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!
