About
Michelle Witte
Michelle is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of kids books, 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. Though she travels whenever possible, she mostly splits her time between Utah and New York.
The Long Version
Michelle Witte is an author and literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of children’s 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 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 activity books for children and humor, gift books, and cookbooks for adults. 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 and devout listener of audiobooks, though much of her reading nowadays comes in the form of client manuscripts and submissions from the slush pile. Her published work includes nonfiction humor books like Happy Little Accidents: The Wit and Wisdom of Bob Ross,This Is Your Bravery Test: 55 Challenges for Art and Life Inspired by Bob Ross, and The Craptastic Guide to Pseudo-Swearing. While she considers herself an international vagabond and will travel the world whenever given the chance, she presently makes Utah her home.
My Approach
Literary Agent, Author, and Creative
Michelle seeks out creativity in all aspects of life, whether in the written word or in her exploration of various crafts and hobbies, including designing and making jewelry, sewing, spinning wool, and any number of creative endeavors she puts her hand to.
Resources for Writers
Over the years I’ve created various materials to help writers develop their craft, including tutorials, articles, and videos. Check out some of those resources here.
See Resources →
Available for conferences
Michelle loves to connect with writers at various conferences around the country. She is available to attend as faculty or a guest and is happy to teach classes, offer presentations, take pitch sessions with authors and illustrators, and more.