 Ritu Anand is a literary agent with D4EO Literary Agency. Ritu Anand has been a passionate storyteller since childhood. Caught and admonished for writing under her desk during a math class, she recalls being highly inconvenienced. Inspiration had struck from within and there was little else she could have done to curtail it. Today, Ritu has earned the recognition of being an award-winning author of Kara's Dreams, a picture book about being resilient in the face of adversity. She gives tremendous credit to the various teachers at Mater Dei Convent, who, in the formative years of her life, laid an impression upon her. No good story should ever be filed away but be shared, she believes. That is why, she has chosen to champion voices yet unheard. Ritu is excited to represent writers of kid lit, literary fiction, general fiction and historical fiction. She joined D4EO Literary Agency in Spring 2023. Her clientele has been growing. Soon, she will share some good news about two of her clients catching the interest of two different publishers. Keep reading to learn more about Ritu Anand and see how to query.  Ritu's third picture book – I Am My Language will be released on April 25, 2026. Surjeet, a little girl, wishes very hard that she could read her first language, Punjabi. She would like to prove it by reading at the Basant Festival. So, she asks her aunt to help her learn. I am My Language is an ode to all who have chosen to learn to read, write and speak their first language. May the ember of your first language ignite the way ahead. What's your favorite moment of being an agent so far? My favorite moment so far of being an agent is having the call with the author whose writing I admired so much as I was reading the work. I love learning about each person's process and what inspires them to write on the subject. And of course, selling my client Darlene Pagan's middle grade novel to Little Brown for Young Readers was an icing on the cake. What do you love most about agenting? What I love most about agenting is that I get to build a community of readers, writers and talented professionals. What do you wish querying writers knew? I wish they knew how to present a more clearly written cover letter. Because I champion debut voices, I sometimes receive queries, letters and manuscripts that have not been edited at all. I wish debut authors were cognizant about the various stages and kinds of editing considered essential before even thinking of presenting it to an agent for publication. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever heard? The best writing advice I've ever had is - Read Aloud your work at various stages - during the drafting, editing and at the polished level as well. Describe your dream client. My dream client is someone who has chosen writing as a career and is committed to the craft of storytelling.  Learn secrets and proven paths to finding an agent with the book GET A LITERARY AGENT. The guide explains query letter writing, submission dos and don'ts, how to craft engaging opening pages, synopsis FAQs, nonfiction proposal tips, literary agent pet peeves, and much more. What project would you love to see come across your desk? The project I'd love to see come across my desk would be one written by someone who's voice is compelling and the work is unputdownable. What interests or hobbies do you have that you’d love to see in a book? My interests and hobbies include - singing, dancing, playing board games, traveling, doing word puzzles, painting and socializing. It will be lovely to read work that touches upon these areas in some respects. What book or author made you fall in love with reading? The book that made me fall in love with reading was the Tin Tin Magazine. I adored the dog character and lead character Tin Tin in it. Growing up in India, I always dreamed of traveling to different places around the world and Tin Tin definitely took me along. What author would you love to have dinner with? The author I would love to have dinner with - too many to name. Herge (creator of Tin Tin), Jane Yolen, Heidi Stemple, Meera Sriram and so many more.  Kara’s Dreams by Ritu Anand was translated into Spanish – Los Suenos de Kara. Little Kara had big dreams. But she had seen others around her defeated by the obstacles thrown at them, and she was fearful she might endure the same fate and never attain her dreams. Was she good enough? Was she strong enough? Would she be able to overcome hardships? Kara, a young tree in the forest, decides to ask a wise, mature tree for advice. The mentoring helps Kara realize that she has everything within her to reach her dreams; she just needs to adjust to her surroundings and believe in herself. What book world would you like to live in? The book world I would like to live in - in the speculative fictional world of The Alchemist. I loved the blending of historical and realistic spiritual layers, where everything connected through the soul of the world. What do you believe is your strength as an agent? My strength as an agent lies in being able to be transparent with my author clients. I always want to be on the same page with them. Plus, I believe that 1+1 equals ELEVEN. Together, as business partners, my author clients and I can build a meaningful career in writing. Ritu Anand's website is: https://rituzastoryteller.com Interested in querying Ritu? Here's what she's looking for:
HOW TO QUERY: Send a query letter and the first twenty pages of your manuscript to [email protected].  This post was complied by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and a Story Consultant for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Attend a Writers Conference in 2026:
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