Jazmia Young is a Curtis Brown associate agent laser-focused on children's and YA fiction that amplifies underrepresented—especially Black—voices, with a particular gravitational pull toward middle-grade stories of grief, identity, friendship, and emotional complexity.
In brief
Her stated priority is middle-grade fiction and non-fiction: her agency page explicitly foregrounds MG among her children's categories, signaling that is where she most wants to build her list right now.
She is deeply mission-driven: every category she describes connects to amplifying underrepresented voices, centering Black children's experiences, and exploring layered emotions—this is not a slogan but a consistent editorial lens across picture books, MG, and YA.
Her touchstone titles (King and the Dragonflies, Aristotle and Dante, Front Desk, The Thing About Jellyfish) reveal a taste for emotionally gutting, voice-driven literary-leaning children's fiction rather than plot-driven genre fare.
She also notes non-fiction interests—LGBTQ, memoir, relationships and family—but her profile emphasis and touchstones are overwhelmingly fiction; non-fiction queriers should approach with extra care to demonstrate fit.
She is a New York native who works at a storied New York agency and has a documented soft spot for NYC-set stories—a genuine differentiator writers can use in their pitch.
Lately
Her current agency biography foregrounds middle-grade fiction and non-fiction as a specific focal point within her broader children's mandate—a more precise emphasis than her earlier, wider wishlist suggested. She also names NYC-set stories as a personal passion.
What Jazmia is looking for
This is where her heart visibly lives. She wants stories that grapple with identity, grief, loss, and the full emotional complexity of the middle-grade years. Voice is paramount—she prizes writers who can capture what it actually feels like to be that age. She has a specific and vocal hunger for stories centering Black boys processing emotion and Black girls as world-savers. Characters with unbeatable courage and stories that make readers ache are recurring descriptions. NYC settings earn extra attention.
She is drawn to two poles: lyrical, emotionally deep picture books that invite children to sit with big feelings, and genuinely funny, irrepressible stories that delight. Dreamy, musical prose is a consistent draw. She is not looking for picture book writers who are not also illustrators—authors who are solely writers should be aware she does not seek standalone PB text.
She wants YA that is impossible to put down and stays with the reader long after the last page. Priority themes: LGBTQ love stories (especially first-love narratives), immigration stories told from the inside, and voices so distinctive they feel impossible to replicate. Stories that reveal worlds or experiences outside the mainstream reader's frame of reference are particularly welcome.
Non-fiction is listed as an interest but her profile emphasis and all named examples are fiction. Non-fiction queries in the LGBTQ, memoir, and relationships/family space are welcomed but should be clearly pitched for a children's or YA audience and demonstrate a compelling, underrepresented perspective to stand out.
Not the right fit
On Jazmia's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Jazmia
Send to jky@cbltd.com with the word QUERY in the subject line — this is a firm formatting requirement.
Paste the first 10 pages of your manuscript directly in the body of the email; do not attach them as a separate file.
Lead your query letter by naming the age category clearly (picture book, MG, or YA) and your protagonist's identity — her editorial mission is explicit, and she needs to see alignment immediately.
If your story is set in New York City, say so early and specifically — her agency bio singles out NYC settings as something she personally loves.
For MG, articulate the emotional core of your story in one sentence: grief, identity, friendship, family — map directly to her stated priorities.
If you are writing about Black children navigating big emotions, or LGBTQ first-love stories, or immigration experiences, name that plainly — she is actively seeking these, and burying it costs you.
Do not query her for adult fiction, standalone non-illustrated picture book text only, or genre work without a strong emotional or character-driven center.
Her taste is openly subject to change by her own admission — if your children's book doesn't fit a named category but feels like a strong match for her sensibility, she has explicitly invited writers to pitch anyway.