I want them to give me? I know you’re all having trouble coming up with the perfect gift for me, the most important person on your list, so why not give me the perfect query this holiday season? I get many great queries, and I’m open to a fairly wide range of categories, but here are the things I want that I’m not already getting (or just not seeing enough of):

  • Books in just about any category that manage to combine my four favorite qualities: sense of humor, brisk pace, clever writing, and insightful but unobtrusive ideas.
  • Accessible literary novels that tread new ground. In particular, I’d love to see literary fiction that’s not about suburban malaise, 20- or 30-something angst, or family drama. I’m not against those things certainly (some of my favorite books are those things), but I feel like that covers a very high percentage of the literary fiction that comes my way, and I’d love something that feels really fresh and new.
  • A truly disturbing psychological thriller. The kind that makes you look at the people you know with suspicion while you’re reading it, because the book reminds you how untrustworthy people can be.
  • Unreliable narrators. They’re so tricky to pull off, but when it works, it’s just about my favorite thing.
  • Contemporary middle grade and YA with strong, fun, accessible voices, but also heart. I especially want characters who are badass, but not kicking ass.
  • Contemporary romance that fits well within the category but stands out from the crowd. I’d love to see more contemporary romance with heroes and heroines of color.
  • Novels about major historical events of the 20th and 21st centuries that don’t primarily involve Americans and Europeans. I’m looking for historical fiction about events I didn’t get taught in school…but probably should have been.
  • As I’ve said before (including right over there –> in that sidebar), I’m eager to find more underrepresented voices. Now that can mean many things, and I welcome you to send me whatever you think might fit the bill, but in particular I’m looking for:
    • books for young readers and middle graders featuring protagonists who are on the autism spectrum
    • novels set in large African cities: I’ve realized recently that almost every narrative I’ve seen of Africa, whether in books or otherwise, is about remote places and small villages. Lagos has almost as many people as New York City. There are stories to be told there, and I want to read them.
    • fiction or non-fiction about the experience of going from disadvantaged backgrounds to elite colleges
    • a YA novel that actively explores code switching
    • a novel set in the contemporary Middle East that isn’t a thriller or chiefly about politics
    • novels about the immigrant experience in the United States
    •  current affairs nonfiction on feminism, especially intersectional feminism

None of that to say you shouldn’t query me for other things, but these are the books that aren’t happening to come my way—and that I really wish would.

Does one of those describe your work? Hit me up with a query at labramo@dystel.com.

November 13, 2015   Lauren   fun, Lauren, libraries  
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Books on the move

If you’re reading an agency blog, you probably have a reasonably good idea how a book goes from your brain to the bookshelf, but have you ever wondered about the process a book takes as it travels through the library system?  I can’t say I really did until I saw this fun piece from the New York Times, but I enjoyed getting to know the journey.  I remember when news broke of the NYPL’s Super Sorter (that’s probably not what they call it), and I’ve always been intrigued.  A friend of mine works for NYPL in Long Island City—albeit as an archivist, not a book sorter.  I wonder if she can get me into the sorting room.

If you’re not excited yet, try picturing the book version of this classic Sesame Street segment at the Crayola Factory.

 

October 30, 2015   Lauren   fun, grammar, Lauren, Twitter  
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My dearest, Angelica

11822302_1189555777737964_6537270592173409997_nAs you’ve likely gathered if you’ve spoken to me in the last month, I am obsessed with the musical Hamilton.  I haven’t even seen it yet (less than 4 weeks away now!), but I’ve been listening to the cast recording near constantly for weeks. There are a million small moments I adore, but the one that really sold Hamilton to the grammar pedant in me was when Angelica Schuyler inquires about the placement of a comma, hoping it’s an indication that her brother-in-law Alexander Hamilton is secretly as in love with her as she is with him. That Schuyler not only noticed Hamilton’s comma use (apparently this moment is drawn from a real letter where the reverse is true), but assumes it was a coded message of love is what pleases me most. I mean, sure, it would be a bad idea to have a secret affair with your sister’s husband or your wife’s sister, but that would be a grammar nerd love I could get behind.

