Literary Agent Interview: Carey Blankenship-Kramer Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Carey Blankenship-Kramer here. She’s an associate agent at Azantian Literary Agency. 

Status: Carey will reopen to queries in May 2025. Please check the agency website to find out when she reopens to queries.

Hi­ Carey! Thanks so much for joining us. 

About Carey: 

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

 

I’ve always been a huge reader, and one of my core memories as a child was realizing wait, there are people behind books?! On top of knowing I wanted to be a published author one day, I also knew I wanted to help other authors realize their dreams too. When I first graduated with my degrees English and Creative Writing in 2016, I decided to pursue another field, because at that time I would have been required to move to NYC to work in publishing and I’m not a city girl by any means. But once remote work opened up more and I earned a lot of experience with internships with agencies and small publishing presses (plus my Master’s in Writing and Digital Communications), I decided to get serious about becoming an agent in 2023. After sending out a few cold emails to agencies to see if they needed a junior agent, I found my first position. Then in January 2025, I moved over to the Azantian team! I’m also glad I pursued other opportunities when I graduated, because now I have almost over a decade working in marketing to help my authors promote their stories. 

Since I’ve become an agent, I’ve signed with ten incredible clients, sold two books, and had a blast reading some beautiful and inspiring stories. Can’t wait to see what happens next! 

About the Agency: 

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors. 

Founded in 2014, Azantian Literary is committed to guiding the careers of both new and established voices in fiction and nonfiction, particularly those who have been historically underrepresented. Whether a heart-warming contemporary, a moving true story, or a grand epic fantasy, we look for the universal truths in our stories that connect us all. I love working with Azantian, because all the agents are so passionate about what they do and beyond eager to help one another accomplish our goals and our author’s goals. It’s such an empathic, talented group that I’m beyond proud to be a part of. The agents at Azantian are doing good work, and my goal as a literary agent to help marginalized voices tell their stories very much aligns with Azantian’s goals. 

What She’s Looking For: 

3. What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do you represent and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres? 

I represent the full gamut of age groups and genres! Really the only thing I’m not looking for is nonfiction. Sorry to nonfiction writers out there, it’s just not my cup of tea. As far as things I’m specifically looking for:

 

• Stories from marginalized creators featuring diverse characters.
• Graphic novels from author / illustrators. 
• Lyrical writing. I love beautiful metaphors and descriptive language.
• Horror, horror, horror! I love kids getting chased by ghosts / the supernatural or adults having to battle haunted houses. Freak me out without having to be heavy-handed with gore and violence.
• Speculative stories have a special place in my heart. Anything that is set in our world but something is off / different I’m a huge fan of.
• Multimedia story telling. Love books that use things like podcasts, social media posts, texts, etc. to explore themes.
• Main characters that are very driven and headstrong, even to the point of being toxic. Love people that give off Taurus energy.
• If your characters play tennis or video games, I’m interested!
• I’m queer and neurodiverse, so I especially love queer romances and identity searching with ND characters. 

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in? 

PBs:

• Author / illustrators.
• Stories that teach readers something without being heavy-handed, whether that’s an emotional lesson or something cultural.
• Stories that focus on different cultures and types of families.
• Something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy after reading it.
• A spooky story that explores folklore from other cultures, like THE SKULL by Jon Klassen.
• Not the biggest fan of potty humor or silly stories where the focus is solely on humor.

MG:

• Queer first crushes and identity searching where homophobia isn’t the main focus.
• Coming of age novels hold a special place in my heart, especially when they explore darker themes or issues, like with THIS APPEARING HOUSE by Ally Malinenko.
• Really looking for horror in this space especially.

YA:

• Speculative stories featuring angsty teenagers now having to figure out a supernatural problem, like with IF YOU COULD SEE THE SUN by Ann Liang.
• Cozy fantasy where it’s easy to slip into the pages and forget the real world.
• Contemporary that explores big problems and takes your breath away, like with WE DESERVE MONUMENTS by Jas Hammonds or IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME by Jen St. Jude.
• A tennis focused story, especially if it involves a queer romance.

Adult:

• A page-turning thriller. Bonus points if it involves the supernatural, like Simone St. James. Or if it uses different mediums, like NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell.
• If you’ve got a weird little book that doesn’t fit neatly into genre boxes, I would love to see it.
• Books that focus on unique lines of work or places where settings are almost like another character, like with ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES by Charlotte McConaghy. 

What She Isn’t Looking For: 

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?

 

• Nonfiction.
• Books where cheating is the main focus or plot point.
• Stories where animals die.
• Historical fiction.
• Books where spies / government espionage / war / soldiers are the main focus or main characters.​
• Romance stories when romance is the only focus. I’m not a big romcom reader. BUT if you’ve got more things going on like character growth and big emotional problems, like with LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren, then I’d love it, especially if it’s queer or features BIPOC characters. 

My list is also very full of PBs right now. That’s a harder yes for me, at the moment. 

Agent Philosophy: 

6. What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to work with and the books you want to represent? 

Above all, I want to help marginalized authors tell their stories and get their voices heard. Whether your reader is a kid or an adult, every single person in this world deserves the chance to see themselves in a book. 

