Iwalani Kim

Iwalani joined Sanford J. Greenburger Associates in 2018 after interning at Ayesha Pande Literary, Don Congdon Associates, and Kweli Journal. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i and graduated from Vassar College with degrees in Political Science and German Studies.

She is actively building her client list, focusing on upmarket and literary fiction and select narrative nonfiction, with special attention to stories by and about people of color. In fiction, she loves coming-of-age narratives, family dramas, and stories that challenge systems of power. She gravitates toward lush prose, wry humor, irreverent characters, and a sense of yearning. In nonfiction, she is looking for literary memoir and cultural criticism. She is particularly drawn to food writing, deep dives into subcultures, and writing that complicates the idea of ‘paradise’ or explores progressive movements such as prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition.

Her wishlist includes but is not limited to:

• Stories by Pacific Islander writers
• Sharp, funny, voice-driven books about millennial women of color
• Novels/collections with a strong sense of place or that feature characters connected to a place/community (think DISAPPEARING EARTH by Julia Phillips, SABRINA & CORINA by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, or THERE, THERE by Tommy Orange)
• Magical realism, such as SHE WOULD BE KING by Wayétu Moore
• Literary horror/suspense like THE VEGETARIAN by Han Kang, and especially books in this genre that center motherhood such as THE NEED by Helen Phillips or FEVER DREAM by Samanta Schweblin.
• Novels about navigating loss and grief that are poignant yet quirky in tone, like Annie Hartnett’s RABBIT CAKE or Rachel Khong’s GOODBYE, VITAMIN
• Literary memoirs (favorites include HEART BERRIES by Terese Marie Mailhot, IN THE DREAM HOUSE by Carmen Maria Machado, LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS GIRLS by T Kira Madden, and KNOW MY NAME by Chanel Miller)
• Nonfiction books about new understandings of community (think HOW WE SHOW UP by Mia Birdsong)

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to ikim@sjga.com

Query Iwalani at ikim@sjga.com. Please put “Query: [your book’s title] by [your name]” in the subject line. Include a brief pitch letter and the first few chapters in the body of your email, and if Iwalani thinks your project might be a good fit for her list, she will be in touch within 4-6 weeks. Due to the volume of queries she receives, Iwalani is unable to personally respond to each submission.