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Agent Spotlight: Jamie Weiss Chilton

This week's Agent Spotlight features Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc.  
Status: Ms. Weiss Chilton is currently closed to submissions. Please check the agency website to find out when she opens to submissions.
jamie2About: “Jamie represents children’s books in all categories, with a focus on preschool, picture books, novelty, and real-world-based middle grade and YA. Genre interests include thrillers, science fiction, and speculative fiction.
Jamie looks for an intense emotional experience, in all categories. She's seeking manuscripts that stay with her. This could mean the sweet pang of an "I love you" picture book, or the shock of recognition of an honest window to the tween or teen psyche. For the younger age groups, she looks for the hook that will make a book a must-have parenting or educational resource.
Prior to joining Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2008, Jamie was Conference Manager and Golden Kite Award Director at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and prior to that held editorial positions at Random House Children’s Books and an internship at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
Jamie received her BA in English from Columbia University. She lives in Los Angeles with her family."(From the agency website)
About the Agency:
The Andrea Brown Literary Agency is a mid-sized agency specializing in children's and adult literature, celebrating thousands of titles sold since our founding in August 1981. We are headquartered in Northern California and we also have offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Orlando, and Denver.
We work to bring to light the voices and perspectives of new writers as well as to nurture and develop the careers of experienced authors. Our goal, whether seeking to secure a publishing contract for a first book or a fiftieth book, is to make sure that clients are not only published, but published well.
Our philosophy is to remain a "small" agency at heart. We invest a great deal of personal care and attention in each project and in each client, and we are hands-on in all aspects of our interactions. We work closely with clients and devise a strategy at every stage of the writing process - from conception to editorial to submission - that is tailored to the client and that will enable us to find the best publisher for each book. In doing so, we think about both short term and long term goals for our clients, always keeping the trajectory of a successful career in mind.
Our agents have backgrounds in New York publishing, editing, academia, business, teaching, writing, design, marketing, and film, and one of our strengths as an agency is that we work collaboratively. Our clients have the benefit not only of their individual agent's expertise but of the combined experience and vision of the group.
As a West Coast based agency, we follow a tradition of West Coast innovation in our passion for discovering new voices, in our efforts to make New York publishing more accessible and inclusive of voices from other parts of the country, and in our attempt to see publishing trends that result from this broader perspective. We combine this approach with access, standing, and visibility in the publishing community at large. Our agents make regular trips to New York, attend industry conventions, and participate as faculty at writers' conferences all over the world.
With the personal client attention of a small agency and the business acumen and clout of a larger one, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brings the best of both worlds to the table."(From the agency website)
What She's Looking For:
From her Bio Above:
Preschool, picture books, novelty, and real-world-based middle grade and YA. Genre interests include thrillers, science fiction, and speculative fiction.
You can find client books that represent her tastes on the website.
What She Isn't Looking For:
Ms. Chilton does not represent adult projects.
Editorial Agent?
Yes.
Web Presence:
Andrea Brown Agency website.
Twitter.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
Clients: 
You can find a select listing of Ms. Jamie Weiss Chilton's clients on the agency website and in her bio above.
Query Methods:
E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
“We accept email queries only. Please direct your e-query to ONE agent at our agency, and include the following:
“Fiction: query letter and first 10 pages.”
Please see the Andrea Brown Literary website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.

Response Times:
If you have not heard back in 10 to 12 weeks, assume they are passing on your project. 
What's the Buzz?
Jamie Weiss Chilton joined the Andrea Brown Agency in January 2008 and was promoted from associate to full agent in early 2010. She is now a senior agent and has a growing number of clients and sales and her clients seem quite happy with her representation. 
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
An Interview with Agent Jamie Weiss Chilton at North Texas SCBWI (08/2017)
Agent Jamie Weiss Chilton Talks About SCBWI Writer's Retreat at Kite Tales (11/2015)
Contact:
Please see the Andrea Brown Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 1/18/2023
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Reviewed By Agent? 6/16/2020.
***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7(at)gmail(dot)com

Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.

9 comments:

Stella said...

Thanks for yet another great interview! Your blog is a gem.

Casey Something said...

Hi Stella! They're not actually interviews (I hope you know that!) they're just profiles.

But thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoy them.

Stella said...

Oh, I see what you mean. Duh. Anyhow, I enjoy your profiles, despite the fact that nobody seems to want poetry or fantasies about a fairy. Your blog is a great source of information. Maybe one day I'll write one of those edgy modern fiction novels the editors all seem to be looking for.

Corey Schwartz said...

Thanks, Casey. She seems like a good one for me to try!

Casey Something said...

Thanks again, Stella!

It is hard to find agents that will rep poetry. Wherever your writing journey takes you, good luck! I hope you'll stick around.

Hey Corey, she definitely seems interested in PBs!

K. M. Walton said...

I really appreciate the time you take to organize all of this information. I read every one with excitement!

Sherrie Petersen said...

I think you're right about the "no response" policy. I had a no response from Caryn Wiseman. Then after I met Jamie at a conference, I queried her and got a polite, boilerplate rejection. She doesn't like fantasy, which is what I write.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

great summary - these are so helpful

Casey Something said...

Thanks K.M., Sherrie, and Shelli!