Lane Clarke, Agent at Ultra Literary

Lane earned a Bachelors’ degree in English Literature from Virginia Tech, and a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School. 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.

In Middle Grade, she is looking for adventure stories and big emotions. Think a middle school version of National Treasure. She loves inquisitive middle grade books that ask big questions. She would love to see horror stories with a historical lens, contemporary books that push against the status quo, and fantasy that takes on underrepresented mythology. In Young Adult, she is looking for contemporary stories that pack an emotional punch. Coming-of-age stories. She would also love historical fiction similar to Stacey Lee and Ruta Sepetys (certain to make her cry). She is looking for speculative contemporary fiction similar to Adam Silvera and Justin A. Reynolds. Worlds where there is something just a little bit off. In Adult, she is looking for romance with lots of tension! She is also looking for literary fiction that are generational sagas (think PACHINKO) or societal commentary (think SUCH A FUN AGE and THE VANISHING HALF)

Work with Lane

LIVE Meetings: Meet face-to-face, from home. Choose Zoom, Google Meet, or phone, and speak for the appointed time about your query, first page, and/or first ten pages (for longer meetings). Does not include written notes, but is a chance to have an honest discussion about your work, and to ask follow-up questions. International meetings welcomed.

WRITTEN Critiques: Get detailed, thoughtful notes on your work. Comes with large-scale edits (character, world, plot, tension, concept, conflict, and similar as needed) in an editorial letter and small-scale, line-by-line notes as needed (for longer critiques, an average of three per page). Work arrives in your inbox by the date on the calendar.

HYBRID is a live meeting at the appointment time, with written notes.