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.

Thais is an Associate Agent with Azantian Literary Agency. She has eight years of experience in publishing between Brazil, China, and the United States. More recently, she interned at Writers House, where she honed her skills while supporting the desks of Amy Berkower and Johanna Castillo, and she was mentored by Jennifer Azantian before stepping up to the Associate Agent role at ALA.

She intends to represent marginalized authors, and she’s especially seeking to uplift indigenous voices and voices from the Global South.

Keir Alekseii's career started as Jen Azantian's mentee in 2021 at Azantian Literary Agency. After a year of mentorship, she became an associate agent with Azantian.

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 person of color, Keir is invested in discovering engaging work with similar representation, and passionate about creating space for voices not often recognized. They are especially interested in stories from BIPOC who are born and raised in the Global South.

Keir still lives in T&T with their partner and five rambunctious felines.

Carey Blankenship-Kramer started as a literary agent in 2023 at Belcastro Agency. She joined Azantian Literary Agency in 2025 where she represents both children's and adult fiction authors across a wide range of genres, with her priority being marginalized voices. She graduated from Berry College with a dual degree in English and Creative Writing and later received her master’s in Writing and Digital Communications from Agnes Scott College. Her debut novel, GHOST SCOUT'S HONOR, was published by Scholastic. Outside of work, you can usually find Carey spending time with her partner and their small zoo, getting way too competitive on the tennis court, playing video games, or eating candy.

Claire Draper started wanting to work in and around books in high school, when they fell hardcore in love with reading and writing after a friend took them to see Twilight. They spent all their time (and savings) at Borders and the local library and on fanfic.net after that.

While studying Queer Diversity in Children's Literature at New York University's Gallatin, they interned at Rare Bird Lit, InkWell Management, and the Children's Book Council. After graduating, Claire spent a fantastic (if albeit short-lived) two weeks working as a bookseller for The Strand, before ending up at InkWell Management as a receptionist and agent assistant in 2016. And then in 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. They later extended their list to cover all their interests by adding romance novels, memoir, and specialty nonfiction to their list. They joined the Azantian Literary Agency in 2023, and are thrilled to always see beautiful manuscripts make their way to a bookshelf.

They live in New York City with their partner, two cats, and too many plants to count.

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.

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.

Mara Hollander started her publishing career at FinePrint Literary Management and joined Azantian Literary Agency in 2025. Prior to working in publishing, she earned a PhD and Pitt Public Health and was a professor researching US health care policy. Mara believes stories make us who we are and that everyone deserves a chance to write their own. In her free time, she writes fantasy novels, watches a shocking amount of figure skating, roots for the Washington Nationals and Georgetown Hoyas, and daydreams about petting dogs.

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.

Mark O'Brien joined Azantian Literary Agency in 2024 with nine years of experience in the book publishing industry. Prior to ALA, Mark interned at Entangled Publishing, Stonesong, Triada US Literary Agency, and Writers House, and worked as Sales Coordinator at NetGalley for three years. Mark has also worked as a freelance editor and sensitivity reader, as well as a volunteer with organizations like #DVpit, Tessera Editorial, and Quillers SWANA. Authors Mark has worked with in these roles include Becky Albertalli, Kelly Loy Gilbert, Victoria Aveyard, Ryan La Sala, Lydia Kang, J. Elle, Gabe Cole Novoa, Varian Johnson, Jessica Kim, Sayantani DasGupta, and many more.

Roma Panganiban began her publishing career at The Gernert Company before moving to Janklow & Nesbit in 2019, where she began representing literary and upmarket fiction and nonfiction across the adult and children’s markets. She joined the Azantian Literary Agency in 2025 to continue championing fresh, unexpected perspectives, particularly those of writers from underrepresented communities. Her taste leans literary, but she is open to fiction that incorporates genre elements, as well as work that defies categorization altogether. She is interested in narrative nonfiction that reorients our understanding of history, culture, science, society, and ourselves, and creative nonfiction that appeals equally to the heart, mind, and sense of humor. Roma is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents (AALA) and an ambivalent Twitter and Bluesky user (@romapancake). She lives in Brooklyn.

Larissa grew up in Massachusetts and attended Simmons College, where she earned her degree in Social Work and Sociology, performed poetry competitively and recreationally, and edited a number of literary magazines. Larissa later went on to receive her MA in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College, where she worked with Beacon Press and Barefoot Books before becoming the associate publisher of Dottir Press.

She joined Jill Grinberg Literary Management as an agent in 2020 and later went on to join Azantian in 2025, where she represents a wide range of adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction. She believes books are a critical tool in the ongoing fight for justice and liberation, and she’s especially excited to bring books into the world that challenge the status quo and make people feel seen. The child of Brazilian and Polish immigrants, Larissa speaks Portuguese and Spanish. She lives in Philadelphia with her wife and their Siberian husky, Olaf.

Shelly Romero began her publishing career in 2017 at Scholastic where she rose up the ranks from editorial assistant to associate editor, where she acquired her own titles and assisted on series publishing for The Bad Guys and Goosebumps. She later joined Cake Creative as Lead Editor and she was most recently a freelance editor. She graduated from Stephens College with a bachelor’s degree in English and attended the 2017 NYU Summer Publishing Institute. Shelly was selected as a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree and is a member of Latinx in Publishing & People of Color in Publishing. Born and raised in Miami by Honduran parents, she now resides in New York City where she might be found at a movie theatre viewing the latest release from her Letterboxd watchlist.

Alexandra Weiss joined the world of publishing in 2016, focusing on book publicity and marketing, but quickly fell in love with agenting. In 2021, she joined Azantian Literary Agency where she represents fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and select adult fiction and nonfiction. Prior to publishing, she earned her BFA in creative writing and publishing from Columbia College Chicago. She is incredibly passionate about the projects she takes on and clients she represents, prioritizing collaboration and communication above all else. She is a hands-on editorial agent who isn't afraid to ask big questions, explore even bigger ideas, and champion her creators throughout the publication journey.

As agency manager, Alexandra supports Jennifer Azantian in day-to-day communications and oversees the agency's foreign rights, film/television, and other subsidiary rights communications.