SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: Molly Ker Hawn from The Bent Agency

Good morning, everyone!

Today we are excited to bring you another great Spotlight On feature, this time with Molly Ker Hawn from The Bent Agency.

Molly joined The Bent Agency in 2012 and leads their London office, where she works with authors from all over the world, selling directly to publishers in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. She represents middle-grade and young adult fiction, graphic novels (complete with illustration), and non-fiction for readers aged 8-18. She is looking for books that are inventive, well-crafted, rich with emotion, and the perfect blend of literary and commercial (leaning more toward the literary side). She’s particularly interested in hearing from writers from historically excluded communities.

You can find Molly on Twitter at @mollykh, where you can learn more about her interests. 

“Show me something I haven’t already seen today: a surprising opening sequence, a fresh voice that plays with language in unexpected ways.”

Hi Molly, thank you for chatting with us!

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

I like gripping stories by writers with well-crafted voices. I want books that make me feel something: joy, fear, sadness, outrage, delight. I love writing that makes me suspect the author read every word aloud to make sure every sentence was the best it could be. I like stories about families, about war, about friendship, about love—anything that makes me want to keep turning the pages, and that will make young readers feel the same way.

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

I’m interested in narrative non-fiction for young readers: social histories, biographies of little-known but historically important figures; anything with a feminist bent.

Q. Is there any genre you’d rather not receive?

I don’t really connect with books with animal protagonists.

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

I know query letters are hard to write, and I’ve seen some authors overthink them. Tell me what your book’s about, in a way that’s intriguing and makes me impatient to skip down to the sample pages, and tell me just enough about yourself to show me why you’re the person to write this particular book.  That’s all you need to do.

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

I read the opening pages of over a hundred manuscripts every week. Show me something I haven’t already seen today: a surprising opening sequence, a fresh voice that plays with language in unexpected ways.

Q. Tell us about a recent deal (or three) that really delighted you.

Selling Louie Stowell’s first books that she’s illustrated herself has been real thrill. Her Loki: A Bad God’s Guide Series has taken her career to a new level and I love seeing all her tireless work rewarded with success.

The full interview will be posted to Molly’s AgentMatch profile.

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your query letter and synopsis, do check out our free resources on our website. We have lots of info to help you on your way. Or, better still, if you’re a member with us, our lovely Writers Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review!