Instagram Story Viewer

2025 Recap: what a year!

It’s been frustrating, heartbreaking, and scary in so many ways—but it wasn’t all bad. And it feels important to pause and celebrate the moments that brought joy, growth, and pride.

The year began with the LA fires. Schools closed. My kids watched snow fall—not the kind you wish for. Snow of ash. In that moment, we decided it was time for a change. With family in Austin and an aging grandparent there, plus a need for a reset, we made it our new home.

In the middle of all that:
✨ Sold 42 deals across print, audio, foreign, and film
✨ Taj McCoy's (@the1whowill) Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell premiered as a book-to-film adaptation (WHOOP!)
✨ A Pura Belpré Honor for Tatiana Gardel for ABUELO, THE SEA, AND ME (Macmillan)
✨ Laan’s (@laan.cham) ZOMBIE AND BRAIN (she illustrated) hit the NYT Bestseller list for multiple weeks (Bloomsbury Kids)
✨ Courtney Lovett’s DISASTER SQUAD chapter book series hit the USA Today Bestseller list (Scholastic)
✨ Signed 5 new clients, the most recent being @arcadiarayne (WHOOP!)

And then—because apparently 2025 wasn’t done—I co-founded Starling Literary + Media with my sister-friends Paige @pterlip and Jennifer @marchsoloway. My clients came with me, which is a trust I don’t take lightly and will always be grateful for.

Proud. Grateful. Ready.
Here’s to finishing this year strong—and stepping boldly into 2026. ✨ 🥂

2025 Recap: what a year!

It’s been frustrating, heartbreaking, and scary in so many ways—but it wasn’t all bad. And it feels important to pause and celebrate the moments that brought joy, growth, and pride.

The year began with the LA fires. Schools closed. My kids watched snow fall—not the kind you wish for. Snow of ash. In that moment, we decided it was time for a change. With family in Austin and an aging grandparent there, plus a need for a reset, we made it our new home.

In the middle of all that:
✨ Sold 42 deals across print, audio, foreign, and film
✨ Taj McCoy's (@the1whowill) Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell premiered as a book-to-film adaptation (WHOOP!)
✨ A Pura Belpré Honor for Tatiana Gardel for ABUELO, THE SEA, AND ME (Macmillan)
✨ Laan’s (@laan.cham) ZOMBIE AND BRAIN (she illustrated) hit the NYT Bestseller list for multiple weeks (Bloomsbury Kids)
✨ Courtney Lovett’s DISASTER SQUAD chapter book series hit the USA Today Bestseller list (Scholastic)
✨ Signed 5 new clients, the most recent being @arcadiarayne (WHOOP!)

And then—because apparently 2025 wasn’t done—I co-founded Starling Literary + Media with my sister-friends Paige @pterlip and Jennifer @marchsoloway. My clients came with me, which is a trust I don’t take lightly and will always be grateful for.

Proud. Grateful. Ready.
Here’s to finishing this year strong—and stepping boldly into 2026. ✨ 🥂

2025 Recap: what a year!

It’s been frustrating, heartbreaking, and scary in so many ways—but it wasn’t all bad. And it feels important to pause and celebrate the moments that brought joy, growth, and pride.

The year began with the LA fires. Schools closed. My kids watched snow fall—not the kind you wish for. Snow of ash. In that moment, we decided it was time for a change. With family in Austin and an aging grandparent there, plus a need for a reset, we made it our new home.

In the middle of all that:
✨ Sold 42 deals across print, audio, foreign, and film
✨ Taj McCoy's (@the1whowill) Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell premiered as a book-to-film adaptation (WHOOP!)
✨ A Pura Belpré Honor for Tatiana Gardel for ABUELO, THE SEA, AND ME (Macmillan)
✨ Laan’s (@laan.cham) ZOMBIE AND BRAIN (she illustrated) hit the NYT Bestseller list for multiple weeks (Bloomsbury Kids)
✨ Courtney Lovett’s DISASTER SQUAD chapter book series hit the USA Today Bestseller list (Scholastic)
✨ Signed 5 new clients, the most recent being @arcadiarayne (WHOOP!)

And then—because apparently 2025 wasn’t done—I co-founded Starling Literary + Media with my sister-friends Paige @pterlip and Jennifer @marchsoloway. My clients came with me, which is a trust I don’t take lightly and will always be grateful for.

Proud. Grateful. Ready.
Here’s to finishing this year strong—and stepping boldly into 2026. ✨ 🥂

2025 Recap: what a year!

It’s been frustrating, heartbreaking, and scary in so many ways—but it wasn’t all bad. And it feels important to pause and celebrate the moments that brought joy, growth, and pride.

The year began with the LA fires. Schools closed. My kids watched snow fall—not the kind you wish for. Snow of ash. In that moment, we decided it was time for a change. With family in Austin and an aging grandparent there, plus a need for a reset, we made it our new home.

