Laura Rennert

Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Laura Rennert is a Senior Agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She’s been with the agency since 1998, and thinks of herself as a “literary omnivore.” She specializes in all categories of children’s books, from picture books to young adult. She also specializes in up-market women’s fiction/literary fiction, crossover fiction (works that come out in the YA market and cross into the adult market, or vice versa) and narrative nonfiction. She represents award-winning and best-selling authors, including New York Times bestsellers Ellen Hopkins, Jay Asher, and Maggie Stiefvater, and National Book Award Finalist Kathleen Duey, as well as brand new, first-time authors. Some of her noteworthy sales include deals for seven-figures to Simon & Schuster and deals for over half a million dollars to Random House, Scholastic, and Simon & Schuster; as well as film deals to Nickelodeon/Paramount, Unique Features/Warner Bros, and July Moon Productions and Strike Entertainment/Universal Pictures.

Some of her exemplary titles are FALLOUT (Margaret McElderry/S&S); LINGER (Scholastic); THIRTEEN REASONS WHY (Razorbill/Penguin ); SHIVER (Scholastic); CRANK (Margaret McElderry/S&S); MADAPPLE (Knopf); THE FIVE ANCESTORS series (Random House); IDENTICAL (Margaret McElderry/Simon & Schuster); MY JANE AUSTEN SUMMER (AVON A); EVOLUTION, ME, AND OTHER FREAKS OF NATURE (Knopf); THE PLEDGE (Margaret McElderry/Simon & Schuster; THE BODY FINDER (HarperCollins); DESIRES OF THE DEAD (HarperCollins); MOSTLY MONSTERLY (Simon & Schuster); THE SCORPIO RACES (Scholastic); KILL ME SOFTLY (Egmont); BLOOD MAGIC (Random House); THE MARBURY LENS (Feiwel & Friends/Holtzbrinck); and TRIANGLES (Atria/S&S).

The common thread in the diverse range of projects Laura takes on is a strong voice that gives her pleasure, even apart from being in service of the story. She looks for stories that make you think and feel, and is drawn to fictional worlds that are replete and richly imagined. Although her tastes are wide-ranging, right now she is particularly seeking upper middle-grade and young adult fiction. She’d love character-driven AND page-turning contemporary fiction with real emotional power; dystopian, fantasy, paranormal or works with sci-fi elements that have a literary bent; and gothic or neo gothic novels that hark back to her 19th century Brit Lit roots.  She has a weakness for novels that turn her favorite classics (hint, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, original fairy tales, Dante, the Pre-Raphaelites) or myths inside out, give them an intriguing new context, and bring something unexpected to the table.  She’d love to find a stunning, can’t put me down historical novel with a swing for the fences literary voice and an amazing commercial hook. She has a special weakness for characters with an insider-outsider perspective; books that take us to places and cultures readers wouldn’t normally have access to; narrative risk-takers; and books that make her laugh or cry. Across all categories, Laura’s sweet spot is books with “literary voice and commercial conception.”

Laura’s work as a literary agent is enhanced by her having been on both sides of the table. She’s the author of a picture book, BUYING, TRAINING, AND CARING FOR YOUR DINOSAUR (Knopf), illustrated by Marc Brown, creator of Arthur, the star of many picture books and a six-time Emmy Award-winning PBS TV show. She is also the author of a series of highly illustrated books for young readers, EMMA, THE EXTRA-ORDINARY PRINCESS, forthcoming with Dutton in 2012. Laura has a Ph.D. in English Literature and nine years of experience teaching as a faculty member in English Departments of the University of Virginia, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, and Santa Clara University. She speaks at writers’ conferences, book festivals, and writers’ workshops throughout the country and overseas, and believes she has the best job in the world.