Joanna Stampfel-Volpe has been with the agency for two years. She represents children's and adult books, fiction and non-fiction.
Joanna's specific interests are: non-fiction for kids and teens, chapter books to YA novels, adult romance (historical, paranormal), fantasy (urban fantasy, steampunk), up-market fiction (dark, literary, horror, women's fic, commercial thrillers, historical, magical realism, speculative fic), and commercial non-fiction (pop culture, environmental, foodie).
*She is also interested in graphic novels for kids/teens, or novels with a high graphic element.
Right now she is NOT looking to acquire: picture books, cozies, cookbooks, academic nonfiction, epic fantasy for adults, hi-science fiction for adults, poetry, collections/short stories, screenplays, true crime, corporate/legal thrillers, adult contemporary romance.
When she's not reading (which is almost never), she enjoys cooking, watching movies, playing video games, and hanging with her husband and her Chihuahua, PeeWee.
"From children's to adult the most important part of a manuscript to me is the voice. The characters really need to come alive for me on the page whether it's a fast-paced adventure for kids, a beautiful, family-drama for women, or a dark, horror for teen boys. I often look for more character-driven stories rather than strictly plot-driven (although plot is important, obviously). So I guess my taste in children's, YA and adult is the same: strong voice, no matter what it's about."
Joanna accepts email and hard copy queries - please see Submission Guidelines for further information on how to query her. And make sure to check out the Events Schedule for conferences she'll be attending this year!
Read an interview with Joanna on Guide to Literary Agents here.
Read an interview with Joanna on Market My Words here.
Read a guest post by Joanna on Reader's Block at The Swivet here. here.
Read a guest post by Joanna on Pitching at QueryTracker here.
Listen to an interview with Joanna on AuthorMagazine here.
Follow Joanna on Twitter here.