Agent Looking for Clients: Elizabeth Copps

Elizabeth Copps migrated from Florida to start her career with Maria Carvainis Agency as an intern in 2010. In 2011 she signed on with the agency as a full-time assistant, and two years later she was promoted to Associate Agent.

She represents a wide range of genres from MG and YA, to adult contemporary + literary fiction, mystery, psychological thriller, women’s fiction, historical fiction, horror, and select nonfiction projects. She’s an equal fan of hilarious stories as well as dark, gritty and sinister reads.

For Elizabeth, the very best books are timeless, thought provoking, and discussion spurring. She wants to see characters who burst off the page and elicit some sort of emotional response in their readers. There are only so many settings and themes to expound on, but every single person is different which means there are limitless combinations of character traits a writer can play with. That’s pretty amazing. The King said it best regarding what it means to create a complex character: “Bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do―to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street.”

WISHLIST:

• Fairytale retelling with the creativity and wisdom of Neil Gaiman.
• Laugh out loud contemporary novel featuring the gut busting humor similar to David Sedaris, Tina Fey or Amy Schumer.
• “Boy book” i.e. a complex and adventurous young male hero who isn’t afraid to discuss real emotions.
• Ode to strong female friendships a la Elena Ferrante. Or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on the YA side…
• Smart, sassy, scary, sarcastic, scintillating heroines in the vein of Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger, Daenerys Targaryen, Zoey Washburn, Clarice Starling, Sarah Manning, and Judith Rashleigh.

How to Submit: Send a query letter, a synopsis of the work, first 5-10 pages, and note of any writing credentials.

Please email queries to mca@mariacarvainisagency.com. All attachments must be either Word documents or PDF files.

We also accept queries by mail:
Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc.
Attention: Query Department
1270 Avenue of the Americas
Suite 2915
New York, NY 10020

If you want the materials returned to you, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Otherwise, please be sure to include your email address. We typically respond to queries within one month, if not earlier.

The agency does not represent screenplays, children’s picture books, science fiction, or poetry.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy