Shari Maurer

I represent Picture Books/Middle Grade/Young Adult and Non-fiction.

In PBs I want to see something totally original, with a dash of social justice, a spunky main character, humor and no talking animals.

In MG and YA, I’m open to everything. I love main characters you want to root for, who are savvy and smart. I’d also love to see some social justice topics and humor (not necessarily in the same book), Rom-Coms, Thrillers, Dystopian, and something that grabs me in and makes me forget about the stress in the world. For Fantasy, I’m interested in grounded or contemporary fantasy, or something based on mythology, but not the world-building fairies, werewolves, and similar.  So many of the queries I receive have dead or dysfunctional mothers. Someone please send me a story where the main character has a good relationship with their mom! And I’d love a frantic page turner that keeps me reading all night. Make me laugh and make me sob (bonus points if your book does both). BIPOC and LGBTQ+ stories and creators encouraged.

In Non-fiction I’m looking for Parenting, Narrative, Biography and Memoir, Psychology, and History

In all of these genres, I want to hear from underrepresented voices–BIPOC, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities. I had an English teacher talk about how excited her student was that she found a book that used the same word for Grandma as she did and I want to make sure that kids have the opportunities to see themselves in books.

Submission Guidelines

All queries should contain a query letter, bio, synopsis, and the 1st 5 pages of your manuscript.

As a writer, I know how hard it is to wait. I’m relatively quick in my responses and apologize in advance that it’s a standard form letter. There would be no way for me to respond to the quantity of queries I get with individual emails and I really believe that every submission deserves a response.

Some hints: please make sure your query letter is an actual letter.  Give me a synopsis of your book and then tell me a little about yourself–your history as a writer and why are you the best person to write this story.  A really engaging cover letter makes me much more excited to read your sample.

Please know that a pass from me doesn’t mean your writing isn’t terrific, in many cases it just isn’t for me. The majority of the queries I read are really good, but I only request the ones I can fall in love with.

Also, in both your query letter and in your writing sample, you need to grab me in from the beginning. Those opening lines, paragraphs and pages are really important.

We request a synopsis. Please make that a one-pager that gives a detailed look into the plot.  And please use the “bio” space to tell me more about you.

I look forward to reading some wonderful submissions!

Guidelines & Details