SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: Crystal Orazu from Context Literary Agency, USA

Hi everyone!

Today I’m introducing you to the lovely Crystal from Context Literary.

Crystal is a Junior Literary Agent, and she hopes to represent and uplift authors whose stories allow readers to feel seen and heard in new and exciting ways. She is looking for middle-grade, YA, and adult fiction, particularly in the areas of contemporary fiction, romance, and sci-fi.

Crystal also kindly took some time to provide us with an incredible, in-depth interview.

Read below for some highlights—including what Crystal is looking for, her advice for writing query letters, and more. Or head over to AgentMatch for the full interview here.

“What moves me above all else is simple, open, and honest writing true to an author’s wild imagination or lived experience…. Perspectives that make me question the way that I or others move in the world as well as my assumptions or opinions of societies and systems are great.”

Hi Crystal! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. We can’t wait to learn more about your wishlist and the genres you’re interested in.

Q. What’s at the top of your fiction wish-list? What authors do you love? What kind of books?

I represent MG, YA, adult fiction, and select non-fiction. In terms of genre, I am interested in contemporary, romance, sci-fi, and low fantasy. I am especially partial to narratives that explore the complexities of interpersonal relationships and writing that centres the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent persons, and that brings joy and emphasises subverting the status-quo (but isn’t solely issue-driven).

What moves me above all else is simple, open, and honest writing true to an author’s wild imagination or lived experience. I love anything that brings equal measures of humour, introspection, or feelings of second-hand embarrassment (key for YA and adult romances), which includes both sweet meandering stories as well as darker, more fraught narratives. Perspectives that make me question the way that I or others move in the world as well as my assumptions or opinions of societies and systems are great.

Across the board, I would like more stories that explore culture, identity, and mental health all intertwined within a coming-of-age narrative, especially from a first- or second-generation immigrant perspective.

I’d love to see more adult characters questioning life and finding their footing like in Raven Leilani’s Luster, Diksha Basu’s The Windfall, or If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi (my favourite short story collection; Neel Patel is amazing!).

In MG and Adult areas, I’d love a narrative showing the sinister side of something always considered childish, normal, or sweet, in the same vein of Joshua Gaylord’s When We Were Animals, or Peter Pan’s amazingly horrid character in Christina Henry’s Lost Boy (although it doesn’t need to be a retelling of an already existing fairytale). Something like Coraline or in the vein of Spirited Away where the main character is grappling with issues of becoming more independent or dealing with less-than-ideal familial relationships with a darker or fantastical twist as well.

Q. What do you love when it comes to non-fiction? What topics fire you up? Which genres leave you cold?

I have yet to venture into non-fiction, but I always think about how there are tons of books out there about how, when, where, and why to invest and I personally would love a WHY of the stock market, for example, because I feel like that’s never been done, no one really questions its existence or what it was originally supposed to function as. I often feel like the stock market is essentially a tool for the rich to build and sustain generational wealth while giving the general public a false sense of being able to achieve the same if they just buckle down and INVEST INVEST INVEST in a diversified portfolio of stocks, crypto, or whatever is trending on investing Reddit forums and tech bro Twitter. But maybe that isn’t the case? Maybe I ultimately have a net negative understanding of the stock market? I wouldn’t know, but I’d love to read something that tackles that issue, especially if it is discussed through a historical and heavily intersectional lens.

Q. What do you want to see in a query letter? And what do you hate?

I like query letters that get to the point and don’t veer into synopsis territory. Give me just enough of your story to be intrigued and leave me wanting to read more!

I hate it when the text isn’t a standard size (so either too small, too large, or a mixture of the two) entirely bolded, has no spaces in between paragraphs, or there are multiple fonts utilized in the body of the query letter—all of these things make it hard for me to read! These are all formatting issues that are obvious before I even get into the content of the letter, so I suggest that writers email the query to themselves and look at it before they send it to me or any other agent.

Q. What are you looking for in the opening pages of a novel? What really excites you?

I love an opening that hooks me right away, either because the improbable is happening or it is something absolutely mundane but looked at from a weird angle. Openings where you immediately receive an idea of a character’s personality excite me too. I loved how in Balli Kaur Jaswal’s The Unlikely Adventures Of The Shergill Sisters, the mother’s no-nonsense personality jumps off the page from the very beginning as she writes a final letter to her daughters.

Thank you again, Crystal!

If you’re in need of some support and advice in regards to your query letter and synopsis, please do check out our resources on our website here; we have lots of information to help guide you on your way. Or, if you’re a member with us, our lovely Writers Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review! Login to access the service here.