Liz Nealon

My Manuscript Wish List Favorite

PROFESSIONAL BIO: Prior to working in publishing, Liz Nealon was an award-winning executive producer and media industry leader who played an integral role in shaping the indelible youth brands Sesame Street, Kidz Bop, and MTV. She served as Worldwide Creative Director for Sesame Street and traveled the world as SVP of MTV International, launching channels in Europe, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. 

I am the President and Founder of Great Dog Literary, where I represent both adult and children’s books, largely non-fiction.

Not surprisingly, given my many years working in television and interactive media, I am drawn to illustrated books, for both children and adults. My tastes skew strongly to non-fiction and my instincts are decidedly commercial, so I'm always looking for just the right mix of pop appeal plus intellectual content. I like nothing more than packaging serious non-fiction in an alternative, surprising frame.I am more interested in thought-provoking than provocative, though I've been known to represent some deeply edgy content.

Across all of the media in which I have worked, I have been committed to seeking out and amplifying diverse creative voices, starting with recruiting, mentoring, and supporting a diverse staff, and then empowering that team to source and develop breakthrough content. 

Specific genres I’m looking for:

ADULT NON-FICTION: Pop Culture, Illustrated Memoir, Art/Illustrated books, Graphic Novels, Current Affairs/Fresh Takes.

ADULT FICTION: Literary fiction, Poetry (very selective, underrepresented voices)

CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION: Science & Nature, Biography.

CHILDREN’S FICTION: Author/Illustrators only for Picture Books. Illustrated Middle Grade.

I do NOT agent: SciFi, Fantasy.

Some of the current and forthcoming titles from my clients include…

• Diane deGroat’s The Adventures of Robo-Kid (Neal Porter Books, 2022), a picture book/graphic novel hybrid that is a Jr. Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
• Crystal Simone Smith’s Dark Testament (Holt, 2023), a volume of YA erasure poetry drawn from text “found” in the George Saunders’s novel Lincoln in the Bardo which connects the agonized voices haunting Lincoln to the grieving chorus of protests in today’s Black Lives Matter movement.
• Shelley Rotner & Gwen Agna’s True You: A Gender Journey (Clarion, 2022), an affirming photographic picture book of trans and gender nonconforming kids that leads with inclusivity, love, and empathy. Booklist starred review.
• Emma Fick’s Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway (Harper Design, 2022), documenting the longest railway journey in the world—from Beijing, through Mongolia and Siberia to Moscow—in watercolor illustrations and hand-written text.

Submission Guidelines

I only accept submissions through QueryManager.

• Please fill out the query form. If I want to read a complete manuscript or dummy, I will request it AFTER you have filled out the query form.
• If I request a file upload, please upload all manuscripts in Word, and graphics/illustrations as a PDF.
• If the PDF is too large to upload, please include a link where I can view your work.
• If you do not hear from me within three months you can assume that I am not interested in your work.

Vital Info

	@liznealon
	Linkedin
	Website