Silvia Molteni

Silvia Molteni is the head of the children’s and YA books department at PFD. She manages her own list of clients alongside selling foreign rights in our children’s and YA titles worldwide. Silvia also handles all audio rights for the agency. The Bookseller named Silvia 2019’s Rising Star.

What I'm looking for...

I am looking for MG and YA fiction. As far as MG goes, I’d like to find strong and diverse voices, with a preference for contemporary and realistic settings and magical realism. I’d love a laugh-out-loud story, but am always keen to read fiction with endearing characters, mind-blowing adventures and stories with lots of heart. I always enjoy dark and gothic tales and generally veer towards voice and character driven narratives as well as literary fiction and gorgeous writing. Think of Holes by Louis Sachar, The Witches by Roald Dahl, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

On the YA side, I’m looking for fiction across all genres, but again preferably literary, character-driven, incredibly voicy and beautifully written; more specifically these days, I’d love to find a great psychological thriller as well as a clever and atmospheric horror; light fantasy is of interest, while commercial fantasy that involves complicated world building, multiple books and high wordcount is not my cup of tea. Good examples of the kind of YA/crossover books that I love are We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Alice and the Fly by James Rice, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Finally, I’m also on the hunt for original non-fiction books aimed at children and YA – from memoir to manuals, popular science and humorous books.