09/15/2019
Jessica Russak-Hoffman (JessicaRussakHoffman on QT) has signed with agent Alice Sutherland-Hawes of ASH Literary.
Dear ____,
Bina and Elka Josephs are identical in every way except one. Bina isn't a witch.
As you are actively looking to champion diverse and marginalized storytellers and normalize our voices in children's literature, I am seeking your representation for my (word count here) middle-grade novel, BOOK TITLE HERE, a Jewish #OwnVoices standalone with series potential. This book features Jewish magic and folklore in a recognizable world, and will fit neatly on the shelf next to COMP, COMP, and COMP.
Twins Bina and Elka live with fortune-telling Aunt Bloomy and the ghost of long-dead Bubbe Golda in a lighthouse on Blue Heron Island in the Pacific Northwest. On their 12th birthday, only Elka is a witch—and she didn't even study for it! Top that off with Bina's failed spell ruining her last day of the school year, and it really is the worst birthday ever. But bookish bird-watching Bina, full of fun facts and studious note-taking, loves her sister, and helps artistic go-with-the-flow Elka navigate her newly-acquired elemental magic.
When the Almanot—the guardians of the in-between who keep the human world separate from the sheydim world—visit the twins, they come with a warning: Queen Yanshuf of the Sitra Achra has a thing for destroying newbie witches, and she's on her way. Desperate to protect Elka from the sheyd queen, Bina and her sister journey by lighthouse—despite the annoying glitter explosions—from the Puget Sound to Odessa to Easter Island and Salem, in search of a solution. They use Bina’s knowledge and Elka’s witchcraft to battle not-so-mythological beasts and spirits, uncover family secrets, discover hidden dark magic, and steal an object that might solve all their problems—if only they knew how to use it. When Queen Yanshuf takes Elka, Bina must find her true power, and decide what she is willing to sacrifice, before it’s too late.
I am a Seattle-based writer, co-host of the Kiddush Book Club podcast, and mom of three. My publishing credits include ________. BOOK TITLE HERE contains Jewish magic and mysticism, a flying Golem, food from the Old Country, Yiddish proverbs, awesome sisters, sassy old ladies, a talking crow, Squatchie, and the Pacific Northwest. Attached please find the first three chapters and the synopsis. If you would like to see the completed manuscript, please notify me and I will happily send it to you. Thank you for your time and consideration.