It was a very casual retreat — no planned team-building or trust exercises, no organized activities, just conversation around a roaring fire (Thanks, Erin!), some good food, and lots of Diet Coke.

I recall when the idea for a retreat first came up, it was part of a conversation on Twitter wondering if they made the clients of an agency feel like a clique, and I have to say that, having been part of a successful retreat now, I think it’s about bonding, sure, but not to exclusion of others, as a clique would be. In addition, my authors couldn’t be more excited now to support each other, and that’s the best benefit to come out of the weekend.

I’m already looking forward to planning the next one, for 2012! Where will it be? And will YOU be there? Maybe!

The Whole Gang, from left: Julia Karr, Kate Testerman, Erin Danehy, Ellen Booraem, Rebecca Petruck, Sara Beitia, Kiki Hamilton, Carrie Harris, Kater Cheek, Amy Spalding, and Josie Bloss

But what about since then? A search of my query mailbox shows 2,130 queries received and responded to since July, with another hundred or so that went right to my spam folder. I requested 41 partials, which is a better average than the first half of the year, but does include material from a conference, as well as just emails. And I asked for three full manuscripts.

So who did I say yes to? Well, I signed Erin Danehy in July, with a YA urban fantasy. And I may have more news to share next week, on something I’ve been asking for all year. We’ll see.

But roughly, you’re looking at .04% odds. And… wow. That’s tough. It’s stark, seeing those numbers. But you know what? I’m still looking. Ok, not right now — any queries received after midnight tonight will be deleted unread. But I have no doubt that next spring, when I reopen to queries, I will be starving for something great to read, and I have no doubt you guys can bring it.

What other stats can I share that may be of interest? I closed new domestic deals for Josie Bloss, Matthew Cody, Trish Doller, Stephanie Perkins, and Ransom Riggs, plus several more that I’m excited to officially announce soon. I finalized foreign deals for rights in Chinese (both simplified and complex characters), Croatian, Germany, Hungarian, Indonesian, Portuguese (in Brazil), and Australia and the UK, and closed on a film option for Matthew Cody‘s Powerless.

We got some great reviews, including several stars, and a lot of love from the internets for for our books and our authors — I couldn’t be prouder. Tom Sniegoski‘s Fallen series hit the New York Times bestseller list, and over a million nerdfighters heard John Green praise Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

What else? Sara Beitia‘s debut The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon came out to much praise, Kater Cheek‘s weekly webcomic brought chicken-related laughs, S. Terrell French‘s Operation Redwood continued to win awards, Sara Raasch got a tattoo and finished college, Susan Steward went to the Kennedy Space Center as part of NASA’s TweetUp program, Daniel Blau Rogge moved back to NYC, and Amy Spalding rocked the improv stage at LA’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

And what can we look forward to? LOTS!!

January brings the release of XVI by Julia Karr, Small Persons with Wings by Ellen Booraem, and the US release of Pink by Lili Wilkinson. Looking beyond that, Spring sees the long-awaited release of The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, while Summer brings us Carrie Harris‘ debut Bad Taste in Boys. Fall takes us to London for The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, the first in her new series, and gives us Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, Faking Faith by Josie Bloss, and The Dead Gentleman by Matthew Cody.

Plus, my own long-expected debut of BabyUn.

I can’t wait to have even more things to celebrate! In the meantime, I hope you all have a very happy, healthy, and book-filled holiday season. I’ll check in here occasionally with more news as I have it to share. Merry merry!!!

Since her father’s Nicholas Sparks–like novels have been turned into blockbuster movies and he now has the means (and status) to give her culture, Anna Oliphant finds herself uprooted from her Atlanta home to become the newest senior at the School of America in Paris. Her seemingly enviable situation is offset by her inability to speak French, her fear of venturing off school property and a possible romantic interest back home. But then the young film critic meets gorgeous, heart-stopping classmate Étienne St. Clair, who has a sexy British accent and offers to show her around Paris—and who also has a serious girlfriend at a local university. Perkins’s debut surpasses the usual chick-lit fare with smart dialogue, fresh characters and plenty of tingly interactions, all set amid pastries, parks and walks along the Seine in arguably the most romantic city in the world. Sarah Dessen fans will welcome another author who gracefully combines love and realism, as Anna’s story is as much about finding and accepting herself as it is about finding love. Très charmante.

But that’s not all! Booklist (subscription required) is also featuring a very nice review of Sara Beitia‘s debut novel The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon, saying, in part:

This debut novel boasts a strong narrative drive, deft scene setting, and isn’t bad at delivering catch-your-breath suspense, either. Beitia’s mystery starts, in classic fashion, with a lady vanishing: Lily smuggles her boyfriend, Albert, into her room and spends the night with him, but when he wakes up, he finds Lily gone, with only her cell phone and bag left behind. Albert quickly becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance and teams up with Lily’s acerbic sister to find his missing girlfriend. The story careens among three different plots and time lines: Lily’s disappearance, the search for Lily, and what happens just before the surprising climax. This splintered approach is a good mirror for Albert’s obsessive, longing-filled ruminations about Lily, as well as for Lily’s own mind, which had been disrupted by a mysterious accident months before.

Hooray for Stephanie and Sara!

• Teens Read Too posted a great review of Albatross by Josie Bloss. In part:

ALBATROSS is a powerful, insightful novel that centers on a problem in relationships that has unfortunately become all too common. Readers will feel like the people who witness those being emotionally abused in a relationship, and want to try so hard to tell that person to get away from the abuser, but are unable to fully control the situation. Josie Bloss constructs a realistic portrayal of such frightening yet truthful experiences of abuse that will exert a passion in readers to take action when they witness or are themselves in an abusive relationship.

