Laurie Abkemeier
Originally from northern California, Laurie Abkemeier graduated from Wells College in 1992 and stumbled serendipitously into a career in publishing. She began as an editorial assistant in the Touchstone/Fireside division at Simon & Schuster, assisting two editors with their diverse nonfiction lists. In 1994, she moved to Hyperion where she developed a broad list of nonfiction and was responsible for five New York Times Bestsellers, including BRAIN DROPPINGS by George Carlin, ROCK THIS! by Chris Rock, NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO PROBLEM! by Jeff Foxworthy, and FIRST PERSON PLURAL: My Life as a Multiple by Cameron West, Ph.D. Some of the dozens of other books she acquired and edited include the Business Week bestseller HOW TO BECOME CEO by Jeffrey Fox, POLISH YOUR FURNITURE WITH PANTY HOSE by Joey Green, WHAT NO ONE TELLS THE BRIDE by Marg Stark, BLUE JELLY: Love Lost and the Lessons of Canning by Debby Bull, and LIVING THE SIMPLE LIFE by Elaine St. James.

In 2003, Laurie became a literary agent, exclusively representing nonfiction. Her talented roster of authors includes journalists, bloggers, poets, academics, and artists. Laurie strives to maintain an eclectic list in which projects don't overlap, but rather connect. She also has a soft spot for humorous approaches to serious subjects, and she places a high value on prose with personality. She takes on only two or three new authors each year and is currently most interested in finding accessible narrative nonfiction in the areas of science, nature, history, pop culture, and sociology.

Memoir/Narrative Nonfiction Highlights:

  • Kyria Abrahams (I'M PERFECT, YOU'RE DOOMED)
  • William Alexander (THE $64 TOMATO)
  • Laura Brodie (ONE GOOD YEAR)
  • John Grogan (MARLEY & ME and THE LONGEST TRIP HOME)
  • Jarrett Hallcox & Amy Welch (BODIES WE'VE BURIED and BEHIND THE YELLOW TAPE)
  • Lori Jakiela (MISS NEW YORK HAS EVERYTHING)
  • Martha Kimes (IVY BRIEFS)
  • John Soennichsen (LIVE FROM DEATH VALLEY and BRETZ'S FLOOD)
  • Kate Torgovnick (CHEER!)
  • Geoff Williams (C.C. PYLE'S AMAZING FOOT RACE)

Practical Nonfiction Highlights:

  • John Austin (PRANK UNIVERSITY and CUBICLE WARFARE)
  • Craig Boreth (HOW TO IRON YOUR OWN DAMNED SHIRT and HOW TO FEEL MANLY IN A MINIVAN)
  • June Casagrande (GRAMMAR SNOBS ARE GREAT BIG MEANIES and MORTAL SYNTAX)
  • Elina Furman (BOOMERANG NATION and KISS AND RUN)
  • Cal Newport (HOW TO WIN AT COLLEGE and HOW TO BECOME A STRAIGHT-A STUDENT)

HOW TO QUERY LAURIE ABKEMEIER
Laurie strongly prefers to be queried in a brief email to lma (at) defioreandco.com Please include the word "query" and your book title in the subject line. Attachments will not be opened unless requested. Submissions do not need to be exclusive, and response time is between three minutes and three weeks. If you must query by snail mail, include an SASE for response only, which may take one month or more. Return of materials cannot be guaranteed.

[NOTE: Laurie is not considering fiction, and if you call your manuscript "a novel," that implies fiction. She is also not considering children's books, screenplays, or poetry.]

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