In the middle of all that:
✨ Sold 42 deals across print, audio, foreign, and film
✨ Taj McCoy's (@the1whowill) Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell premiered as a book-to-film adaptation (WHOOP!)
✨ A Pura Belpré Honor for Tatiana Gardel for ABUELO, THE SEA, AND ME (Macmillan)
✨ Laan’s (@laan.cham) ZOMBIE AND BRAIN (she illustrated) hit the NYT Bestseller list for multiple weeks (Bloomsbury Kids)
✨ Courtney Lovett’s DISASTER SQUAD chapter book series hit the USA Today Bestseller list (Scholastic)
✨ Signed 5 new clients, the most recent being @arcadiarayne (WHOOP!)

And then—because apparently 2025 wasn’t done—I co-founded Starling Literary + Media with my sister-friends Paige @pterlip and Jennifer @marchsoloway. My clients came with me, which is a trust I don’t take lightly and will always be grateful for.

Proud. Grateful. Ready.
Here’s to finishing this year strong—and stepping boldly into 2026. ✨ 🥂

2025 Recap: what a year!

It’s been frustrating, heartbreaking, and scary in so many ways—but it wasn’t all bad. And it feels important to pause and celebrate the moments that brought joy, growth, and pride.

The year began with the LA fires. Schools closed. My kids watched snow fall—not the kind you wish for. Snow of ash. In that moment, we decided it was time for a change. With family in Austin and an aging grandparent there, plus a need for a reset, we made it our new home.

In the middle of all that:
✨ Sold 42 deals across print, audio, foreign, and film
✨ Taj McCoy's (@the1whowill) Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell premiered as a book-to-film adaptation (WHOOP!)
✨ A Pura Belpré Honor for Tatiana Gardel for ABUELO, THE SEA, AND ME (Macmillan)
✨ Laan’s (@laan.cham) ZOMBIE AND BRAIN (she illustrated) hit the NYT Bestseller list for multiple weeks (Bloomsbury Kids)
✨ Courtney Lovett’s DISASTER SQUAD chapter book series hit the USA Today Bestseller list (Scholastic)
✨ Signed 5 new clients, the most recent being @arcadiarayne (WHOOP!)

And then—because apparently 2025 wasn’t done—I co-founded Starling Literary + Media with my sister-friends Paige @pterlip and Jennifer @marchsoloway. My clients came with me, which is a trust I don’t take lightly and will always be grateful for.

Proud. Grateful. Ready.
Here’s to finishing this year strong—and stepping boldly into 2026. ✨ 🥂

INTRODUCING STARLING LITERARY + MEDIA

A full-service literary agency that nurtures talent and grows careers.

Starling Literary + Media represents bestselling and award-winning creators, as well as debuts. Regardless of where clients are in their careers, our goal is to help create enduring legacies through our strategic guidance, editorial savvy, and innovative business tactics.

INTRODUCING STARLING LITERARY + MEDIA

A full-service literary agency that nurtures talent and grows careers.

Starling Literary + Media represents bestselling and award-winning creators, as well as debuts. Regardless of where clients are in their careers, our goal is to help create enduring legacies through our strategic guidance, editorial savvy, and innovative business tactics.

Happy Book Birthday to OUR FRIENDSHIP IN RUINS by Starling client Amy Buchanan! 🎉

Featuring friends to lovers, a workplace romance, and summer in Rome, this adult romance novel is the perfect dose of sunshine.☀️

✨ Congratulations, @amybuchananbooks! ✨

About the book:
Three months, two friends, and one chance to see if “just one time” can turn into more.

Quinn Riley loves three things in this world. The city of Rome, whose complicated history rivals her own; her career counseling job at Billings College, despite toxic campus dynamics; and her best friend, Colton, even if she’s fighting a new thrum of attraction between them. When she has the chance to combine all three—working on the same study abroad program as Colton—she can’t pass it up. Unfortunately, the professors have turned what should be the summer of a lifetime into a test. With her beloved job on the line, Quinn refuses to fail.


Colton Miller has never failed at anything. When Quinn is being decimated by his colleagues, he can’t help but stand up for her, even when it lands him in the middle of the faculty vs. staff feud. Now, in order to secure the tenured position he desperately needs, this summer has to go perfectly. That means ignoring how devastatingly in love with Quinn he’s been for over a decade.

But when the two get to Rome, everything shifts. With delectable food, flowing wine, and enough PDA around to turn anyone’s mind to romance, the two question if finding forever with their best friend is worth the things they could lose in the process.

#StarlingLit #StarlingShelf #StarlingBooks #romancebooks

✨Happy Book Birthday✨ to Starling client Nadia Fisher’s author-illustrator debut, AT THE COOKOUT. Booklist called it a “a heartwarming celebration of family, tradition, and togetherness.” Now out into the world just in time for the warmer weather ☀️

Congratulations, @ariadelsole! 🎉

From the publisher:
A joyful debut picture book ode to the music, games, food, and fun a young girl encounters at her family’s annual summer cookout at Grandma’s house.

