• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Storm Literary Agency

Moonchild

I write fluff and that's OK.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
1,885
Reaction score
378
Location
Vancouver Island
I stumbled across this agency/agent and couldn't find a thread on them here or on P&E.

Here's their website: http://www.stormliteraryagency.com

From what I gather, they specialize in children's books, but they seem very new. From their 'about' page, I can't quite suss out if they've got any actual experience in publishing. (If they do, they're certainly not advertising it).

Anyone knows anything about them?
 

LIMAMA

Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2005
Messages
21
Reaction score
2
I can tell you that this agency has been discussed in several of my kid lit groups on Facebook. The consensus seems to be that Essie is determined and she gives good feedback, but no track record. And they're not based in NY.
 

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
6,704
Reaction score
1,314
Location
Far from the madding crowd
Website
www.victoriastrauss.com
The founders don't seem to have any direct publishing or agenting background, but they do seem to be deeply involved in childhood education, which could at least give them a good sense of what's marketable (a skill that many inexperienced agents lack) and enable them to select a good client list. I think it's possible this agency might succeed--but that might take quite some time, and it's the clients who will pay the price of the wait. So I think a wait-and-see approach is wisest, at least for now.

- Victoria
 

Moonchild

I write fluff and that's OK.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
1,885
Reaction score
378
Location
Vancouver Island
Yeah. That was the sense I got. Thanks for weighing in! I'll add them to my "to watch" list.
 

LIMAMA

Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2005
Messages
21
Reaction score
2
Essie has been busy, though. I know of at least four writers whom she recently offered to rep.
 

escritora

.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 21, 2007
Messages
2,995
Reaction score
616
Here to report my experience. All good. She requested a revise and resubmit on a picture book. I did. She ended up passing. We had different visions for the target market. Her feedback on each interaction had merit.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
PM lists a couple; to Sterling Children's and Kar-Ben.
 

Juanwi

Registered
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Just had a full manuscript request from this agency. Any updated info on them or new experiences?

Thanks!
 

rainbowfish

Registered
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
Messages
45
Reaction score
2
They're listed on Querytracker now. I have a full out with them too. I know it's still early days for this agency, but I wish there was more info on them.
 

ArianaF

Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
5
Reaction score
3
Any idea how these guys are doing? I know last I checked they hadn't sold to any big publishers, and I wasn't sure if the people involved had the appropriate experience.
 

Fiender

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
1,189
Reaction score
420
Location
New York
They have a list of their sales on their website: https://www.stormliteraryagency.com/ourpublications

It seems to be fairly up-to-date as there are several sales listed as 2020 and 2021. I only found a single sale to HarperCollins and nothing to any of the other big publishers (unless one of the smaller publishers they mention is an imprint of a larger one, but I don't have all that info memorized).

They do say they're a boutique agency which tells me they aren't necessarily aiming for the big houses. I'd recommend looking into which of the publishers they list are legitimate and successful. If they're mostly selling to publishers that accept un-agented submissions, or publishers with very unimpressive-looking books/sales numbers, that would be a red flag for me.
 

ArianaF

Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
5
Reaction score
3
I noticed a good number of the publishers listed on the publications sections of their website- as well as their 'celebrated deals' page here are presses that are open for submissions from un-agented authors, such as

Jolly Fish Press
Kids Can Press
Creative Editions
Albert Whitman & Co.
Groundwood Books
Dawn Publications
Tilbury House
Page Street Publishing

and likely more (that list was only for half of the page before I stopped). I would personally be very wary about submitting to an agency whose successes are found in presses that accept submissions that don't require an agent, even if I have personally heard good things about some of the aforementioned publishers. Just my two cents, I suppose.
 

Sonya Heaney

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Messages
565
Reaction score
85
Location
Canberra
^^^^ That was what I noticed first.

While there are now a couple of agents there with more impressive credentials, I'm completely confused why they list titles published with CreateSpace/KDP ...