In the final step of our current expansion we are excited to announce that Karen Ball is joining The Steve Laube Agency as a new literary agent for the firm.
Karen is one of the most widely respected editors in the publishing business. For nearly 30 years she has built and led successful fiction lines for Tyndale, Multnomah, Zondervan, and, most recently, the B&H Publishing Group. She’s had the honor of discovering several of the best-selling CBA novelists, including Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Sharon Ewell Foster, Liz Curtis Higgs, and, most recently, Ginny Yttrup (a Steve Laube Agency client), whose debut novel Publisher’s Weekly declared “a masterpiece!”
Karen has also worked with numerous top novelists, including Angela Hunt, Robin Jones Gunn, Robin Lee Hatcher, Brandilyn Collins, and many others. In addition, Karen is a best-selling, award-winning novelist and a popular speaker. She will work out of her office in Oregon where she lives with her husband, father, and two four-legged, furry “kids.”
Proposals meant for Karen can be sent to mvincent@www.stevelaube.com.
Glad to see Karen stay in the publishing industry where she has so much experience and so many contacts, and glad to see her associated with such a respected agency.
Wow, What an exciting time for your agency! Congratulations to you all!
Wow… such great changes! Congrats to all!!!
Fantastic news!! Karen, I hope your transition is wonderful and smooth. What an exciting development!
Congratulations to both of you! A great team. All the best. 🙂
Congratulations, Karen! I’m sure you’ll make a fantastic agent.
Steve, you know how to pick them! Congrats!
Very happy for the agency. What a top-notch crew! Hmmm… Maybe I’d better hustle to get a query submitted before the avalanche of new mail overwhelms you all…
Congratulations! What a great step for both of you.
Congratulations to both of you, Steve. It’s quite a plus for your agency to have someone of Karen’s caliber, and she will benefit by working with you. Great, great addition.
Becky
What great news! Another agent for my shortlist of recommendations. Steve and Karen playing good cop/bad cop–who could ask for more? 🙂 Best wishes to you both, dear friends. Am happy for you and pray for God’s rich blessing.
Randy raises a question. Which one of us is the “good one”?
Talk about a no-brainer! You’re clearly the good one, Steve. I’m MUCH scarier.
I was wondering the same thing. You’re both kind of scary from a distance. But up close, you’re definitely both Good Cops.
Best wishes for both of you in this new venture!
If anyone can tell good cop from bad cop it’s Randy, who holds a place in my heart as having written the BEST cop book ever: DECEPTION! 😀
So glad to see where you landed, Karen. You go, girl.
And Steve, you were very smart to catch this one.
BRILLIANT!!! BRILLIANT!!! BRILLIANT!!!!!
Wow, great news! Karen’s experience and wisdom will be a blessing to her future clients.
Blessings,
Carrie
Congrats to both Steve and Karen! Your combined experience will serve clients well; and from the few times I’ve met you both, your hearts are well-suited for that service. Blessings as you journey together!
Fabulous news for you both, Karen & Steve 🙂
Oh wow! Congrats, Steve and Karen! I am so EXCITED for you two. So glad to see such amazing wisdom and talent staying in the industry. We need it! 🙂
What great news!
Angie
The industry, it is a changin’!
Wow! This is amazing and fantastic news. Author, editor, and now agent. Great to see you keeping your talents in the industry, Karen. And teaming up with Steve is an excellent decision. You both bring such wisdom, experience, contacts, and know-how to the industry. Look out in the world of Christian fiction and Christian books. Steve, Karen, and Tamela are on the warpath. 🙂
I’m so thrilled to hear this!! COngratulations to you, Steve, on your brilliance and congrats to Karen! I adore giggling with Karen. 😀 She’s the best!!
Really wonderful news! Congratulations all around.
Congrats, Steve, Karen and Tamela!
Steve, as I was reading all these comments, it dawned on me that Karen has had a way easier transition to agenting than you did. Weren’t you accused of going over to the Dark Side? And wasn’t that the source of the Mildred scam (or whatever name Randy Ingermanson used) up at Mount Hermon? Somehow it just seems like Karen’s getting the good end of the stick. 😉
Becky
It wasn’t all that “bad.” The source of the Mildred scam was due to long friendships with nefarious people. The scam had apparently been planned before I made my announcement so many years ago. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about? Read the entire story here: http://www.ingermanson.com/scams/art/sb.php
Ah! So you’re saying, since Karen has no nefarious friends, she’s safe from anything so … interesting! 😀
Too bad actually because you were in the center of truly one of the best practical jokes. Thought you might like to pass on the honor!
Becky
Kudos on the coup, Steve–and congrats to Karen, who seems chosen for such a time as NOW.
This is fantastic news!
Yay, Karen! You three will make a powerful team.
Fantastic news, Steve and Karen. W00T!
Congrats, Karen! I wish you all the best!
Hey, congratulations. Never mind “Good cop/bad cop.” Now you have “nice hair/wild hair” going on. How many agencies can say THAT?
Brad, Brad, Brad.
You are opening yourself up to a return comment about hair?
At least you have some (see Brad’s video for proof):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lndhckQ9GEg
I was going to say “Good hair, bad hair,” but that might have sounded strange. Er.
Exciting news for…I see a castle… all of us! Congrat…I see a castle…ulations to you all.
Fabulous news! Congrats, Steve and Karen.
How exciting! Congrats on the agency expansion and dynamic new team!
Brad, you crack me up! I think that should be our agency tag line. Whaddya say, Steve?
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. MUCH appreciated. And I think I’M the lucky one. Being on the team with Steve and Tamela is going to be great fun!
Karen
Congratulations, Karen. This is so exciting.
Submission guidelines for the agency state to send proposals via mail, but we are given an email address for you. Just so everyone is clear before they jump at this wonderful opportunity, is email the correct way to submit to you? Or does everyone submit to The Steve Laube Agency ie: Steve Laube?
The web site will be updated soon and will reflect new guideline appropriate for each agent in the agency. If you are sending material to me (Steve) it will need to be hard copy. Karen and Tamela will be open to email submissions.
Thanks for the question Susan.
Steve
Thanks for answering my question, Steve.
Congrats to all!
Welcome, Karen!!! Thanks for joining Laube Agency so Steve can test my 2nd grade math skills. Who knew I remembered so much all these years later. 😉
So glad to see you here, Karen. You’re one of my favorite people along with the two others here. Kudos to Steve for landing two of the greatest people around. What fun!
Very good post. I certainly love this website. Stick with it!