Agent Spotlight: Laura Bradford

This week's Agent Spotlight features Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency.
Status: Laura temporarily closed to submission in 8/2023. Please check the agency website to find out when she reopens to queires.
About: 

"Laura Bradford (she/her) established the Bradford Literary Agency in 2001. She considers herself an editorial-focused agent and takes a hands-on approach to developing proposals and manuscripts with her authors for the most appropriate markets. The mission of Bradford Literary Agency is to form true partnerships with their clients and build long-term relationships that extend from writing the first draft through the length of the author’s career. Laura’s clients include both debut and award-winning and best-selling authors and she strives to showcase diverse voices in all genres and would love to bring more LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors (and protagonists!) into the publishing world. She is actively building her client list and represents work in the following categories: romance (historical, romantic suspense, category, contemporary, erotic), speculative fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thrillers, young adult, upper middle grade, illustration as well as some select non-fiction. She is especially interested in acquiring graphic novels, anything #ownvoices, and recent items on her wish list include: plus-sized heroines, manuscripts with disabled rep, a mystery/suspense series with a female protagonist that is an expert in a thinky field (like the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs), deep, juicy middle grade with a lot of emotional gravitas, a historical mystery series with a slow burn romance, multigenerational women’s fiction with some cool time periods and settings, middle grade with non-traditional family dynamics, stories of Black joy (any age), funny, escapist YA, forced proximity survival stories (stranded on an island? plane crash in the mountains? snowed in? Any age. I loved Baby Island AND Six Days, Seven Nights).
She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)." (From the agency website)

About the Agency:
“The Bradford Literary Agency is a boutique agency which offers a full range of representation services to authors who are both published and pre-published. Our mission at the Bradford Literary Agency is to form true partnerships with our clients and build long-term relationships that extend from writing the first draft through the length of the author’s career.” (From the agency website)
Web Presence:
Bradford Literary.
Twitter.
Facebook.

Manuscript Wishlist.   
QueryTracker, AgentQuery.
What She's Looking For:
Genres/Specialties:
Romance (historical, romantic suspense,category, contemporary, erotic), women’s fiction, mystery, thrillers, upper middle grade, young adult, non-fiction, and illustrations
What She Isn't Looking For:
Chapter books, inspirational novels, poetry or screen plays
Editorial Agent?
Yes
Pet-Peeves:
“Willfully ignoring instructions can launch me into a rant (‘I know your guidelines say to do X, but I am going to do Y’).  That is the same as the author saying they have absolutely zero respect for my time or my process.” (Link unavailable)
Clients:
There is a list of agency clients on the website. 
Ms. Bradford’s clients include: Lauren Dane, Megan Hart, Alison Kent, Jenn Bennett, Rachel Solomon, Tessa Bailey, Soraya Lane, Katee Robert, HelenKay Dimon among others.
Query Methods: 
E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Fiction:You will need to submit a query letter with the first chapter of your manuscript and a synopsis in the body of the e-mail.  Include genre and word count. 
Non-Fiction: You will need a full non-fiction proposal including a query letter and sample chapter. 
See the Bradford Literary Agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.
Query Tips:
Ms. Bradford prefers Times New Roman. (Link no longer available)
“I just want to see a general air of professionalism. Get to the point of what is relevant to your work...I don't really need to know your children's names and ages. I really am pretty laid back about format and form. I really don't care about margins and fonts as long as they are legible. I don't honestly care if an author addresses me as Laura or Ms. Bradford. I don't care how long your synopsis is as long as it does the job adequately. Just do your research and make sure your query follows the guidelines I DO have and I will be happy. At the end of the day the writing has to speak for itself.” (Link)
Response Times:
The agency’s (approximate) stated response time for queries is six to eight weeks.
What's the Buzz?
Laura Bradford is a highly respected agent with a great track record.  She represents a number of bestselling authors and is continually ranked among the Top Dealmakers on Publisher’s Marketplace for women’s/romance and YA.  Her clients seem very pleased with her representation
I recommend following her on Twitter @bradfordlit and liking the agency Facebook page.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews, Guest Posts, and Podcasts:

Tips on Working With an Agent at Willamette Writers (04/2022)

Q&A With Laura Bradford at Women Writers, Women Books (11/2017)

Q&A With Laura Bradford at Kirkus (3/2015)
Agent Q&A: Queries at Operation Awesome (1/2013)
Perseverance: The Hardest P, guest post by Laura Bradford at Adventures in Agentland (05/2011).

Ask Agent Q&A transcript with Laura Bradford at Suzy Kue (05/2011).
Contact:
Please see the Bradford Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 1/12/2023. 
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 2/8/2023.
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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.