Meet T.S. Ferguson

Before joining Azantian Literary Agency, T.S. Ferguson worked for 16 years as an editor for some of the top children’s and teen book publishers in the business, including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Harlequin Teen/Inkyard Press, and JIMMY Patterson Books. He has worked with New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors such as James Patterson, Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Suzanne Selfors, Pseudonymous Bosch, Robin Talley, Amy Lukavics, Hillary Monahan (writing as Eva Darrows), and Adi Alsaid.

T.S. will be teaching “First Impressions: How to Write a Great 1st Sentence, 1st Paragraph, and 1st page” and participate in Wednesday evening’s “First Page Read – Love It or Leave It.” He is also on the Query Letter/First Page Critique team.

Wishlist

T.S. is looking for young adult and middle grade fiction across all genres. He is especially attracted to the following (in both age groups, unless otherwise specified):

• Plot that grabs you and won’t let go
• Fresh, unique written voices/books where voice is the star
• Lyrical writing (think Laini Taylor) – please call this out in your query
• High concept hooks (if it can be described in 1-2 lines)
• Dark and edgy stories (including, but not limited, to horror)
• Atmospheric horror (where the voice/writing conveys a sense of suspense or dread or terror)
• Stories that can be comped to The Addams Family, Coraline, or Nightmare Before Christmas
• YA horror that doesn’t hold back
• Retellings (esp. fairy tales and mythology)
• Commercial middle grade with series potential
• Fantasy that feels new and different from what’s been done before
• Fantasy with epic worldbuilding
• Action-adventure
• Queer stories across all identities

Stories by and about under-represented voices of all identities and intersectionalities across all genres I represent (marginalized identity and/or pain doesn’t have to be the focus)

• Perspectives we haven’t seen before (something akin to when villain origin stories first started cropping up)
• Unique formats such as epistolary (think Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall, Code Name Verity, or a YA Daisy Jones & The Six)
• Commercial (preferable speculative) graphic novels (strong preference for authors who are also the illustrator)
• Unlikeable characters
• Characters with smart mouths, who aren’t afraid to stand up to authority, and kids who can outsmart the adults in the room

T.S. is not the best fit for: High sci-fi (books with that are 5-minutes-in-the-future or light sci-fi elements, like Adam Silvera’s books, are OK); Sports-centric books; Books about faith or organized religion; Non-fiction; Novels-in-verse

Take a look at bios and wishlists for our full Agent Faculty

Check out the Agent Fest Online schedule!

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Q&A with T.S.

MWW: You’ll be talking about first sentences, paragraphs, and pages. Can you describe a few characteristics of a successful first page, and how writers can draw their audience in even from the very first sentence? 

TF: I think the most important work of a first line and first page is to give the reader something intriguing to draw them into the world or get to know the characters and finding that balancing act between giving away too much information and not enough information. If there’s not enough information being given to the reader, they’re going to feel lost, like they walked up to a group of people midway through the conversation. But if you hit them with too much all at once, they’re going to feel bombarded. What that looks like feels differently for every author and every story, but learning how to strike that balance is crucial. 

MWW: You include graphic novels on your wishlist. Is there a specific way these should be queried–i.e. script only, or already drawn and lettered?

TF: Azantian’s graphic novel guidelines can be found at the following link and since our agents do a lot of graphic novels, we do call out specifically how to query those differently: https://www.azantianlitagency.com/submissions 

I will say for me (and I can’t speak for the rest of my agency) it’s more difficult to wrap my head around just a script without an artist attached, since the art is such a big part of my enjoyment of a graphic novel. So if an author who is not an illustrator, or who does not have an illustrator attached already, queries me, having a full finished script is not required but can be helpful to have ready in case I want to see more. 

MWW: Can you give us a few quick “do’s and don’ts” when it comes to book pitches?

TF: My biggest DO is to find what makes YOUR book stand out and try to emphasize that in your pitch. I see (and pass on) a lot of queries that feel like “more of the same” and I’m always looking for something that grabs my attention and feels unique and special. We always hear “every story has already been told” so what sets yours apart from what’s come before it?

MWW: Who are some of your favorite young adult authors?

TF: This question is so difficult because I always want to send a huge comprehensive list of everything I’ve ever read and loved, but off the top of my head a few recent faves have been Terry J. Benton-Walker, author of the BLOOD DEBTS series, anything by Tess Sharpe is an insta-buy for me, and Will Kostakis, who just won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature in Australia.

 

Meet Kate E. Lore, T.S.’s Assistant for Agent Fest Online 2024

Midwest Writers Workshop likes to include interns, mostly college students majoring in English, to coordinate and facilitate the agents’ pitch schedules. You’ll be hearing from them regarding your appointment time, and they’ll help you meet the agents in the Zoom room when it’s time for your pitch.

Kate E. Lore is an award-winning creative writer, artist, and freelance creator. Kate is openly queer, with the preferred pronouns she/they. Kate neurodivergent with diagnosed autism, ADHD, and PTSD-related anxiety. Born to a single widowed mother and raised in a low-income household Kate is the youngest of four, the second to graduate high school, first bachelor’s degree, and the first MFA in the family. 

Kate E. Lore has had many publications for fiction, creative nonfiction, and graphic narrative featured in various literary magazines including Black Warrior Review, Longridge Review, Bending Genres, Door is a Jar, Under the Gum Tree, and Cleaver Magazine.

A jack-of-all-trades Kate splits their time between fiction and nonfiction, screenplays, flash prose, full-length novels, painting, and comics.

Kate strives to appreciate the small things in life but has been known to throw down hard at an EDM rave if the place is well-lit.

For more information, check out Kate on her website, TikTok, Facebook, @kateelore (Twitter) and @kate.e.lore (Instagram and Threads)

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