Jennifer Azantian established Azantian Literary in 2014 and focuses primarily on fiction across genres for mg, YA, and adult readers. She represents bestselling and award-winning writers, and is always on the lookout for new talent. Prior to ALA, Jennifer was at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency followed by a stint with the Paul Levine Literary Agency. Before publishing, she earned her B.S. in clinical and developmental psychology from UCSD where she was an executive editor for the Triton Psychology Report. She brings to her clients a passion for literature born of a writer's heart, an editorial eye honed from reviewing thousands of projects, and the connections to help bring wonderful books to life.

Wishlist

This is by no means exhaustive. I am always surprised by the stories that steal my heart!

• Explorations of love, friendship, or familial bonds against fantastic backdrops
• Obscure retold fairy tales
• Women and girls in STEM
• Quirky middle grade
• Modernized mythologies
• Psychological horror/thrillers with speculative elements
• Literary and/or near-future science fiction
• Historical fantasy
• Magical realism
• Internally consistent (preferably non-Medieval European) epic fantasy

Graphic Novel

I am currently open for children's graphic novels (young reader through YA) across genres. I'm looking for emotionally complex projects from contemporary to fantasy and everything in-between, with a particular soft spot for inter-generational stories, immigrant stories, and magical realism. If you can make me feel like THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER, you'll have me. The illustrations are stunning and the characters leap off the page, making you care about them from moment one. Other recent favorites are GHOSTS, THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, PUMPKINHEADS, and REAL FRIENDS.

Middle Grade

I'd love to find some creepy or spooky stories that are still age-appropriate like CORALINE. Stories that don't forget how hard it was to be young but told with a whimsy that undercuts those hard times like in a lot of Roald Dahl's work. Stories that dig into the deeper questions like A WRINKLE IN TIME and THE GIVER. Lyrical stories like THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON. And well-written adventures like GREGOR THE OVERLANDER and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. I think the most difficult thing to get right in middle grade is remembering just how complex a time it was. I know a middle grade is hitting the right notes for me when, even if I'm loving the read, I have that subtle fear of never wanting to be twelve-years-old ever again!

Young Adult

The most important thing I'm looking for is a great voice (especially in MG and YA). Though I'm predominantly interested in stories with a speculative element, a recent master-class in incredible voice that is worth mentioning is THE HATE U GIVE. Another book that reminded me of being a teen and also touched on difficult topics, though I wish it went even further, was TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN. In SFF, I like well-crafted worlds like in STEELHEART and GRACELING, fresh takes on well-trodden tropes like in THE FIFTH WAVE and LEGEND, and beautiful, heartbreaking stories like THE BOOK THIEF. Young adult is also a prime place to explore those very real, yet heightened teen emotions. I think it may be my favorite age group for a psychological thriller with speculative elements or a good group mystery where something very weird is going on and the setting is viscerally engaging with the characters.

Adult

I'd love to find a transportive fantasy with an incredible sense of place that pulls me in from the first page like A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC or THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS. YA crossover and found family like in RED RISING. Beautiful, literary writing (always) like in NEVERWHERE, OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, and THE NIGHT CIRCUS. If you can make me connect in a long-form story the way Ken Liu did in The Paper Menagerie (and pretty much his entire short-story collection), you'll have me. And, of course, sprawling, well-thought-out epics like THE WAY OF SHADOWS and THE NAME OF THE WIND. I like dark epics, but they don't have to be dark for me to enjoy them. In SF and psychological horror (no straight horror please, my imagination is scary enough), I'm looking for grounded stories that look at the "what ifs" within our minds, our social circles, our cultures, and our world. Some of my favorite novels are ones that make a seemingly small change and follow that to their unavoidable ends or show me a future that feels so surreal, yet so inevitable.

Most importantly, throughout all the above interests and across age groups I am committed to supporting underrepresented voices and sharing your stories (from the deeply personal to the most fantastic—or both)!