SCBWI Exclusive with... Stuti Telidevara
Stuti Telidevara works on sharp, commercial adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction. She is looking for diverse storytellers and vivid, detailed worldbuilding across genre, and fiction with a strong, high-concept hook. She is especially interested in fantasy and speculative fiction and is actively building her list. Prior to joining Park & Fine in 2021, she held positions at Raven Quill Literary, Orbit Books, and Transatlantic Literary. She holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and spends her free time watching ice hockey, listening to history podcasts, and brewing perfect cups of tea.
What was your path to agenting?
Quite straightforward in retrospect! I had my eye on a job in publishing while in college and was lucky enough to intern with a few agents as well as at Hachette. Initially I was torn between the agenting side and the editing side, but after starting at Park & Fine three years ago I've been thoroughly convinced this is the right role for me.
What elements does a manuscript need to have for you to consider offering representation?
I am editorially-minded and love nothing more than rolling up my sleeves and working with an author on their book. So while a manuscript doesn't need to be perfect and bookshelf-ready to appeal to me, it does need to have a strong heart—the core of the story that pulls you in and makes you certain it's something that readers need. When an author knows what kind of story they want to tell, that core is perceptible even if they haven't quite nailed the execution. On a less abstract and more practical level, I appreciate when the author is writing with some clear knowledge of recent books in the genre. That's not to say they're writing to trends, but rather that they are fans and readers themselves, which I think cultivates interesting and thoughtful writing, particularly in genre spaces.
How do you work with your clients?
I see this as a partnership that ideally spans the length of an author's career, so I'm very much invested in both the immediate, day to day work (editorial, submission, road to publication) as well as the big-picture questions of, is this book the right next step for you as a writer? Is this a genre you want to continue to write in? Looking ahead the next few years, what are we building up to and how can we think of your career across, perhaps, different age categories and publishers?
What's on your manuscript wish list?
I'm a big sports fan and would love a sports romance that can appeal not just to the mainstream reader but also really depict the messy, ugly, awe-inspiring reality of sports. In contemporary romance I would love a book with a strong, lived-in sense of setting like Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola. I love Austen and Shakespeare, so retellings and historical fantasy are always on my list. And I want a hugely ambitious, sprawling fantasy novel—I always do! Across all genres I am eager for work by marginalized authors.
SCBWI members may query Stuti for the month of May. Please follow these instructions if you think your manuscript is right for her list. Please put "Stuti Telidevara" as well as the category and genre of your submission (i.e.: “Stuti Telidevara – YA Fantasy”) in the subject line of the email. Send your query letter and approximately the first 10 manuscript pages for MG/YA OR 25 pages for adult manuscripts to queries@parkfine.com in the body of the email. She aims to respond to all queries within 12 weeks of receiving them. Please do not include any attachments.