Agent Spotlight: John Rudolph

This week's Agent Spotlight features John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.
Status: Open to submissions.
About: “John Rudolph joined DG&B in 2010 after twelve years as an acquiring children’s book editor. He began his career at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as an Editorial Assistant and then moved to the G. P. Putnam’s Sons imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group, where he eventually served as Executive Editor on a wide range of young adult, middle-grade, nonfiction, and picture book titles. He graduated from Amherst College with a double major in Classics and Music. While John’s list started out as mostly children’s books, it has evolved to the point where it is now half adult, half children’s authors —and he’s looking to maintain that balance. On the children’s side, John is keenly interested in middle-grade and young adult fiction and would love to find the next great picture book author/illustrator. For adults, he is actively looking for narrative nonfiction, especially in music, sports, history, popular science, “big think”, performing arts, health, business, memoir, military history, and humor. He is also interested in commercial fiction, but is very selective in what he takes on. (Link)
About the Agency:
"Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC is a dynamic literary agency boasting an impressive client list and a sterling reputation. Led by Jane Dystel, who founded the company in 1994, our agents are smart, hardworking, compassionate, and focused on their authors’ success. We are a full-service enterprise known for our business savvy and integrity.
"We don’t just sell books. We build careers." (Link)
Web Presence:
DGLM website.
Twitter.
#mswl on Twitter.
QueryTracker.

What He's Looking For:
Genres/Specialties:
Fiction - Action/Adventure, Children's (author/illustrators), Middle Grade, Young Adult, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction.
Non-Fiction - Celebrity, Pop Culture, Narrative, Music, Film & Entertainment, Current Affairs & Politics, Humor & Gift Books, Sports. (Link)
From His Bio Page:
He wants to see more middle grade.
"To be honest, I wasn’t much of a reader as a kid. While I devoured comic books, especially Tintin and Asterix, pretty much the only books I read outside of school were John D. Fitzgerald’s Great Brain series—and why a New York City kid in the early 1980s would be so fascinated by the stories of two conniving brothers set in 1890s Utah is still a mystery to me (and my parents).
"However, it does make sense that when I properly fell in love with reading later on, I found a home in children’s literature and discovered all the wonderful books I had missed the first time around. Better yet, as an acquiring editor I was fortunate enough to add some truly brilliant authors and illustrators to that literature, all of whose work shed new light on the childhood and teen experience.
"Since I switched to agenting in the fall of 2010, I’ve had the pleasure of continuing to contribute to children’s books, yet I’ve also been blown away by the opportunity to represent adult authors, too—it’s such a thrill to be able to work with good writers, regardless of genre or category.
"For middle-grade and YA fiction, I’m on the lookout for authentic kids’ voices and rousing, high concept stories—I love a good “what-if” scenario, though I prefer realistic settings and sci-fi to fantasy. At a younger level, I’m very eager to find the next great illustrator who can also write—we’ve developed a nice stable of illustrators here at DG&B, and I’d love to expand the list further. For adults, I’ve found a home in narrative nonfiction for areas like music, sports, history, popular science, health, business, military history, and memoir. And while my adult fiction list is small, I do like good commercial and literary fiction, particularly anything plot-driven and fast-paced."What He Isn't Looking For:
Plays, screenplays, poetry. (Link)
Editorial Agent?
"Yes, often to a fault—it’s a holdover from my days as an editor that I’m still trying to rein in." (Link)
Clients:
A list of Dystel & Goderich clients is available on the website.
Mr. Rudolph’s clients include: Rachele Alpine, Steven Cordero, Ericka Blount Danois, Stephen Duncan, Bryan Gilmer, Paul Gude, Craig Heimbuch, Shandy Lawson, Adam Lazarus, August McLaughlin, Joe Oestreich, Adrienne Sylver, among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes (preferred).
Snail-Mail: Yes.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
E-mail: Query only; Paste 25 pages of your manuscript in your query. No attachments. Only query one agent at a time.See the agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.
Response Times:
The agency's stated response time for queries is 8 weeks. If you do not hear back within the stated time frame, feel free to resend (Link). Mr. Rudolph’s response times range from hours to a couple months on queries and days to a month or so on requested material.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
Evaluating Literary Agents Podcast at Middle Grade Ninja (07/2019)
What a Literary Agent Is Looking for Podcast at Middle Grade Ninja (07/2019)
Literary Agent John Rudolph Podcast at Middle Grade Ninja (05/2019)
Agent of the Month: John Rudolph Part 1 and Part 2 at Writing and Illustrating (09/2018)
7 Questions For: Literary Agent John Rudolph at Middle Grade Ninja (11/2010).
New Agent Interview: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management at SCBWI: The Blog (10/2010).
Contact:
Please see the Dystel & Goderich Literary Management website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 5/26/2020.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 5/27/2020.
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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.