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[Agency] Darhansoff & Verrill (formerly Darhansoff Verrill Feldman)

MKL1025

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Hi everyone,

Leigh Feldman at Darhansoff Verrill Feldman requested a partial of my book. I know she's totally legit and represented Memoirs of A Geisha and Cold Mountain, among others.

Just wondering if anyone had any personal experiences with her.

Thanks!
 

TJ_Forrester

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Congrats on the interest.

I just signed with her. She's top of the line and a nice person besides. She took about five days to read a collection and a novel partial.

Leigh Feldman is highly respected in the industry and she's been around a long time, has the contacts needed to make sales. She's a dream agent.
 

Erik Alder

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Leigh Feldman

I am currently waiting to hear back from Ms. Feldman on a query I sent four weeks ago. How long did it take for her to respond to yours, and how did she respond? By the way, did she take on your work?

Erik
 

je$$ica v.

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Liz Darhansoff

Does anyone have any experience with Liz Darhansoff. I know she is very reputable as I did my homework but I was wondering if anyone has any insight inot how long it usually takes her to review a full MS? Just wondering....
 

gladspooky

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their website (dvagency.com) was last updated on December 11, 1998

the only reason i can imagine for this is if they have a bet going
 

gladspooky

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ah, thanks

guess that's what i get for not doing a quick Google beforehand and crossing them off
 

IGLOOGREENHOUSE

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Where do they say they won't take email queries? I cee under submission guidelines something quite different
 

Jamiekswriter

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Yeah, here's the sub guidelines from their site:

"We consider unsolicited queries by both post and email. Please send query letters to Darhansoff Verrill Feldman, 236 West 26th Street, Suite 802, New York, NY 10001. Including an SASE will guarantee response; otherwise we will only be in touch if interested in your work. If you include additional material, it will be recycled unless you provide a shipping envelope with sufficient postage.

Send email queries to [email protected]. Again, we will be in touch to request material but otherwise will not issue response to individual email queries. We are most interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, sophisticated suspense, and both fiction and nonfiction for younger readers. Please note we do not represent theatrical plays or film scripts. "

Unfortunately, they're non-responders :(
 

Chumplet

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I must have been looking in the wrong place. Thanks!
ETA: Ah, here's where I saw it. Leigh Feldman's AgentQuery page states no email queries. However, if the agency accepts them, I'll send to their address and direct it to her.
 
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Dear Author

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Has anyone here had dealings with Michele Mortimer? She seems terrific and is reading my full (originally queried Leigh Feldman but got the request from Michele). I've searched all the usual places: PM, AQ, QT, Google Books, but haven't had much luck. I see her listed in another Absolute Write forum as being their YA person, but my book's lit fict. Just hoping for some personal experiences, if anyone's had them...
 

Dear Author

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At the risk of continuing this conversation with myself only, I want to add this: Leigh Feldman has left DVF after 20 yrs & joined Writer's House: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/leigh-feldman-joins-writers-house_b22306

I'm a little edgy about whether this is good or bad news for my full - no doubt this caused some upheaval within DVF. If anyone's heard from them recently, esp Michele Mortimer, I'd love to know..
 

CaoPaux

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Heh, thanks for the update. Now we await the name change.
 

HFgal

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HI -The submissions guide only asks for a Query, has anyone sent pages? I did only send query on 9/20/11 for my Upper Middle Grade mystery to Liz Darhansoff.

Karen, did you ever get any answer to this question?

I plan to query Ms. Darhansoff - here is what the website says:

We consider unsolicited queries by both post and email. Please send query letters to Darhansoff and Verrill 236 West 26th Street, Suite 802, New York, NY 10001. Including an SASE will guarantee response; otherwise we will only be in touch if interested in your work. If you include additional material, it will be recycled unless you provide a shipping envelope with sufficient postage.

Send email queries to [email protected]. Again, we will be in touch to request material but otherwise will not issue response to individual email queries.