Aside from that, I’m looking for a story that either moves me, teaches me something new, reconnects me to the human experience, and/or makes me afraid to go to sleep at night. I want to represent all genres and age groups, because I read so widely and so many books have made me fall in love with their pages or helped me connect with some part of me or the larger human experience in general. 

I will say most of my clients have a very strong voice and writing that leans more lyrical than contemporary. And their character arcs are so satisfying. But they vary across genres and age groups. 

Editorial Agent: 

7. Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re working with your authors before submitting to editors? 

Yes, I’m a very editorial agent. Editing is my bread and butter. Typically, when I sign with a new author, they can expect to go through at least one round of edits. But for most cases it’s been two. One to wrap up any big picture items such as plot or character growth. Then a second pass to make sure your prose is as shiny as possible before we go out to editors. I always offer a collaborative approach, however. At the end of the day, you know your manuscript the best. And I never want to edit something that will change the core of your story and its themes. I always chat with my authors about changes and what works best for them and the market. 

Query Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting) 

8. How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter? 

Authors can query me at Query Manager only when I’m open! My form will guide you with the information I need and how I need it. I typically require the first ten sample pages with each query as well. As a gentle reminder, if you query me via email or website form, or ask me questions about your query via the same methods, I won’t be able to respond and will have to delete your message sight unseen. Just to be fair to all the other authors following the rules. 

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you? 

I typically don’t go for projects that open with a dream, a prologue, or a phrase that goes along the lines of “I know what you’re thinking” or “Let me explain how I got here” etc. The element that all these writing styles have in common is I’m instantly reminded I’m reading, and I’m not settling into your story or your world. I like to be able to sink my teeth into your writing immediately. If your first ten pages can help me escape this world, that’s fantastic. 

Response Time: 

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript? 

My response time is slower than I’d like right now, but I do respond to all queries and requests for pages. I’m taking about four months to respond to things right now, but I never mind a nudge. But I will always respond, I promise, even if it takes me some time. 

Self-Published and Small Press Authors: 

11.  Are you open to representing authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them? 

Yes, I am! For the right project and the right author, of course. I wouldn’t be able to work with authors on the stories they already have published, so I would need them to query me with a new story that we would then work on. But because my goal is to work with my authors their entire career, having already been published isn’t an auto-rejection for me. 

For authors who are already published and are trying to find an agent to represent them, I encourage you to be honest in your query letter! Let me know about your previous deals, how the sales numbers are looking if you have that information, and why you’re looking for an agent now. Letting me know your story is just important as pitching your current manuscript. That way, I’ll be able to tell if I can help you move along in your career or not. 

Clients: 

12. Who are some of the authors you represent? 

I currently represent ten extremely talented authors and illustrators. I’m so lucky to work with them! I’ve got clients who create PBs, MG, YA, and adult fiction. They range from heartwarming contemporary stories to horror that will make you jump at the shadows in the corner of your eyes. Aside from being incredibly talented with lyrical writing and page-turning plot, my current list of authors is also 100% BIPOC, queer, and/or neurodiverse. If you’d like to learn more about my clients and what drew me to their work, you can click the link below: 

https://www.careyblankenshipkramer.com/authors.html 

Interviews and Guest Posts: 

13. Please share the links to any interviews, guest posts, and podcasts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you. 

You can check out my previous articles and interviews on my press page on my website, available here: https://www.careyblankenshipkramer.com/press.html. I’ve been lucky enough to be on a few podcasts so far and looking forward to even more! 

Links and Contact Info: 

14. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web. 

Writers can query me via QueryManager when I’m open: https://QueryTracker.net/query/3066. 

As far as links on the web, here are mine! 

Website: https://www.careyblankenshipkramer.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/careyblankenshipkramer/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/careybk.bsky.social

Twitter: https://x.com/careyfblankensh 

Additional Advice: 

15. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered? 

Querying is really tough right now, and it’s been getting tougher over the years. There are just not enough people in publishing to help tell the stories of everyone writing them. While you’re querying, be gentle with yourself. Know that rejections can be extremely subjective and what might not work for me will absolutely work for another agent. And make sure you keep writing, which is the biggest challenge of all while you’re querying. But the world needs your stories, so look after your mental health and fight against burn out with every turn of your page. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Carey.

 Giveaway Details

­Carey is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment through May 3rd. If you do not want to enter the contest, that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address. 

If you follow me on Twitter or mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway. 

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or email me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com 

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.

 Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Wednesday, April 23rd I have an agent spotlight interview with Rebecca Eskildsen  and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, April 28th I have an interview with debut author Alby Williams and a giveaway of their MG Where There Be Monsters 

Thursday, May 1st I’m participating in the Come What May Giveaway Hop 

Monday, May 5th I have a guest post by author Donna Galanti and a $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card giveaway to celebrate the release of her MG Loon Cove Summer 

Wednesday, May 7th I have an interview with author Aimee Phan and a giveaway of her YA The Lost Queen and my IWSG post 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!