• Cynthia Leitich Smith of Cynsations posted an interview with Sara Beitia (who has a blog and didn’t tell her agent — bad author!)
• Matthew Cody was at NY Comic Con last weekend to moderate a panel and sign copies of Powerless. Suvudu got a video interview. And hey, speaking of Powerless, wouldn’t it make an AWESOME Cybils nominee? This blogger thinks so, and I agree!
• Finally, Ransom Riggs has a cool post up at Mental Floss about his “found snapshots” collection, and the things people write on the back of pictures. Some things never change.

Have you found anything cool on the internet lately I might have missed? Link ‘em in the comments!

When his girlfriend, Lily, disappears in the middle of the night while he is asleep in her bed, 17-year-old Albert has no idea where she’s gone or that he will soon become suspected of abducting her. Debut novelist Beitia’s story unfolds in three time lines–one that describes past moments in Lily and Albert’s relationship; another that unfolds in the hours and days after her disappearance; and a third, in which Albert and Lily’s sister, Olivia, are on the lam looking for Lily. Their search is spurred by a mysterious postcard Albert receives from Lily right after she flees, which says that she is waiting for him in “The Last Good Place.” Each time line fleshes out minute details, plunging readers deep into Albert’s experience; the interlacing of the three creates real tension.

If you’ve read the book yet, I’m very curious to know what you think! What would be your one or two line blurb for it?

I’d also love to know what your “Last Good Place” might be. Without giving too much away, in the book we learn it’s somewhere Lily always felt safe and happy — where’s that for you?

Jokingly agreeing that she writes young adult fiction because she herself is emotionally stunted, Beitia’s actual reason for writing in this genre is much more astute.

“It’s hard to explain, but teenagers to me are in such an interesting and hopeful and highly emotional period of life.” Beitia says. “Everything is so important and it has so much meaning and the feelings are so strong and overwhelming. They haven’t been beat down by life. It’s a very hopeful state of being. The whole world is in front of them, they’re right on the cusp of being good, bad and indifferent. I found that really compelling.”

I have to say, that’s practically the exact reason I choose to represent YA books myself.

And from the Kitsap Sun, in a column on the books, authors, and publishers of the Pacific Northwest:

Beitia tells this story in three strands — what happens just before Lily disappears, in the immediate aftermath, and during a journey Albert undertakes (in uneasy partnership with Lily’s resentful younger sister) to find the missing troubled teen. The story lines weave together and gradually tighten, producing a snarled web of clues and half-truths in which appearances are not what they seem and the tables are turned on one vital issue — who among the adults can be trusted?

Beitia, a reporter/editor for an alternative weekly in Boise, has produced an addictive read. Her three teen principals come alive on the page as they try, with urgent energy but limited skills, to navigate their way through a devastating set of revelations in a world not of their choosing.

This portrayal of alienated youth feels heartbreakingly true.

Have you bought your copy yet?

So, with thanks to all of you who contributed pictures, the winner is….

Ashley! Ashley, please email me at contests@ktliterary.com with your mailing address, and I’ll get your book in the mail to you ASAP. If you guys want a peak at Ashley’s cool space, check out her blog.

Special thanks to kt literary client Erin Danehy for contributing pics of her inspiring work space, which adds a little vertigo to the writing process.

And since turnabout is always fair play, here’s my work space.

If you missed your chance to submit pics of your work space for a prize, you can still share links in the comments, and we can swoon just for swooning’s sake. Cheers!

I was going to offer a copy of Sara Beitia‘s debut novel The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon as a prize for sharing pics of your work space, but I don’t think I ever even announced the winner of the last contest I ran! So, first, the winner of a galley of Ellen Booraem‘s Small Persons with Wings is…

Karen! Karen, send me an email at contests@ktliterary.com with your mailing address, and I’ll send Ellen’s galley off to you!

And with that done — no random numbers here! The most swoon-worthy work space will win a hot-off-the-presses copy of The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon as soon as they come in! You have all week to enter, so get to posting!

It’s not surprising that wild Lily Odilon has disappeared, especially since “The Accident,” or what’s more commonly referred to in her small Idaho town as, “That One Time Lily Odilon and Some Other Juvenile Delinquents Broke into Lily’s step-Dad’s Dental Practice and Lily OD’d on Laughing Gas and Almost Died.” In this fast- and evenly paced YA debut, prime suspect Albert Morales, the new kid at high school and Lily’s boyfriend, races to find Lily at the last place she remembers feeling happy before her dangerous stepfather, who also happens to be golf buddies with the lead detective, reaches her. Three taut story lines — just before the disappearance, just after the disappearance and along Albert’s search — converge to reveal the truth behind Lily’s accident, her stepfather’s involvement, the evolution of Albert and Lily’s relationship and why Albert really needs to find this enigmatic and often selfish girl. Reminiscent of John Green’s Paper Towns (2008), this noir thriller hooks readers with realistic dialogue, fully fleshed characters and plenty of twists. Terrific to the last, good page. (Thriller. YA)

Hooray for Sara! Kirkus has a tendency to be snarky in their reviews, so a rave like this is a notable event!

In additional to just the normal stuff of getting caught up after a week away, I’m also prepping for my trip to the Bologna Book Fair later this month, where I’ll be meeting with dozens of foreign editors and talking about my authors and my books. Things are going to be busy busy busy around here for the next few weeks! I’m thinking of another round of guest posts while I’m in Italy — what do you think? Do you want to hear more from my authors (and maybe a few additional guest bloggers) or do you want me to just set up some scheduled posts of my own? Let me know in the comments!

And speaking of European trips, have you seen the gorgeous cover to Stephanie Perkins’ debut novel Anna and the French Kiss? Love!