GOLD members! It’s almost time for our March submission opportunity! Read on for information about our 12 x 12 March Featured Agents and decide who is the best fit for you and your work. Then read the guidelines on the forum as you prepare your submission. Be sure to double-check everything before you hit the send button.

Little GOLDen Book members can choose one of these two agents to submit their manuscript to in March. (If you are a SILVER member, you may use this info for research. Check out our How to Use 12 x 12 Featured Agent Posts article here.)

Mary Cummings of Great River Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members from March 1-15.  Lane Clarke of Ultra Literary will be accepting picture book submissions from 12 x 12 GOLD members from March 16-31. Mary’s profile appears first, followed by Lane’s. 

Here we go!

Mary Cummings of Great River Literary

A little bit about Mary:

After thirteen years as an agent for kids’ books with Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises, in spring 2021 Mary Cummings opened her own agency: Great River Literary. Among her sales are board and picture books, chapter books and novels to such houses as Abrams; Little, Brown; Knopf; Chronicle; Candlewick; Imprint; Feiwel and Friends; Holt; FSG; Random House; HarperCollins; Balzer & Bray; WorthyKids; Holiday House; Wiseman S & S; Philomel; Nancy Paulsen; Viking, Beaming; Delacorte; Walker; Beach Lane, and others. Articles and publishing tips, background on books sold, links to interviews, info on Mary’s conferences, a wish list, and submission guidelines can be found on greatriverliterary.com

When asked what she’s looking for in submissions, Mary replied:

“Looking for: humor, gorgeous language, tender-hearted, unusual and smoothly written rhymes, if a rhyming story, text imagery that lends itself to visual, character-based, good story arc, diversity, fiction and non-fiction (but not bios)

Not looking for: picture book biographies, dog stories, monster under the bed stories, meta-narration snark, stories with adult main characters, or with significant focus on parents or grandparents (overshadowing kid pov), manuscripts that read like short stories rather than picture book texts.”

Mary has been a 12 x 12 Featured Agent in previous years. You can find previous profiles on her here, here, and here. Here are some additional resources for your research: 

Lane Clarke of Ultra Literary

A little bit about Lane:

Lane Clarke is an agent at Ultra Literary. Formerly with ArtHouse Literary, Lane earned a Bachelors’ degree in English Literature from Virginia Tech, and a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School. Lane is a Young Adult author and works as an attorney in Washington, D.C. As the creator of the #BVM hashtag for Twitter story pitch events, and the co-founder of #PitBLK, a pitch event highlighting Black writers, she is committed to making sure marginalized voices have a space in traditional publishing. 

When asked what she’s looking for in picture book submissions, Jennie shared this:

“I’m looking for more literary picture books that serve as a door and a window into traditionally underrepresented perspectives.”

Lane was a Featured Agent with 12 x 12 last year. You can find our profile here. Additional resources are below:

• Find Lane on Instagram
• Find Lane on Twitter
• Check out Lane’s website
• Lane’s Manuscript Wish List (#MSWL)

Remember: Little GOLDen Book Members may only submit to ONE of these agents. Please choose the agent who is the best fit for you and your manuscript. Look for submission guidelines in the Submission Station on the 12 x 12 forum.

• Submissions will only be accepted for Mary Cumming from March 1st at 8am ET/5am PT through March 15th at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC.
• Submissions will only be accepted for Lane Clarke from March 16th at 8am ET/5am PT through March 31st at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC.

Please double-check the times for your time zone on your submissions. Anything received before or after the submissions window is open will be disqualified and you will not be able to submit again this month.

Remember, it is NEVER okay to submit your manuscript twice. Contact Kelli if there is a problem with your submission.

Good luck to our GOLD members! We can’t wait to see your success!

Not a 12 x 12 member yet? Join our waiting list here.