Erica Rand Silverman is Vice President of Children's Publishing and Senior Literary Agent at Stimola Literary Studio, maintaining a highly selective list focused on beautifully crafted illustrated children's books that honor both kid appeal and the book as an art object.
In brief
Her sales record tells the real story: Erica is almost exclusively a picture book and illustrated children's book agent — her confirmed 2025–2026 deals are all in that lane, making her one of the more specialized agents at a boutique studio.
She has a clear track record with illustrator-driven projects: Doug Salati (whose HOT DOG won a Caldecott), X. Fang, and Mika Song each appear in both her current client list and her recent deals, signaling deep, career-long partnerships with visual talent.
Publisher reach skews heavily toward major houses and respected children's imprints — S&S BFYR, Clarion/HarperCollins, Abrams, Holiday House, Random House Graphic, Tundra, and Sourcebooks all appear in her recent deal record.
Her clients have earned some of children's publishing's highest honors, including the Caldecott Medal, Geisel Honor, and the New York Times Best Illustrated Award — evidence of genuine commercial and critical muscle.
Her list is explicitly described as 'highly selective,' and she accepts a limited number of public appearances annually; writers should approach her with fully polished, distinctive work and expect a discerning eye.
Lately
Her agency page notes she has committed to appearing at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2026 Winter Conference in New York City and their Critique Event at the 2026 Bologna Book Fair — two of the most prestigious venues in children's publishing, signaling her ongoing engagement with emerging talent in the field.
What Erica is looking for
This is the core of Erica's list and where her deal record is most concentrated. She is drawn to illustrated books that treat the picture book as both a child-friendly experience and an art object — meaning strong visual storytelling, distinctive aesthetic sensibility, and genuine kid appeal working in tandem. Author-illustrators with a singular voice and a considered relationship between image and text are exactly who she is building her roster around.
Erica's deal record shows frequent acquisition of picture books where she represents the illustrator, the author, or both parties. Projects pairing strong authorial voices with distinctive illustration styles land well with her — see her recent sales with Matthew Burgess paired with Doug Salati and Catia Chien respectively. She clearly thrives on collaborative book relationships.
Middle grade fiction appears on her list in a supporting role — titles like BARB THE LAST BERZERKER (Dan & Jason) and MAPPING SAM (Joyce Hesselberth) suggest she engages with the category selectively. Writers should prioritize projects that have a strong illustrated or visual dimension, given how her list skews.
Illustrated early readers are a natural extension of her picture book expertise. Her work on the Seuss Studios Reader HELLO, SUN! with Lala Watkins shows she is willing to engage with licensed/franchise publishing as well as original early reader projects when they meet her standard for craft and visual quality.
Graphic novels appear in her portfolio (NIGHT CHEF by Mika Song, sold to Random House Graphic), and the agency's roster explicitly includes graphic novel categories. She is selective here — the project needs to come from a place of genuine visual storytelling mastery, not simply a desire to work in the format.
Inclusive representation is woven into her list rather than siloed as a separate category. Projects featuring underrepresented characters and communities appear across age groups on her roster — from ELLIE HAS A SECRET (Clarion/HarperCollins) to BABY COUSINS BIG DAY (Holiday House). This is a consistent throughline, not a trend-chasing interest.
Not the right fit
On Erica's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Erica
Address the query directly to Erica and use the specific submission email address listed on her profile — getting the address right signals you have done your homework.
Lead with the visual and artistic dimension of your project: explain what the art brings that text alone cannot, because her entire list is built around the book as a visual art object.
Author-illustrators should include sample art or a dummy — her most celebrated signings (Caldecott winner Doug Salati, for instance) demonstrate that the quality of the visual work is as important as the writing.
If you are pitching as an illustrator seeking author-illustrator partnerships, know that she has a track record of representing illustrators separately from writers and brokering collaborative pairings.
Avoid broad genre labels in your query letter; instead, anchor the pitch in the specific emotional and visual experience the book delivers, which aligns with how she talks about her list.
Her list is explicitly described as highly selective — submit only your most fully realized, polished work, not a concept in early development.
She will appear at SCBWI's 2026 Winter Conference (NYC) and the 2026 Bologna Book Fair Critique Event — both are opportunities to connect in person before or instead of a cold query.
Verify the current status of her submission form before querying, as the last confirmed open observation is from early 2021 and her availability may have changed.