Submissions That Sing: Agents Panel

Submissions That Sing: Featured Agent Panel

How do you compose a submission package that catches an agent’s eye? How do agents conduct relationships between editors and creators that lead to the perfect symphony that is a picture book? Agents Emily S. Keyes, Lane Clark, and Saba Sulaiman come together in this one-hour pre-recorded panel to give you expert advice to apply to your submissions right away.

Let’s get to know this year’s Featured Agents:

Get to know Emily S. Keyes:

Emily S. Keyes is the founder of Keyes Agency, LLC. Previously she was a literary agent at Fuse Literary and a contracts manager/associate agent at L. Perkins Agency. Before entering the world of agenting, she worked in the contracts department of Simon & Schuster, Inc where she handled copyright, reversion of rights, and assisted with author contracts. In 2008, she graduated from New York University’s Center for Publishing. She uses her knowledge of contracts, copyright, and the publishing business to benefit her clients.

Get to know Lane Clarke:
Lane Clarke earned a Bachelors’ degree in English Literature from Virginia Tech, and a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School. She is a Young Adult author and works as an attorney in Washington, D.C. As the creator of the #BVM hashtag for Twitter story pitch events, and the co-founder of #PitBLK, a pitch event highlighting Black writers, she is committed to making sure marginalized voices have a space in traditional publishing.

Get to know Sabe Sulaiman:

Saba Sulaiman is an agent at Talcott Notch Literary Services, a boutique agency located in Milford, CT. Saba looks for stories she wishes to champion that showcase the individual and the world around them. She feels books are a heartwarming way to connect us all through storytelling, that children are particularly receptive to differences, and that they also tend to embrace silliness and absurdity as simple matter of fact. Saba represents picture books, middle grade, YA, as well as some chapter books (but mostly clients she already represents). She loves stories with heart, stories with certain sense of urgency, high concept, whimsy, word play, structural experimentation, humor (she notes there is space for humor in everything), honest storytelling, books that open conversations with children, and diversity and inclusivity in all forms.

Plus, each of these Featured Agents are part of this year’s pitch submission opportunities with the Summit + Submissions ticket!

Attendees who purchase the Summit + Submissions ticket will have the opportunity to pitch a manuscript to each Featured Agent and Featured Editor. They will each have their own submission form. That means you will be able to tailor your pitch to each individual agent or editor according to what they are seeking in submissions.

For example, you could submit the same pitch to every agent and editor, a different pitch for a different manuscript to each agent and editor, or anything in between. No matter what, you’ll have six opportunities to pitch YOUR project(s) to these industry professionals.

At this time, only two of these agents is accepting unsolicited picture book submissions from unagented writers, so this is an excellent opportunity to get your pitch in front of these three awesome agents!

Mark your calendar and make plans to join us for:

Picture Book Summit 2023:

Picture Books That Sing!

October 7, 2023

Early Bird Registration opens Friday 5/19/23!