Query Letter / Query Letter

LJK Literary Management

Hello Susanna Einstein,

My name is Brad Windhauser, and I am seeking representation for a collection of fiction and non-fiction, titled The Hope Stories.

“If you start to look around, you will start to see. When what you see catches us off guard, and when we write it as realistically and openly as possible, it offers hope.”
—Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird (101).

This quote inspired me to create a body of worked that explored how my everyday life informed my fiction. This lead to a series of essays designed to unearth why my work tends to focus on specific themes of loss, exploration, and challenging expectations. This collection of short stories and essays reflects how inspiring everyday life can be, utilizing characters who rise to life’s challenge. Although not all succeed by the traditional definition of victory, all take a swing at life, offering hope that others can and should do the same. This hope can be seen in reflecting on my own life (the five non-fiction pieces that organize the fiction stories), ideas that speak to the guiding themes in each section. The collection contains 18 works.

Originally from Southern California, I live in downtown Philadelphia. I received my M.A. in English/Creative Writing from Rutgers University (Camden campus) and am currently an instructor in the English Department at Temple University. My first novel, Regret was published last year. I am in the middle of the first draft of my second novel, which explores 12 lives affected by gentrification, their feelings about this issue set in motion by a car accident in their neighborhood. One of the stories in The Hope Stories collection, “Table Manners,” is forthcoming in the current issue of The Baltimore Review.

I have included the fiction piece “Table Manners” and the non-fiction piece “Sassie” with this letter. I welcome the opportunity to receive your feedback as well as the opportunity to send you the completed collection for your representation consideration.

Regards,
Brad Windhauser

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