Storm Literary Agency

Boutique literary agency representing quality literature from exceptional authors and illustrators

First, there was a  teacher who loved books almost as much as she loved little children. Then, there was an artist who loved pirates, almost as much as he loved cats. As it turns out, that artist could also write, and that teacher loved the pirate stories he wrote. And she shared those stories with the children she taught. The children loved the pirate stories; they also loved the cats. They wanted more stories with pirates and cats. They also wanted an adventure. And the stories gave them so many adventures. And that is that: Storm Literary Agency came about because it needed to. The children requested it. And so did the cats. 

Storm Literary Agency welcomes submissions from unique and talented authors and illustrators, those who are not afraid to embrace their capacity to teach, to entertain, to engage and to honor people, young and old, who hopefully, will be changed by the work represented here.

Sandra Headen 

Twitter: @HeadenSandra • LinkedIn: Sandra Headen • Website:

There was never a time when Sandra wasn’t spinning stories in her head to explain what was going on in the wonderful, sometimes puzzling world she observed while growing up in the American South. Her passion for social justice grew out of the observation that being Black and female seemed to have an outsized effect on everything. Her dream was to be a newspaper reporter, but curiosity and ambition carried her in another direction. She earned a PhD in Social and Community Psychology from Boston College and spent many satisfying years teaching Masters and PHD level students and conducting research in behavioral health. 

One day, opportunity and fate opened the door to a new career: writing historical fiction for Middle Grade and Young Adult readers. Sandra knew she was on a promising path when her writing was recognized by The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow. She also won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators' On the Verge/Emerging Voices Award for writers from underrepresented groups and the North Carolina Writers Network's Jacob/Jones African American Literary Award. Her short story, "Papa’s Gifts" was published in The Carolina Quarterly. 

In addition to her membership in SCBWI and The North Carolina Writers Network, her writing life is enriched by three fabulous critique partners and the community of writers called #BlackCreatorsInKidLit.