Michelle Witte

is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of kids books, from illustrated board and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Michelle is always on the lookout for fascinating stories that are well told, especially those with a distinct and distinctive voice. Her own published work includes Happy Little Accidents: The Wit and Wisdom of Bob Ross, and The Craptastic Guide to Pseudo-Swearing. She splits her time between Utah and New York.

Fun facts about me

Random facts about me, because who doesn’t love those: I became a bookworm at the ripe age of four and haven’t stopped reading since. In the first grade I read more than 900 books, and who knows how many thousands since then. I’m fluent in Spanish and French, can read and understand Italian, and have studied Korean. In general I watch more international/foreign language tv shows and movies than English/American shows. So it shouldn’t be surprising that I love to travel, wherever and whenever possible. As a creative outlet, I’ve learned how to make jewelry, knit, sew, etc. Submission Guidelines Note: I am currently closed to submissions and will announce later when I plan to reopen. Submit your query to Michelle via the online submission form at: I represent only children’s fiction & nonfiction, so do not send new adult or adult fiction, memoir, or general nonfiction. For chapter books, middle grade, or young adult novels, include the query letter and the first 10 pages of the manuscript. For picture books, include the query letter and the full text of the manuscript. I’ll consider up to three picture book manuscripts, but mention in the query if you’re querying multiple books. For illustrated board and picture books, include the query letter and upload a dummy book or sample illustrations. For children’s nonfiction, please include either a book proposal or a brief (2–3 pages) overview detailing what your book is, why you’re the person to write it, and a sample chapter. If your project contains photos or images pertinent to the book, you may upload the full proposal. Please note: I do not use AI, and I promise that I will never enter a query or submitted materials through an AI for any reason, whether to check for supposed AI use (they aren’t accurate, anyway) or to summarize a manuscript. I DO NOT accept any submissions that used AI in its creation, whether in the text or illustrations. Lying in response to that question on the submission form will result in an automatic rejection. Guidelines & Details Vital Info @michellewitte..social Website Agent

Fiction

Children's, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult

Favorite sub-genres

Author-Illustrator, MG Fantasy, MG Nonfiction, MG contemporary, MG mystery, Magical Realism YA, Picture Book, Picture book non-fiction, YA Contemporary, YA Fantasy, YA Mystery, YA Nonfiction, board books, chapter books, diverse and own voices, narrative non-fiction YA/MG I’d like the next… Roald Dahl Edward Gorey Lemony Snicket Goonies Pushing Daisies Emily the Strange Curse of Eelgrass Bog I am currently obsessed with Chinese dramas, so anyone who has something like Fangs of Fortune for YA will win my undying love My favorites include… The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar The Spellshop, Sarah Beth Durst A Curious Tale of the In-Between, Lauren DeStefano Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen Crown Duel, Sherwood Smith Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith Matilda, Roald Dahl The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Cathrynne Valente Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden, Christy Mandin Russell the Sheep, Rob Scotton Elephant and Piggie, Mo Willems