So naturally when I saw this Buzzfeed list of grammar tweets in PW Daily, I clicked on over. These people are using the internet for its true purpose: bonding with their fellow nerds. Grammar pedants of Twitter, I salute you!

October 16, 2015   Lauren   contest, fun, Lauren, reading  
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Read, and then read again, and then read more

So what are you doing tomorrow?  If you’re reading this agency website, chances are the answer is reading.  But today’s particular tomorrow is special: it’s Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon.  What is a read-a-thon, you ask?  Well it’s an event and a  challenge, so to speak, to read as much as you can alongside other reading enthusiasts and talk about it as you go.  There are all kinds of ways you can participate, via blogs and social media and Goodreads, and you can sign up as a reader to show your participation, as well as cheerleaders who encourage the readers along, and various people running the show from bloggers hosting mini-challenges to prize donors and more.  The very thorough website linked above has all the fun details!

Reading is so often seen as a solitary activity, but those of us in publishing know that reading is also one of the best sources of bonding out there. Why not dedicate yourself to reading tomorrow?  You might make new friends or win a fun prize.  And even if you don’t—even if you don’t sign up for the actual read-a-thon—there aren’t many better ways to spend your Saturday!

September 18, 2015   Lauren   diversity, Lauren, what we're looking for, why we are agents  
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Something for everyone

As a general rule, I’m wary when someone thinks that a book is for everyone.  It’s usually a red flag that people don’t know their market or haven’t thought about their category.  But in a different sense, it’s critical that books be for everyone, as this incredible piece by Mira Jacob illustrates.  (It’s fantastic. Go read it. I’ll wait here till you get back.) We need to have books for everyone. Books that reflect everyone’s experience.   Not all books need to be for all people, but no one should be unable to find themselves reflected back on the page.  And no one should be unable to love and enjoy and identify with a book only because it’s not written explicitly for them.  Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me is pretty explicitly for his son and about the experience of being black and male, but it’s still one of the best books I’ve read this year, even though I am neither black nor male. We’re all drawing from the same well of human experience: joy, anger, fear, alienation, community, love, loneliness, etc.  There are things in the book I identified with, and things that were alien to me, but those too had value for me as a reader.  People need to be seen, and they also need to see.  People need to be heard, and they also need to listen.

The tie kills me.

Fidge looking for my name in the back of The Maze Runner.  He was delighted when he realized that my name is in books!

To that end, for the last several years I’ve made sure to take this into account when I consider who I want to represent.  I’m very interested in underrepresented voices, and if that describes you and you’re reading this in the course of your search for representation, I hope you’ll consider querying me.

There largely aren’t specific underrepresented voices I’m looking for, but I am on the lookout for books for young readers and middle graders featuring protagonists who are on the autism spectrum.   My nephew (I call him Fidge) is a voracious reader, one of my two favorite people on this earth alongside his little brother, and on the spectrum.  Reading is kind of our thing.   I already know he’s capable of loving books that don’t reflect that aspect of him, but I’d love to help bring books to the market that he would be able to find himself in.  He’s one of the world’s two best people—surely he deserves to feel seen and heard.

August 21, 2015   Lauren   bestsellers, Lauren, lists, New York Times, opinion  
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You’re the best

A propos of Michael’s very handy breakdown of the latest changes to the New York Times bestseller list, I’ve been thinking about just how many lists the Times graces us with these days: 23 on the 8/30 list, in various combinations of format, category, genre, and demographic.

Sports and Fitness. Food and Diet. Education. Relationships. Travel.  Business. Manga.  In August, there were bestseller lists for each of these specific things at least once, separate from the other lists they might fit under.

the-new-york-times-logoAs an agent, I’m thrilled for my and my colleagues’ clients to have the greatest possible number of chances for their books (and careers, frankly) to be tagged with that New York Times bestseller status, and there’s no denying that breaking out into narrower lists gives books that would never make the main lists a fighting chance.  With an Education list, you don’t necessarily have to compete with Felicia Day, Aziz Ansari, Ronda Rousey, Holly Madison, Jimmy Carter, Judd Apatow, and Amy Poehler, all on the main hardcover nonfiction list this week, to get a spot.

