About Us

Our Team

Jennifer Azantian

Jennifer Azantian

Founder and Literary Agent

Jennifer Azantian established Azantian Literary in 2014 and focuses primarily on fiction across genres for mg, YA, and adult readers. She represents bestselling and award-winning writers, and is always on the lookout for new talent. Prior to ALA, Jennifer was at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency followed by a stint with the Paul Levine Literary Agency. Before publishing, she earned her B.S. in clinical and developmental psychology from UCSD where she was an executive editor for the Triton Psychology Report. She brings to her clients a passion for literature born of a writer's heart, an editorial eye honed from reviewing thousands of projects, and the connections to help bring wonderful books to life.

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Masha Gunic

Masha Gunic

Associate Agent

Masha started her career in publishing as an intern at the Azantian Literary Agency and has since held internships at Red Fox Literary and Writers House before working as an Editorial Assistant at Abrams Books on the children's side for two years. Her love for books across genres, as well as her desire to find and foster great talent, drove her to make the transition from editorial back to the Azantian Literary Agency on the West Coast. Right now, Masha is only looking to acquire middle grade and young adult novels.

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Alexandra Weiss

Alexandra Weiss

Associate Agent

Alexandra Weiss joined the world of publishing in 2016, as an associate agent with the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. In 2021, she joined Azantian Literary Agency where she represents fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and select adult nonfiction. She holds a BFA in creative writing and publishing from Columbia College Chicago and has written for Bustle and Buzzfeed, among others. She regularly volunteers with literary organizations and has a soft spot for working with young readers. When she isn't reading or writing, she's probably baking up a storm or snuggling with her cat.

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T.S. Ferguson

T.S. Ferguson

Literary Agent

Before joining Azantian Literary Agency, T.S. Ferguson worked for 16 years as an editor for some of the top children's and teen book publishers in the business, including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Harlequin Teen/Inkyard Press, and JIMMY Patterson Books. He has worked with New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors such as Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Suzanne Selfors, Pseudonymous Bosch, Robin Talley, Hillary Monahan (writing as Eva Darrows), and Adi Alsaid.

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Keir Alekseii

Keir Alekseii

Associate Agent

Keir Alekseii is an associate agent with Azantian Literary Agency. She is an educator and anti-GBV activist born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island country in the West Indies. Keir is a writer, gamer, lover of folklore, and former research scientist. As a neurodivergent, queer woman of color, Keir is invested in discovering engaging work with similar representation, and is passionate about creating space for voices not often recognized. She is especially interested in stories from BIPOC who are born and raised in the Global South.

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Shannon Lechon

Shannon Lechon

Associate Agent

Shannon is an associate agent with Azantian Literary Agency. She began her career with literary agency internships at P.S. Literary and Cake Creative, as well as an editorial internship with Penguin Random House. She holds dual bachelor's degrees in criminology and English from Florida State University and a master's in publishing from New York University.

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Claire Draper

Claire Draper

Literary Agent

Claire Draper started at InkWell Management as a receptionist and agent assistant in 2016. And then early 2019, they moved to the Bent Agency to start expanding their list with a collection of very queer books for kids of all ages, including graphic novels, picture books, middle grade, and young adult. And then later extended their list to cover all their interests with books for adults by returning to their favorites with romance novels, memoir, and specialty nonfiction. They joined the Azantian Literary Agency in 2023, and are thrilled to always see beautiful manuscripts make their way to a bookshelf.

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Ben Baxter

Ben Baxter

In-house Editor

Ben Baxter is the in-house editor for ALA and has been with the agency from the beginning. He provides insight for our new authors as they start their journey into the world of publishing and our existing authors when they venture into new territory or just need a little extra support.

Kirsten Wolf

Kirsten Wolf

Contracts Manager

Kirsten Wolf is the contracts manager for ALA. A graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston University School of Law, Kirsten spent the better part of the '90s putting herself through college and law school doing a wide variety of jobs, ranging from working as a professional chef to managing an engineering firm.

Foreign Rights

Foreign rights are handled by Brent Taylor at Triada US. For foreign rights inquiries, email brent@triadaus.com.

Film and Television

For film/tv inquiries please reach out to film@azantianlitagency.com.