A boutique literary agency specializing in pop culture, humor, narrative non-fiction, memoir, and children's books.
Shelf Life founder Marissa Walsh began her publishing career at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday and the Ellen Levine Literary Agency. She was an editor at Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books for seven years, where her authors included E. Lockhart, Antonio Pagliarulo, Ned Vizzini, and Maryrose Wood; her books received various awards, including: New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers, Junior Library Guild Selection, and YA Whitbread Award Shortlist. She is the author of the comic memoir Girl with Glasses: My Optic History (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) and the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books); coauthor of the Boston Globe Bestseller Tipsy in Madras: A Complete Guide to ‘80s Preppy Drinking (Perigee/Penguin); and editor of the YA anthologies Not Like I’m Jealous or Anything: The Jealousy Book (Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books) and Does This Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Marissa teaches Children's Writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. She was the co-director of the 2008 Indie & Small Press Book Fair and served as the 2009 Small Press Month Coordinator. She has also worked as a bookseller for Mobile Libris, an independent bookseller for special events. A FEW OF MARISSA'S FAVE BOOKS (THAT SHE WISHES SHE HAD AGENTED): THE TRUTH ABOUT CHUCK NORRIS/Ian Spector THE OFFICIAL PREPPY HANDBOOK LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE/Ilene Beckerman THE PRINCIPLES OF UNCERTAINTY/Maira Kalman ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE/Amy Krouse Rosenthal PERSEPOLIS/Marjane Satrapi DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS/Mo Willems THE GARDENER/Sarah Stewart OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA/Peggy Rathmann HARRIET THE SPY/Louise Fitzhugh CHARLOTTE'S WEB/E. B. White HOLES/Louis Sachar DIARY OF A WIMPY KID/Jeff Kinney THE CHOCOLATE WAR/Robert Cormier ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING/Louise Rennison DAIRY QUEEN/Catherine Gilbert Murdock
RECENT SALES: DIRTY SOUTH: HOW THE SOUTH WON THE RAP CIVIL WAR/Ben Westhoff: Chicago Review Press (Nonfiction: Pop Culture) FORGOTTEN BOROUGH: WRITERS COME TO TERMS WITH QUEENS/edited by Nicole Steinberg: SUNY Press (Nonfiction: Anthology) THE WORLD IS LIKE A BIG SISTER/Jennifer Stark: Putnam (Children's: Picture Book) RULES TO ROCK BY/Josh Farrar: Walker (Children's: Middle Grade)
| QUERY LETTER GUIDELINES: If your book project falls into one of the Shelf Life categories (pop culture, humor, narrative non-fiction, memoir, or children's book), please send a query letter to bemyagent [AT] shelflifelit [DOT]com. A NOTE ON CHILDREN'S BOOKS: PICTURE BOOKS: We are looking for younger books with very little text (800 words or less). Include the manuscript in the body of your query email. MIDDLE GRADE & YA: NO PARANORMAL, please. We prefer contemporary stories featuring REAL kids. Include the first chapter in the body of your query email. HOW TO WRITE A QUERY LETTER: The query letter should be no more than one page (think resume cover letter). 1. First paragraph: Introduce your project in 1 sentence: "I'm writing to you about my picture book, TITLE." If there is a reason you have chosen us for your project (and hopefully there is!), include that here. 2. Second paragraph: In 50 words or less (2-3 sentences), tell us about the book. But not *too* much. Think 30-second elevator pitch. "It's a cross between STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE and THE LAST LECTURE." 3. Third paragraph: Your bio. Be as *specific* as possible. You might not think it's interesting, but we do. Why are you the *only* person in the world who can write this book? 4. Closing paragraph: (1-2 lines) RESPONSE TIME: We will try our best to respond either way within one month. Don't write us; we'll write you. SIMULTANEOUS QUERIES: Feel free to query other agents simultaneously, but please let us know ASAP if another agent requests your manuscript. |
