Nicole Geiger has worked in just about every capacity in the publishing industry in her thirty-plus years plus career. As VP and Publisher of Ten Speed Press/Tricycle Press then VP and Publisher of Random House/Tricycle Press, Nicole was the primary acquirer and directed the production and marketing of up to 30 children’s titles yearly. In 2011, she founded Nicole Geiger Publishing, a consultancy for publishers, where she helped launch AMP! Comics for Kids and Beyond Words’ children’s publishing in partnership with Simon & Schuster, and currently manages the publishing program of Yosemite Conservancy.
As a literary agent with Full Circle Literary, Nicole focuses on a limited group of clients who create fiction and nonfiction for board books through middle grade. Curious, commercially minded, and very editorial, Nicole is looking for strong and diverse voices that tell stories for all children. Her clients include Mercedes Acosta, Carmen Bogan, Ashleigh Corrin, Sara Fajardo, Michael Genhart, Bridget George, Alexandria Giardino, Laurel Goodluck, Eileen Kennedy-Moore, Charlotte Offsay, and Jonathan Nelson.
When she is not helping her clients create their best work, Nicole can be found taking walks her family’s silly chocolate Lab, puttering in the yard, and reading to her kiddos. The books on her own bedside table are usually middle grade graphic novels and adult nonfiction, especially popular science, though she’ll read about pretty much any topic as long as the writing is amazing.
RECENT DEALS BY NICOLE
‘s Not a Walk in which a feisty granddaughter and a clever grandpa support one another during an outing, pitched as inspired by a Yiddish saying and as a reminder that sometimes life is more manageable in bite-sized pieces, illustrated by , to Lauri Hornik at Rocky Pond Books, for publication in spring 2027, by Nicole Geiger.
Michael Genhart’s Mariposa, which features a queer Latino boy who can rely on his grandmother’s loving support to help him feel safe and confident, and whose story reclaims the Spanish word for butterfly which, for too long, has been used as a slur for effeminate and gay boys and men, illustrated by Pura Belpre Honor winner Carlos Aponte, to Neal Porter at Neal Porter Books, for publication in spring 2027 by Nicole Geiger.
‘s A Tanta Wawa for Abuelo, in which a family honors Abuelo’s memory by bringing him a tanta wawa, a bread shaped like a baby, highlighting the Andean tradition of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, illustrated by , to Karen Chaplin at Quill Tree, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2026 by Nicole Geiger.
Sara Andrea Fajardo’s Crack Goes the Cascaron, about a spunky kid who wants to play tricks on his family only to realize he has met his match in his grandma, featuring an egg-citing Latin American tradition, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza, to Esther Cajahuaringa at Knopf Children’s by Nicole Geiger.
Michael Genhart’s Edie for Equality: Edie Windsor Stands Up for Marriage Equality, a biography about the LGBTQ icon whose landmark case before the Supreme Court paved the way for marriage equality, illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday, to Jessica Echeverria at Lee and Low, for publication in spring 2025, by Nicole Geiger.
Author of Where’s Rodney?, Carmen Bogan’s Willis Watson Is a Wannabe, a picture book about everyday heroes as seen through the eyes of a Black boy, illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday to Denene Millner at Denene Millner Books/S&S for publication in spring 2024.
Bridget George to illustrate This Land written by Ashley Fairbanks, a primer about native lands to inspires curiosity in readers about who was here before them, to Kelly Delaney at Crown Children’s, for publication in summer 2024, by Nicole Geiger for the illustrator.
Ashleigh Corrin to illustrate Rio Cortez’s The River Is My Sea, about a child’s Saturday walk with their abuela and the love they share for the Hudson River, Harlem, and Yemaya, the ocean mother goddess of Santeria, a widely worshipped Yoruba orisha, to Denene Millner at Denene Millner Books, at auction, in a two-book deal, for 2024 publication.
Founding member of #LatinxPitch Sara Fajardo’s Paka Paka con La Papa: Alberto Salas Plays Potato Hide-and-Seek illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Juana Martinez-Neal, about one of the world’s most successful plant collectors, who travels up and down the Peruvian Andes on a lifelong quest to help feed the world through protecting biodiversity, to Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press.
Mercedes Acosta’s graphic novel debut, Cabaret Macabre, a supernatural family drama set in a New Orleans rich with magical realism and characters inspired by legends around the world. Kate Harrison at Dial Books for Young Readers acquired this project at auction.
Michael Genhart’s picture book Spanish Is the Language of My Family to be illustrated by three-time Pura Belpré Honor artist John Parra, about a boy competing in the National Spanish Spelling Bee who learns of his own abuela’s childhood experience when she was banned from speaking Spanish at school. Publication is slated for summer 2023 with Neal Porter at Neal Porter Books/Holiday House.
NICOLE’S WISH LIST – currently closed to submissions.When she reopens, she will be looking for the following categories only:
While any subject matter, if well done, she is particularly interested in:
Author of SPANISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF MY FAMILY Michael Genhart’s MARIPOSA, which features a queer Latino boy who can rely on his grandmother’s loving support to help him feel safe and confident, and whose story reclaims the Spanish word for butterfly which, for too long, has been used as a slur for effeminate and gay boys and men, illustrated by Pura Belpre Honor winner Carlos Aponte, to Neal Porter at Neal Porter Books, for publication in spring 2027 by Nicole Geiger.
Award Winner
Support:
