SERENE HAKIM
Serene Hakim is an agent at Ayesha Pande Literary. She represents authors in a variety of genres, from MG fantasy to adult literary fiction to contemporary YA. Serene is particularly interested in both YA and adult fiction that has international themes, highlights a variety of cultures, and focuses on underrepresented and/or marginalized voices. At the moment, she is mostly focusing on YA/MG and taking on adult writers more selectively. Specifically, she's looking for writing that explores different meanings of identity, home, and family, and in general would love to find more Middle Eastern writers. She loves books that are joy-filled and full of heart, as well as stories that delve deep into grief. Her educational background is in French and women's studies and she holds an MA in French-English translation from NYU.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
Currently focusing on adding more YA and MG writers to my list; primarily contemporary but open to genres such as fantasy and sci-fi. On the adult side, I'm selectively taking on literary fiction with international themes, speculative elements and story collection.
SAMPLE TITLES OR AUTHORS
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy
SPECIALIZES IN
FICTION: Literary Fiction, Multi-Cultural, Short Story Collections, Young Adult, Middle Grade
NONFICTION: Narrative
CONSIDERS
FICTION: GLBT, Middle Grade, Upmarket Women's Fiction, Short Story Collections, Family Saga, Literary Fiction, Children's, Young Adult
NONFICTION: Cultural/Social Issues, Multi-Cultural, Narrative, Women's Concerns