Guide to FINDING AN AGENT
a FINDING AN AGENT MEGA LIST organized from free to paid
Happy New Year! And welcome back to the Kidlit Help Desk.
We are starting off the year with our first official Help Desk Ticket courtesy of Stephanie Affinito, host of the Kidlit Love podcast. If you haven’t already go give it a listen. Here is a link to my episode. She asks:
“I'd love to learn more about finding an agent. I know the traditional query route, but are there other ways to connect too?”
Stefanie, I’ve got you. Let’s go down the ‘finding an agent’ rabbit hole. Here is a FINDING AN AGENT MEGA LIST organized from free to paid. Note that this is a guide to finding an agent not getting an agent which is a different beast entirely.
Querying - Free
Querying is the most common route to finding an agent. This is when the agent is open to submissions and you send them a manuscript either by email or Querytracker depending on the agents preference. But how do you know who to query? Lots of research!
Here are a few things that can help you in your search:
QueryTracker - QueryTracker is a database that allows you to search Agents and see who is open to submissions, what genre they are seeking and their average response time. It also serves as a way to organize and track the queries you send to avoid the faux pas of querying two agents at the same agency. They feature query letter success stories on their blog, their newsletter letter let's you know when agents open/close and they have a free query course.
(I used QueryTracker while I was querying and highly recommend.)
Your Writing Acquaintances - This is how I found my agent! I had exhausted the agents that I had heard of and was in search for some that I may not of heard of yet. So, I looked just outside my immediate circle of writing friends and took note of who was repped by who. That’s how I found out about Ladderbird Literary Age
Publishers Weekly - The Children’s Bookshelf newsletter delivers book deal announcements to your inbox twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) you can mine these announcements to see what agents represents stories like yours.
Publisher’s Marketplace ($) - Publisher’s Marketplace is a database were you can research agents (deals they’ve made, imprints they have worked with, etc.) and follow deal trends. For $10 you can get a quick pass which allows 24 hour access to the premium features on the site.
Agents Featured on Blogs - Blogs will often feature agents who are actively growing their list. Agents tend to do more interviews when they are newer or switch agents so at times the interviews are older but still relevant. Great ones to check out are: Literary Rambles, From the Mixed-up Files, Path to Publication, and PB Spotlight.
Agents Featured on Podcasts - Podcasts will often feature agents who are actively growing their list. Agents tend to do more interviews when they are newer or switch agents so at times the interviews are older but still relevant. Great ones to check out are: The Manuscript Academy Podcast, and Author and Agents Podcast.
Agents on Social Media - Some agents are active on social media and some aren’t but the ones who are often post when they are opening/closing and sometimes host ask-me-anythings.
Pitch Events - Free
There was a time where Twitter (yes, before it was X) was the hub for pitch events. But with the recent state of social media it isn’t what it used to be. A few events have pivoted to other platforms like DVpit (marginalized creators), PitchDis (disabled, neurodivergent, and/or chronically ill), and KidlitGN (graphic novels)
Showcases - Free
PBparty - Pbparty is an annual contest to help connect unagented writers & author/illustrators with agents & editors. Participants submit an entry which includes a query and first 60 – 70 words if your a writer and illustrations if your an illustrator. Both of your an author illustrator. The judges then pick a wide variety of genres for the agents/editors to read and hopefully request.
TIP: Even if your entry doesn’t make the showcase, you can mine the list of attending agents and query them on your own. Especially if they request an entry similar to what you write.
I was a judge in 2024 & 2025 but sadly will not be judging in 2026. This event is exclusive to picture books.
Kids Comic Unite Pitchfest - Pitchfest is an annual competition to get your unpublished comics and graphic novels in front of agents and editors.
Webinars & Conferences ($-$$$)
SCBWI ($-$$$) - The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators has regional Webinars and conferences as well as it’s larger organization-wide conference. There is an annual membership fee plus the fees for the individual Webinars/conferences BUT if you only want one webinar you can pay a non-member price and forgo the membership.
The regional webinars are very reasonable priced. You can find many that range from $15 - $25. But the caveat is that each region schedules their own and are often promoted separately from the organization as a whole so they can sometimes be hard to find. I suggest selecting several regions on your member profile so that you get their individual newsletters.
The organization-wide conference is pretty pricey. So, I suggest sticking with regional.
Here are a list of other conferences that feature agent submissions…
Girl Power Hour ($)
JollyCon ($)
PB Summit ($$$)
Picture Book Creator’s Conference ($$)
Memberships ($$$)
Mighty Kidlit - Mighty Kidlit is a Free community but the Connections level which offers agent submissions is paid. Connections is $28 a month and includes an agent/editor webinar with submission opportunity, a comp title library (with librarian included!), and more.
They also have a Champions level at $48 a month which offers affordable mentorship. (I’m a mentor!) This community is hosted by Michele Ziemke.
12 × 12 - 12 × 12 is both a writing challenge and a community. Their Gold tier which offers submission opportunities (as well as Webinars, a peer critique forum, private FB group, and more) is $398 per year BUT you have to be a silver member for a year before you can upgrade to the Gold level. This community is hosted by Julie Hedlund.
Writing 12 manuscripts a year is a great challenge even if your not a member.
Phew! That’s a lot of different way to find agents and it can be exhausting if you try to do them all (and pricey). So, I strongly suggest you do what works for you and your budget.
What ways have you tried? Did you find a new way you plan to try?
This is exactly what I needed and was hoping for! Here’s to finding an agent in 2026! Thank you!
Great information! Thanks:)