Agent Spotlight: Jeff Ourvan

This week's Agent Spotlight features Jeff Ourvan of The Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC.
Status: Open to submissions.

About: “Jeff Ourvan, an attorney, published author and writing instructor, is a literary agent with the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. His interests are varied: he represents nonfiction works, especially narrative nonfiction, histories, biographies, science, food and sports. He also represents fiction writers, particularly in the mystery, thriller and romance categories. Jeff heads the Agency’s book-to-film efforts, and he is the founder of The WriteWorkshops, an intensive writing workshop based in New York. His most recently authored work is THE STAR-SPANGLED BUDDHIST (Skyhorse).” (From the agency website)
About the Agency:
“The Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC is managed and owned by Jennifer Lyons, who has more than twenty years of domestic and international experience as a literary agent. The Agency provides personalized attention to each of its clients, from conception to publication and beyond. We seek to not only maximize the potential of every project we represent but also help to manage the long-term writing career of each client.” (From the agency website)
Web Presence:
Jennifer Lyons Literary website.

TheWriteWorkshops website.   
Publisher’s Marketplace page.
QueryTracker.
What He’s Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
Non-fiction, especially narrative nonfiction histories, biographies, science, finance, and sports; fiction, particularly in the romance, mystery, and thriller categories. (Link)
What He Isn’t Looking For:
Children's books.
Editorial Agent?
He asks for revisions as needed.
Clients:
You can find a listing of Mr. Ourvan's clients on the agency website. His clients include Tatsha Robertson, Peter Houlahan, Chris Knowlton, Nicholas Crown, and Rebecca Baum, among others.
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query by e-mail.
See the agency website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines.
Response Times:
Mr. Ourvan does respond to queries, usually within a month. Requested material can take up to 6 weeks or so.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:

Interview at Midwest Writers Workshop (04/2023)

Interview at The Darling Axe (04/2021)
Literary Agent Jeff Ourvan on YouTube at The San Diego Writer's Festival (04/2020)
A Chat with Agent Jeff Ourvan at Darkly Delicious (06/2014)
7 Questions for Literary Agent Jeff Ourvan at Middle Grade Ninja (04/2013).
Contact:
Please see The Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 2/9/2025.
Agent Contacted for Review? Yes 
Last Reviewed By Agent? 2/10/2025.
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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 and/or teen 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.



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