If we’re heading toward a day when there are more distinct New York Times bestseller lists then there are spots on the longest of those lists, I’d love to see them drill down further in fiction, too.  Literary Fiction by Women, maybe? (Or just Literary Fiction at all, for that matter.)  And what about one for Diverse Books? (If that’s the first time you’re seeing that phrase, here’s some context.) Or Debut Fiction!  People Who Aren’t on Twitter.  Authors Who’ve Never Been on TV. Authors Who Always Seem About to Break Out but Somehow Never Do. Books by Authors with More Starred Reviews Per Book than Zeroes in Their Advances.

Sure, it’s a little more subjective than Sports and Fitness, but if they need the help I’m happy to curate.  Which lists would you put in your fantasy New York Times?

August 07, 2015   Lauren   fun, Lauren, marketing/publicity, media  
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#JonVoyage

As anyone with an internet connection likely already knows, Jon Stewart shuffled off our television sets last night taking with him The Daily Show as we know it.  It remains to be seen whether books will get as warm a welcome from Trevor Noah as they did from Stewart, but the publishing world always mourns when any friend of books says goodbye to their TV audience, taking their power to make a book a household name with them.

But it’s touching to learn, via the Washington Post, that Stewart had time for one last plug close to his heart:

We’ll miss you, Jon.  And your helping hand!

July 24, 2015   Lauren   Lauren, reading, recommendations, vacation  
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Vacation, all I ever wanted…

It’s summer time, and you know what that means: vacation.  Vacation is one of my favorite things, because I love traveling, but it’s also when I read the most non-DGLM titles in a row.  I try to keep up with personal reading throughout the year—as an agent you need to know the market—but it’s hard to do when the metaphorical reading pile is in constant danger of toppling and authors are eagerly awaiting word. If I read a book for pleasure, I have to tackle at least 10 or so work projects before I feel like I can justify dipping into anything else for fun.  Otherwise the guilt stifles my enjoyment too much.

sorrento-mare1But on vacation I can read anything I want.  And this year I’m heading to Sorrento to sit on a balcony sipping wine and reading and staring at the Gulf of Naples.  Now that everything’s booked, I have to turn to the important decision: what to read.  I’m trying to limit the physical books I bring to two, promising myself I can buy more books at the airport or in Italy if I really want.

So I’m welcoming suggestions.  The only rules are that they must be available at short notice in trade paperback (my format of choice for personal reading), they should be fiction or highly engaging and easily digestible nonfiction, and they can’t be on the DGLM client list.  Ideas?

June 26, 2015   Lauren   fun, Lauren, used books  
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Listen up

It’s no secret around here that I’m obsessed with podcasts—I started a one-woman mission to convert the DGLM staff to Serial fans last year after all.  And you wouldn’t want to get me and Sharon going on You Made It Weird or to get stuck listening to Jim and I dissect episodes of How Did This Get Made.  (I also listen to Undisclosed, TAL, About Race, Hound Tall, Stuff You Should Know, Nerdist, and Serially Obsessed.  Feel free to make me recommendations for others in the comments!!)  My latest podcast obsessions are Mystery Show hosted by Starlee Kine (who you might’ve heard on other podcasts or public radio shows) and Criminal hosted by Phoebe Judge.  In Mystery Show, Kine takes a mystery that cannot be solved on the internet and tracks down answers people have been wondering about for a long time (like how tall Jake Gyllenhaal is really? or who is the rightful owner of a belt buckle found on the street decades ago that has a toaster with toast that actually pops up if you flip a lever?).  It’s weird and hilarious and the stories Kine uncovers along the way have so much charm.

Criminal also often involves mysteries, but much more, well, criminal ones.  The stories are surprising in very different ways from Mystery Show’s, but with a much more serious edge.   Criminal’s latest episode synced itself onto my phone this morning, so I had to give it a listen as I got ready for work.  And you guys, it turns out to be all about books.  And in particular, rare books, plus one particular rare book thief who’s been caught many times but can’t seem to stop.  Give it a listen—you won’t regret it.

 

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