Miranda is an agent at EMLA. View the agency website here.
Read more about deals she’s done here.
Please remember, the email address on this website’s contact page is Miranda’s personal one, please do not send queries or agent-related matters there (they will be deleted).
Miranda (she/her) currently represents writers, illustrators, and writer-illustrators of all genres of books for children through teens. Miranda is prioritizing submissions from creators who have been underrepresented within the industry. If you want to meet her in person, the most reliable way to make that happen is to attend her yearly Highlights Foundation course, Science and Nature Writing for Kids and Teens.
Facts:
Miranda began her subscription to National Geographic as a kid. Her bedroom wall was filled with posters of ocean creatures labeled by their scientific names. She is proud to be nerdy.
The Giver by Lois Lowry has always been one of her favorites, and she escapes into dystopian worlds often.
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson is Miranda’s favorite picture book of all time. If you can make her laugh out loud, choke up every time she reads your story, or rushes into the other room to share quotable lines or pages aloud with someone, she’ll want to rep it.
In 4th grade, her favorite book was The BFG by Roald Dahl. Weave humor, imagination, and whimsy into a narrative with ethical dilemmas and she’ll welcome a look at the project.
Miranda never read a novel in verse as a teen, but would have adored reading books in the vein of Sonya Sones’s What My Mother Doesn’t Know.
Miranda’s first professor in writing for children was National Book Award Winner Lucille Clifton. She loves Lucille’s books, especially The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Spring.
Miranda is passionate about representing stories that reflect diversity, intersectionality, and fresh, empowering viewpoints. She is a cofounding member of We Need Diverse Books and the creator of its mentorship program.
Miranda is a foster animal mom with four resident cats and loves when authors or illustrators weave rescue animals into stories like Welcoming Elijah by Leslea Newman or Lost and Found Cat by Doug Kuntz, Amy Shrodes, and Sue Cornelison. She loves all animals (except ticks, and she’s on the fence about scorpions).
The list below is not exhaustive, and doesn’t include a list of what not to send, because Miranda often finds herself pleasantly surprised by something she didn’t think she was looking for.
Author-illustrators – Miranda is open to author-illustrators and graphic novelists and would prefer to see at least one sample dummy and a link to a strong online portfolio. Miranda is prioritizing submissions from author-illustrators who are from underrepresented backgrounds. She loves seeing continuity in style and depth of field in picture book art. Her preference of style is art that doesn’t look quick-digital, even if it’s created digitally.
What Miranda Gravitates Toward in Middle Grade and YA
MIRANDA IS LOOKING FOR MORE MIDDLE GRADE AND YA RIGHT NOW!! ALL GENRES!! Miranda is interested in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction for teens. She’s also interested in Young Reader editions of popular or groundbreaking adult science books, or collaborations in which an expert or notable figure with a platform teams up with a writer.
Memoirs, Nonfiction, and Graphic Nonfiction – Miranda would like to find manuscripts that seamlessly weave scientific information or historical facts into a gripping, emotional narrative of human interest, in which the author demonstrates excellent primary source research and a deep personal connection to or expertise on the topic. Author-illustrator graphic novelists, please query! Examples of her favorites include: All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat, Primates by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks; Rhinos in Nebraska by Alison Pearce Stevens, The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, From a Whisper to A Rallying Cry by Paula Yoo, I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda, Caitlin Aliferenka, and Liz Welch; Who Gives a Poop? by Heather L. Montgomery
Fiction – Miranda is interested in character-driven narratives, especially ones that explore global or international themes and settings, underrepresented viewpoints, and can be concisely described with a one-sentence pitch. Examples include: The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman, Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, Melissa by Alex Gino, A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, the Akata Witch series by Nnedi Okorafor, Auma’s Long Run by Eucabeth Odhiambo, Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. Miranda likes to feel engaged as a reader, and wants to care about the main character. All these years after reading Neal Shusterman’s UNWIND in one or two sittings, she still gets chills thinking about “that scene” – and longs to be so captivated (haunted?) by a YA book in that way that she cannot stop reading.
Miranda would love to rep a novel in verse that feels accessible to all readers, even those who “hate” poetry. She enjoyed reading Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo.
Miranda would like to find a book in the POV of young characters living with an alcoholic family member, especially if the writer can explore the nuance and specificity of those experiences without relying on or perpetuating stereotypes.
Instructions for Queries (scroll to bottom)
What Miranda Gravitates Toward in Picture Books
Miranda adores tightly-written, fun picture books with rhythm that little listeners can memorize, especially when illustrated with design elements that provide sensory appeal for the very young. She wants to be pulled along with building anticipation and irresistible patterns or enticing structures that make a reader NEED to turn the page. Oldie examples: Freight Train by Donald Crews, So Much by Trish Cooke and Helen Oxbury, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert; Donovan’s Big Day by Leslea Newman and Mike Dutton; Newer (and forthcoming) examples: Bathe the Cat by Alice McGinty; Big Tune by Alliah L. Agostini; The Runaway Dosa by Suma Subramaniam.
Concept-y – Miranda loves a picture book pitch with a clear premise, a manuscript or dummy with an intriguing format. She’s on the hunt for extremely strong writing, impeccable word choices, page-turnability and read aloud ability, with a feeling of the book being both timely and timeless. Bonus if it provides an opportunity to spark a conversation about an important topic or build empathy. Examples include: Hands Up by Breanna J. McDaniel and Shane W. Evans; Be A Tree by Maria Gianferrari and Felicita Sala; Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea and Tom Slaughter; The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak; Whole Whale by Karen Yin and Nelleke Verhoeff.
Memoirs or Inspired-by-Life Fiction – Miranda is on the lookout for manuscripts with emotionally gripping narratives, tight writing, and a strong theme that is relevant to the intended age reader. Examples include: Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin; At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell; A Different Pond by Bao Phi and Thi Bui; Dreamers by Yuyi Morales; Becoming a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green; I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith; Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler; Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zwiebel and David Catrow; Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson; The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato and Delphine Durand.
Picture Book Biographies, Eventographies, and Nonfiction – especially tightly-focused slice of life biographies presented with intersectional viewpoints, engaging and unique formats, and books which serve as a jumping off point for a discussion of contemporary cultural, ethical, or scientific issues. She’d love ANY nonfiction picture book about a single topic that is presented succinctly and with humor in the vein of SKULLS! by Blair Thornburgh and Scott Campbell. Other Examples include: What’s In Your Pocket? by Heather L. Montgomery and Maribel Lechuga; Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez; Me…Jane by Patrick McDonell; The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby.
Miranda is not typically open to general submissions. However, she always welcomes unsolicited or solicited manuscripts from underrepresented creators from diverse backgrounds and identities. She also accepts referrals and submissions from attendees at specific conferences at which she is speaking (you will be given guidelines at the event). Unless otherwise instructed by Miranda, use her Query Tracker page here (preferred) for any unsolicited submissions. Artists and illustrators welcome to submit portfolios and dummy samples anytime via Query Tracker, as are underrepresented writers. You can also reach out via the EMLA contact page, though Query Manager is much preferred.
Due to the volume of unsolicited messages, any correspondence regarding representation or referrals sent through Miranda’s personal email, this author website and the contact page email listed on this site, text messages, or social media will be deleted.