joshuasimonlevy.com
@JoshuaSLevy
AGENT
Elana Roth Parker
WRITES
Upper Middle Grade
DEBUT
Seventh Grade Vs. The Galaxy (Spring 2019)
Carolrhoda/Lerner
BIO
Dad; husband; former middle school teacher; current lawyer; excited to be publishing my first middle grade book in 2019!
PUBLISHING BACKGROUND
Even before I started querying, I’d written more than a few full-length manuscripts. But it was the manuscript that will ultimately be published in 2019 that I felt was “good enough” to be put out there. (This is as much a reflection of the quality of that stuff, as it is my personality, for better or worse.) And it admittedly wasn’t a short road: By the time “Seventh Grade Vs. The Galaxy” is published next spring, it’ll have been several years since I began querying agents for the book. But I’m thrilled to be where I am and grateful for the path that got me here.
EXPERIENCE
Substantively, it doesn’t much relate to MG/YA books. But I’m a lawyer in my day job; and I spend a TON of my time writing and editing and writing some more. I’m no stranger to the back-and-forth nature of the editorial process and genuinely believe that much of that skill set is valuable here.
OVERVIEW
I can’t say exactly what resources like this one were available to me when I was first trying to break into this world. But whatever they were, I didn’t take advantage of them. Not sufficiently, anyway. Now that I’m a part of some of these communities–to the extent I can contribute and help along someone else, I’d be delighted to do so.
Excited to see the fantastic (and fantastical) MG worlds that you are all creating.
- Contemporary
- Fantasy
- Sci-Fi
- Mystery/Thriller
- Historical
- Magical Realism/Fabulism
Given the genre of what I’m publishing (and what I’m working on currently as well), it probably makes the most sense for me to stay in my lane. Sci-Fi. Fantasy. Speculative fiction, basically. But I’m absolutely open to more. And I love “high concepts” of all sorts.
I WILL PROVIDE:
- Edit Letter (Big Picture developmental feedback)
- Line edit (dropping notes into a Word Document)
- Skype or phone call
WORKING STYLE
I am more-or-less willing to provide feedback in whichever way makes the most sense for what I’m reading. I’ll know it when I see it, I suppose. Likely, a line edit would serve as the backbone for the process, alongside whatever else is helpful and efficient for the both of us.
IDEAL MENTEE
Hard to say, as I know there are so many paths to publishing MG/YA lit. Amiable, I suppose. Eager, maybe. Probably doesn’t hurt if you get as upset as I do when someone calls Star Wars or Doctor Who, “science fiction.” Ugh.
SEND ME:
Something set in the future? Or something set in the past? Something with magic or monsters? Partial to worlds kind of (but not entirely) like our own. And even if grounded in “reality”, humor and/or friendship and/or family. (So everything MG, I guess.)
DO NOT SEND ME:
Within MG (despite my stated preferences/background), not sure I’d say “absolutely not” to anything.
FAVES
How much time do you have, exactly? The original Timothy Zahn “Thrawn” Trilogy sparked my love of stories (and Star Wars, obviously). Today? Love a good coming-of-age fairy tale (“Orphan Island” and “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” being just a couple recentish examples). And all things in (or about) space (still SW, obviously; but also Star Trek and Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galactica and Ender’s Game and The Hitchhiker’s Guide and Firefly and Across the Universe (Beth Revis) and Dare Mighty Things (Heather Kaczynski), just to name a few…). Also obsessed with Arrested Development (and various AD alumni projects, including–but not limited to–the devastatingly human BoJack Horseman).
Recent Comments