Nicole Eisenbraun is a kids-book specialist at Ginger Clark Literary who pursues MG and YA across all genres, with a strong pull toward under-represented settings, lore-driven fantasy, layered mysteries, and STEAM nonfiction — while also serving as the agency's Translation Rights Manager, giving her an unusually global outlook on commercial potential.
In brief
Eisenbraun reps MG and YA exclusively — she is explicit that adult nonfiction is not her territory, so genre fiction and adult work of any kind should not be queried to her.
Her personal background (small-town South Dakota, parents who ran a motel, oldest of four siblings) directly shapes her wish list: rural/Midwest settings and family-business stories are not trend-chasing — they are autobiographical passions.
Her dual role as Translation Rights Manager signals she thinks about books' international lives from the start; stories with broad cross-cultural appeal or globally rooted mythology may resonate with her on a commercial level beyond the domestic market.
She names THE INHERITANCE GAMES-style layered mysteries and FRONT DESK-style family-business MG as specific touchstones, suggesting she is drawn to books that are both emotionally grounded and commercially accessible.
She explicitly closes the door on Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Peter Pan retellings — but opens it wide for fairy tales that rarely get the retelling treatment, so originality of source material is a genuine differentiator for her.
Lately
Eisenbraun's public wishlist emphasizes a strong appetite for under-represented settings — rural Midwest and beyond — and calls out family-business stories as a personal passion rooted in her own upbringing running a small-town motel.
What Nicole is looking for
Eisenbraun is actively building her MG list across the full genre spectrum. She is especially hungry for stories set in the rural Midwest or other under-represented American and global locales — places that rarely anchor children's fiction. Family-business narratives in the vein of Kelly Yang's FRONT DESK hold particular personal resonance for her. She also wants a chapter book aimed at a diverse readership that captures the warm, character-driven humor of JUNIE B. JONES or the JUST HARRIET series.
She welcomes YA across the board, with a stated priority on books that recreate the visceral reading experiences of her own youth — stories that simultaneously excite, teach, and build empathy. Enemy-to-lovers romance threads are a personal weakness. She is drawn to psychological suspense that leaves readers questioning whether something supernatural is at play, as well as propulsive thrillers more broadly.
She wants fresh, visually vivid retellings of stories that have not been heavily mined — she specifically calls out 'The Willful Child,' 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' and 'The Lady, or the Tiger?' as the kind of source material that excites her. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Peter Pan retellings are explicitly off the table.
Stories rooted in myths and legends from cultures around the world — particularly traditions that Western publishing has not over-saturated. Her translation-rights background likely deepens her appreciation for globally sourced material with broad international appeal.
She welcomes any story that weaves in science, technology, engineering, art, or math, whether through plot, character, or theme. On the nonfiction side — children's and middle grade only — she has a current focus on the internet and social media as subjects, alongside science, history, and technology more broadly. She is not the right agent for adult nonfiction of any kind.
Multi-layered mysteries with intricate plotting appeal to her, as do thrillers that probe the human psyche under extreme or unusual circumstances. She has a particular fondness for the ambiguity between rational and supernatural explanations.
Books that confront hard topics — but approach them through an unexpected angle or with a compelling, distinctive narrative voice rather than a straightforward issues-driven frame.
Not the right fit
On Nicole's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Nicole
Send your query to nme (at) gingerclarkliterary (dot) com with 'nmequery' in the subject line — she specifies this exact subject line, so deviating may delay or lose your query.
Include your query letter, contact information, and the first 15 pages of your manuscript all in the body of the email — not as attachments.
She aims to respond within three weeks but only replies if she wants to see more; no response means a pass, so do not follow up before that window closes.
Lead with setting and premise: given her stated hunger for under-represented locales and specific fairy-tale sources, making your geography and source material immediately clear in the first line of your query gives her what she is actively scanning for.
If your book touches STEAM subjects, world mythology, or a non-Western lore tradition, name it up front — her translation-rights background means she is also evaluating global commercial potential, so signal that dimension if it exists.
Avoid positioning your project as a Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, or Peter Pan retelling even tangentially — these are explicitly closed doors.
She represents MG and YA only; do not query adult fiction or adult nonfiction regardless of how literary or commercial it is.