YA Sci-Fi: Who Should I Query?

If you run out of agents who rep both, I'd give favor to YA agents. Imprints dedicated specifically to YA SF/fantasy are a relatively recent development, spurred by the popularity of Harry Potter; until a few years ago, most SF and fantasy was published alongside the mainstream books on YA publishers' lists. Many YA publishers/imprints, such as Dutton and Harcourt, still do that. YA is a fairly specialized market, and you're best off with an agent who has experience selling to it.

- Victoria

Ditto, YA agents!

Maprilynne

Definitely YA agents. Agents tend to represent either children's or adult (there are some exceptions), so you're better off trying with someone you know represents YA rather than an adult agent who may or may not represent children's.

Good luck!

Mr. Bransford is a literary agent with a blog, for those interested.

^thanks for the plug, rugcat!

Yeah, I just checked it out this morning and it looks awesome!

Maprilynne

Just Me said:

I've written a YA science fiction novel, and I'm not sure who to query about it: science fiction agents or YA agents. For now, I've played it safe and made a list of agents who handle both, but unless I strike gold early on, I know I'll need to find more.

Thanks in advance,

~JM.

Click to expand...

I heard Barry Goldblatt on a panel at World Fantasy Con say that he was looking for 'boys' stories'. He only handles YA so he would be worth trying.