Given that they are in the writing biz, I would say this whole thing is sort of poorly written (if their objective was to be clear). If I include additional material, will it be read before it is recycled? Do they WANT additional material? Are they just leaving it all up to us?
 

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Liz Darhansoff was the first agent I ever talked to. This was years ago in the days of snail mail queries. I called the office, because I had a question about the submissions package - I don't even remember what the question was.

Imagine my surprise when Ms. Darhansoff herself picked up the phone. I was a stammering wreck. She was so nice and after I asked my question, just had me pitch her right there on the phone. I was terrible at it, but in her kindness, she asked for the first three chapters.

Ultimately, she rejected the project with a very kind and constructive note.

I have to wonder, if it had gone differently and she had been annoyed or rude, would it have kneecapped my Bambi-legs? I wonder if it would have been a set of huge mother-may-I steps backwards for me?

As it is, I've got nothing but gratitude for Liz Darhansoff. She was kind and encouraging when she didn't have to be.
 

mccardey

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Liz Darhansoff was the first agent I ever talked to. This was years ago in the days of snail mail queries. I called the office, because I had a question about the submissions package - I don't even remember what the question was.

Imagine my surprise when Ms. Darhansoff herself picked up the phone. I was a stammering wreck. She was so nice and after I asked my question, just had me pitch her right there on the phone. I was terrible at it, but in her kindness, she asked for the first three chapters.

Ultimately, she rejected the project with a very kind and constructive note.

I have to wonder, if it had gone differently and she had been annoyed or rude, would it have kneecapped my Bambi-legs? I wonder if it would have been a set of huge mother-may-I steps backwards for me?

As it is, I've got nothing but gratitude for Liz Darhansoff. She was kind and encouraging when she didn't have to be.

I have a story like that, about an Australian agent I queried decades ago.

They make a difference, those people, don't they? :Sun:
 

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I have a story like that, about an Australian agent I queried decades ago.

They make a difference, those people, don't they? :Sun:
They really do. I had to hurdle a doubt that I was allowed to be a writer at all, that I hadn't taken the proper path to the sandbox and that my shovel and pail were knockoffs and most inadequate.

To have had that first positive interaction with the industry, well, it was at the same time soothing and a jolt of adrenaline.

I heart Liz Darhansoff.
 

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Catherine luttinger

News is: "Catherine Luttinger has rejoined Darhansoff & Verrill as an agent focusing primarily on science fiction and fantasy (all sub-genres). She is also interested in representing historical fiction, thrillers, horror, scientific non-fiction, and YA."

I can't find any information about her other than this blurb. Anyone know of past clients? Why she left?
 

Mandel

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I've been doing a bit of research on Catherine, as I saw her recent shout-out looking for new work, and the agency has such a good reputation. From what I've seen on querytracker, she is requesting partials from a good percentage of queries, so obviously actively working on building a list.

She doesn't seem to have been an agent before. She shows up in a Google Books search being thanked in a few book acknowledgements from 1999 to 2001. It looks like she worked at Scribner at one point (thanked in 'About Town' a book about the New Yorker by Ben Yagoda) possibly as an editor's assistant. In the acknowledgements for a book called "The Secret Parts of Fortune" (2000) it looks like she was working for the agency The Robbins Office at the time. Then nothing for ten years or so.

She is the daughter of the writer Abigail Thomas, who's also been a book editor and agent. So a family business connection for sure. Perhaps she was an intern or something similar at Darhansoff & Verrill back around then (2001 or so).

I'm hoping that her relative newness might be offset by both the agency's reputation and contacts, and her own connections, if they're not out of date.

I sent a query on a novel as part of a new batch of submissions recently and got a request for a partial a few days later. The full is already out with one other agent, but it's been 9 weeks and I'm getting restless and thought I'd better start adding to my list of possibles, and I'd had my eye on the agency since they rep Neal Stephenson, who is amazing (not to mention Annie Proulx and Stephen King).