CiCi just can’t wait to get to her Grandma’s house for the family’s first big cookout of the summer. There’s plenty to look forward to: the food, the games, the music, and seeing all her aunties and uncles. But most of all, Cici is excited to catch up with her big cousin Chase.

There’s just one problem: she can’t seem to find him anywhere! CiCi searches all over the party, asking everyone she meets if they’ve seen Chase, until she finally thinks to look for him in the most unexpected of places . . .

From the cousins playing Double Dutch, to the uncles throwing horseshoes, to the savory smells of Grandma’s cooking, this is a love letter to family, summer, and the magic that happens when we all get together.

#StarlingLit #StarlingShelf #StarlingBooks #StarlingArt #picturebooks

✨ Happy Book Birthday! ✨

🌲 INTO THE WILDERNESS is now out in the world. Written by Haven Iverson (@havenivy) and illustrated by Starling client August Zhang (@082km), this gorgeous book received rave reviews, including stars from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly.

Big congratulations! ⭐️ 🎉

#StarlingLit #StarlingShelf #StarlingBooks #StarlingArt #kidlitart

From the publisher:
Into the Wilderness is a celebration of the outdoors and the lessons and strengths we gain from spending valuable time in nature — inspired by the Rocky Mountains. Perfect for fans of Hike and Wonder Walkers, and fans of national parks!

Every summer, a child and their parents leave behind the roads and houses. And with backpacks full of food and sleeping bags, they go into the wilderness.

As they climb tall mountains and explore mossy forests, they carry their supplies. And really good trail snacks.

As this child ages, they can carry more. Like their own backpack and, eventually, the map.

They learn independence and bravery. And they learn that, when everything gets to be a little too much, they can put down what they carry. They can smell the pine in the air, look up at the cliffs and trees holding them in a great big circle, and they can let the beauty of the world carry them.

More cuteness has been unleashed into the world! 💖

✨ Happy Book Birthday to THE CUTEST BEGINNING DRAWING BOOK EVER by @carliannecreates!✨

From the publisher:
Learning to draw shouldn’t be scary! Start your journey to adorable art with the cutest beginner drawing book ever, from illustrator and award-winning author of How to Draw Adorable, Carlianne Tipsey!

The Cutest Beginner Drawing Book Ever is an entry point to drawing that is more fun and approachable for the beginner artist! This creative workbook focuses on bite-size steps, with lessons on using shapes like a circle or a square to create cute characters that draw you in with depth and volume. In The Cutest Beginner Drawing Book Ever, Carlianne Tipsey builds on the entertaining and easy lessons in her first book, How to Draw Adorable, with more visual tips, step-by-step examples, and design theories that build confidence and pride in beginner artists, not to mention making the cutest drawings ever!

#StarlingLit #StarlingShelf #StarlingBooks #StarlingArt #kidlitart

Congratulations to our Starling creators on these early 2026 deals! We can’t wait to see these books soar. ✨

#StarlingLit #StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Congratulations to our Starling creators on these early 2026 deals! We can’t wait to see these books soar. ✨

#StarlingLit #StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Congratulations to our Starling creators on these early 2026 deals! We can’t wait to see these books soar. ✨

#StarlingLit #StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Congratulations to our Starling creators on these early 2026 deals! We can’t wait to see these books soar. ✨

#StarlingLit #StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Congratulations to our Starling creators on these early 2026 deals! We can’t wait to see these books soar. ✨

#StarlingLit #StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Jumping into the weekend with a smile with art from @tessa.pfeifer.illustrations!

#StarlingLit #StarlingArt #kidlitart #kidlitillustration

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Black History Month can’t pass without shining a light on the work of our Black creators.

A century of honoring Black history.
A shelf brimming with brilliance, resistance, and story.

Honored to celebrate the Black voices in our Starling community...this month, yes, but always.

#StarlingVoices #StarlingShelf #BlackExcellence

Alex Borbolla at @bloomsburybooksus has acquired world rights to Zombie and Brain Go to School by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Laan Cham. In this follow-up to New York Times bestseller Zombie and Brain Are Friends, the deadly cute duo spends a day learning just how much fun a brain can have in the classroom. Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Starling Literary + Media represented the illustrator; publication is scheduled for Spring 2027.

CONGRATS to Celina and Mari on GRIM REAPER GIRL!!! This book is soooo funny, and I can't wait for the world to see.

@celina.frenn @marilu_illustrations @unionsqandco

#StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks

Many CONGRATS to Michelle @michellejingchan on her next graphic novel with @gracekendallbooks!!!

@mackidsbooks @fsgyoungreaders

#StarlingDeals #StarlingBooks