Agent Spotlight: Katie Grimm

This week's Agent Spotlight features Katie Grimm of Don Congdon Associates, Inc.
Status: As of 7/2024, Katie has left Don Congdon Associates and has joined Curtis Brown LTD. Her agent page says she will reopen to queries in 8/2024. Please check the agency website to find out when she reopens to queries and how to query her.

About: "Katie joined Don Congdon Associates in 2007. She represents vivid literary fiction (be it voicey, historical, speculative, or mysterious), up-market women’s fiction, cohesive short story collections, and graphic novels. In young adult, she loves compelling and heartbreaking contemporary novels and speculative high-concepts rooted in science and history. In middle grade, she enjoys novels with a heartfelt, timeless quality, and stories that explore the magic of our world or those imagined. For non-fiction, she is looking for memoirs and narratives that explore greater social issues, dark and weird times in human history, the personal impact of science, and any off-beat topic explored through an academic lens. Across all genres, she’s looking for books with a heartbeat, and she’ll always be interested in previously under- or misrepresented experiences and stories that contribute to a larger cultural conversation. She is also a member of SCBWI." (From the agency website)
About the Agency:
"Don Congdon Associates, Inc., founded in 1983 by Don Congdon and Michael Congdon, is a literary agency representing a distinguished and diverse list of authors and estates, ranging from current bestsellers and emerging talent to backlist classics. The agency’s seven agents provide individualized service to each client, and are committed to developing and representing all aspects of an author’s domestic and international literary career in a rapidly changing industry. In addition to its New York Times and international bestsellers, Don Congdon Associates’ clients have been the recipients of an array of prestigious awards including the Pulitzer Prize, the George Polk Award, the National Book Award, the James Thurber Prize, the Man Booker International Prize, the Pritzker Lifetime Achievement Award, the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Macavity, Grand Master of Science Fiction and Horror awards, the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Award, the O. Henry Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. (From the agency website)
Web Presence:
Don Congdon Associates website 
Twitter.
Publisher Marketplace.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
From AgentQuery:
Literary fiction, women's fiction, historical fiction, young adult, middle grade, multi-cultural, short stories, quirky, juvenile nonfiction, and more
From her Manuscript Wish List:
"Favorite sub-genres:  Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction
"Most generally, I focus on adult literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, middle grade, and young adult fiction. Across all genres and ages, I’ll always be interested in the darker and weirder side of the human condition as well as previously under- or misrepresented experiences and voices.
"In children's fiction, I love the idea of finding a new middle grade classic that I wished I had as a child to guide me through complicated feelings or take me to faraway lands. I'm also looking for contemporary and speculative young adult novels that use genre tropes and form to create an emotional space to work through issues in a new way. In MG and YA, I'm open to every genre--from magical realism to horror to high fantasy to sci-fi--as long as the focus is on the characters’ personal growth and relationships, with an emphasis on creating wonder and building empathy.
"Topics that always get closer look: beauty and brutality of the natural world, ecological grief, friendship as romance, the many forms of desire, weird history, cults, abductions, the Reformation, the Plague, the sea, Space, twins, monsters, fairy tales, witches, reversal of fortune stories, lies we tell ourselves, and magic in our world or those imagined."
What She Isn't Looking For:
Adult high fantasy, straight science fiction, paranormal,  chick-lit, romance, western, political, how-wo or self-help (Link)
Quotables:
"In children’s fiction, I love the idea of finding a new middle grade classic that I wished I had as a child to guide me through complicated feelings or take me to faraway lands. I’m also looking for contemporary and speculative young adult novels that use genre tropes and form to create an emotional space to work through issues in a new way. In MG and YA, I’m open to every genre—from magical realism to horror to high fantasy to sci-fi—as long as the focus is on the characters’ personal growth and relationships, with an emphasis on creating wonder and building empathy." (Link)
Editorial Agent?
“I am an editorial agent, so I’ve been known to go several rounds of edits with a project if it warrants it. In this marketplace, editorial board meetings are especially competitive, so you have to arm editors with a manuscript that is polished. The bar is high, and we should strive to pass it, not just submit something that is ‘good enough.’” (Link--defunct)
Clients:
See the agency website for a current list of clients.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.  
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Complete the online form or email your query with the word "Query" and the agent's full name in the subject line. Include the first chapter in the body of the e-mail. No attachments. Query only one agent at a time at the agency. (Link)
Response Times: 
Ms. Grimmd responds to all queries. 
What's the Buzz?
Don Congdon Associates is a highly respected agency and Ms. Grimm has the benefit of her colleagues' years of experience and guidance. She iis actively developing a children's list for the agency.  She's been extremely warm and helpful in my dealings with her.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews and Podcasts:

March Agent of the Month: Katie Grimm Part 1 and Part 2 at Writing and Illustrating (03/2020)
Query.Sign.Submit With Katie Grimm at I Write for Apples (04/2014)

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Katie Grimm at Middle Grade Ninja (11/2010)

Contact:
Please see the agency submission page for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 2/10/2023.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 5/7/2020.
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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.