Sally M. Kim is an active literary agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Sally is currently open to submissions. She accepts queries only the 1st through the 15th of each month; as of October 2, 2026, her live query form is open. Confirm status on the live form before querying.
About Sally M. Kim
Sally M. Kim is an Associate Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, based in San Francisco. She joined ABLA in late 2023 after more than fifteen years in children’s book marketing and publicity at publishers including Macmillan, Penguin, and Chronicle Books, and after work as an independent consultant for global children’s book publishers and literacy-related non-profits. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA). She represents children’s-book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators across picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and graphic novels (fiction and nonfiction).
At Princeton she majored in Cultural and Intellectual History with a focus on literary history. She has described a HarperCollins internship in the early 2000s and a later move into full-time children’s publishing at Macmillan.
Her clients and projects include Britt Crow-Miller (Living Stars, illustrated by Josée Masse, Beach Lane Books; The Lost Dark, illustrated by Rachel Victoria Hillis, Holiday House), Jerel Dye (Trains, Science Comics / First Second), Zohra Anwar Chunawala (The Dabbawalas of Mumbai, Lee & Low), Jemima Shafei-Ongu and Phoebe Zeng (Zaatar, Allen & Unwin), Amy Reitz, Emilie Boon, Talitha Morena Moniz, Nicola Schofield, and Tom Witkowski.
Submission Guidelines for Sally M. Kim
Submitting Your Work to Sally M. Kim
Before querying Sally M. Kim
The Market List recommends you verify this agent is still active and open to submissions before sending a query. Check the agency website, recent deal announcements, and any posted guidelines. She only accepts queries the 1st through the 15th of each month — confirm the live form before querying.
To be sure your project is a fit, we recommend you familiarize yourself with Sally M. Kim’s list by reviewing recently represented titles and her current wishlist and submission guidelines before querying.
If you have recently queried Sally M. Kim or have experience with this agent, please submit a comment below. Recent response times are always welcome and helpful to other writers.
From the Sally M. Kim Submission Guidelines:
- Queries are accepted only through Query Manager. Email queries will be deleted.
- Open to queries the 1st through the 15th of every month only.
- Categories sought: fiction and nonfiction picture books, chapter books, and middle grade; children’s graphic novels; illustrator and author-illustrator work. Board books have been named among her open age groups in interviews.
- She reads and replies to every query; timing varies (a few days to roughly 6–8 weeks, sometimes longer).
- Standard query letter: about you, the project, a short pitch and/or positioning, and comps.
- She generally steers clear of rhyme, time travel, books that primarily teach a lesson, books intended from the outset to also be for adults, and books in second person / breaking the fourth wall. Horror and sports are poor fits.
- She does not currently focus on young adult as a primary category (she has said she hopes to open to YA later; for now, look to other ABLA agents for YA).
Andrea Brown Literary Agency Submission Guidelines
- Only human-created submissions; no AI-generated work will be considered.
- Select one ABLA agent to query via the Query Manager link on that agent’s bio. Do not query multiple ABLA agents simultaneously. If that agent declines, you may then query another open ABLA agent.
- Required form elements typically include a short query letter, publishing credentials (if any), a short author bio, phone and email, and a sample of the work.
- Sample requirements: novels — first 10 pages; picture book text only — full manuscript; picture book text and illustrations — full dummy (PDF) with 1–2 color samples plus online portfolio link; graphic novels (art and text) — 10–20 sample page spreads plus summary/synopsis; graphic novels (text only) — first 10 pages of script; nonfiction — proposal and 1–3 sample chapters; illustrators seeking art representation only — title “SEEKING ART REPRESENTATION,” upload art PDF and provide portfolio link.
- You will receive a confirmation of receipt upon submission. The agent will respond even if only with a short pass; response times vary by agent.
- If you receive an offer from another agency, notify ABLA immediately and give them 2 weeks to review.
- Significantly revised/reimagined work may be resubmitted after more than 6 months (use title REVISED: [Book Title] and note prior history and changes).
- ABLA agents who accept adult submissions are Laura Rennert, Saritza Hernández, Kathleen Rushall, and Lara Perkins; all other ABLA agents (including Sally) accept children’s submissions only.
Sally M. Kim's Current Wishlist:
Authentic explorations of underrepresented cultures, relationships, and identities across her categories. Distinct voice, unexpected wit, aggressive pacing, and punchy or emotionally resonant endings. Illustration: versatile artists in traditional mediums with unique takes on color, texture, perspective, movement, and detail.
Projects she can never get enough of: magic, dragons, and especially cats; richly layered sister stories; unreliable narrators; surprise endings. Fresh takes on universal themes (especially from an underrepresented POV); effervescent, poignant, and/or witty voices; cozy, warm reads; a well-executed jump scare; kids feeling big feelings.
Smart and/or goofy humorous picture books; exceptional chapter-book craft (high priority); wordless picture books; more commercially bent projects to balance a list that has skewed literary; creators from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
Narrative nonfiction picture books with nature, science, or environmental lenses told through intimate, character-driven stories. Comp energy she has named as aspirations: Alma and How She Got Her Name (Juana Martinez-Neal), The Boring Book (Shinsuke Yoshitake), Encyclopedia Brown, Watership Down, Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments.
Query and Submission Hints
- Lead with voice, wit, and emotional stakes — she has said the thrill is when a query blows her away from start to finish.
- Her marketing/publicity background means a clear, pitchable hook and a sense of how the book finds readers help a query land.
- Soft tip from her public bio: “Pretty please make me laugh. Make me cry. Show me something new.”
- Soft tip on rhyme: agency guidelines still list rhyme among general passes, but she has also said she is “waiting for the right” rhyming picture book — treat rhyme as a steep hill, not an automatic door.
- Center the child’s perspective; she passes quickly on lesson-driven or platitude-heavy manuscripts.