Agent Spotlight: Caitlin Blasdell

This week's Agent Spotlight features Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency.
About: "Caitlin Blasdell  has been a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates since 2002 with a list split evenly between adult and children’s books. Before becoming an agent, she was a senior editor at HarperCollins Publishers. A graduate of Williams College, she lives in Westchester with her husband and four sons. 
Status: Accepting submissions.
What She's Looking For:
Interests: "Specializing in: quality commercial fiction including science fiction & fantasy (adult, young adult, and middle grade), romance, historical, mysteries, thrillers, and women's fiction." (From the agency website)

Update 12/31/2022:

 Caitlin specializes in quality commercial fiction including science fiction & fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and women’s fiction.  She also handles a few select middle grade and YA authors.
What She Isn't Looking For:
Picture books, illustrators, screen plays, poetry collections. 
Quotables:
About the Agency:
"Our five agents are supported by a strong team that sells audio, foreign, licensing and television and film rights.

"We have offices in New York City and Los Angeles, and have subagents all over the world.

"We represent big commercial fiction and literary fiction. In nonfiction, we want to make the world a better place and are drawn to narratives that explore life’s complexities. We represent books for (almost) all ages. Some of them are award winners, several are New York Times bestsellers…and if they aren’t, many deserve to be.

It’s thrilling when we sign up a talented debut novelist, work with her for a few months and then place her with a passionate editor. It’s equally exciting to relaunch a much-published writer. We spend considerable time helping our nonfiction writers craft their proposals.

We’re talent hunters and then, once a sale is made, we become ferocious talent guardians." (From the agency website)
Editorial Agent?
Yes, she is a former editor and several of her clients have mentioned doing revisions with her before submission.
Web Presence:
Liza Dawson Associates website.
LinkedIn.
AgentQuery, QueryTracker.
Clients:
There are lists of client titles on the website.  Ms. Blasdell's clients include:  Harry Connolly,  Jack Hart, Rachel Neumeier, Brian McClellan, Charles Stross, Rebecca Zanetti,Sage Blackwood, Zen Cho, Scott Hawkins, Joel Ross, and Alan Smale among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.  
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query ONLY.
See the Liza Dawson Associates website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.  
Response Times:
Fast!  Ms. Blasdell usually responds within a week on e-queries. Response times on requested material range from a week to a couple months.  There are occasional instances of longer or no response. 
What's the Buzz?
Ms. Blasdell seems to be a fabulous agent.  She works for a well-respected agency, has invaluable editorial experience, and is recommended by P&E standards.  Her clients come across as very loyal and happy with her representation.  While her list includes mainly adult titles, she has made several sales in the children's market and has a particular interest in sci-fi/fantasy.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews and Podcasts:
Podcast with Brian McClellan (01/2022)

Podcast with Writers Drinking Coffee (11/2019)
Around the Web:
Last Updated: 12/31/2022
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed by Agent: 2/4/2023
Contact:
Please see the Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
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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.