Michelle Witte is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management. She specializes in childrenÕs fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of childrenÕs literature, from illustrated board and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Michelle is always on the lookout for fascinating stories that are well told, especially those with a distinct and distinctive voice.
She began her career as a journalist, first reporting and then later copy editing for the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City, Utah. From there, she transitioned to a position as associate editor with nonfiction publisher Gibbs Smith, where she edited titles on a variety of topics, including childrenÕs activity, humor, gift, cookbooks, and green living. Her combined experience in the publishing industry is a boon for the authors she represents, as she is able to guide them through each of the stages of publication.
She is a voracious reader, but most of her reading nowadays comes in the form of client manuscripts and submissions from the slush pile. Her published work includes the nonfiction humor books The Craptastic Guide to Pseudo-Swearing (Running Press, 2012) and The FakerÕs Guide to the Classics: Everything You Need to Know About the Books You Should Have Read (But DidnÕt), (Lyons Press, 2013) though her great love is writing young adult fiction. While she considers herself an international vagabond and will travel the world whenever given the chance, she presently makes Utah her home.