Serene Hakim

About the Agent

Prior to joining Ayesha Pande Literary in 2015, Serene worked at Laura Gross Literary Agency in Boston. Born to Lebanese immigrants in the Midwest, she grew up straddling cultures and languages and still feels like a third culture kid. She represents authors in a variety of genres, from MG fantasy to adult literary fiction to contemporary YA. Her clients include Kristen Arnett, Jean Chen Ho, Kaela Rivera, Ream Shukairy and Shannon C.F. Rogers. Serene is particularly interested in both YA and adult fiction that has international themes, highlights a variety of cultures, and focuses on underrepresented and/or marginalized voices. At the moment, she is mostly focusing on YA/MG and taking on adult writers more selectively. Specifically, she's looking for writing that explores different meanings of identity, home, and family, and in general would love to find more Middle Eastern writers. She loves books that are joy-filled and full of heart, as well as stories that delve deep into grief. Her educational background is in French and women's studies and she holds an MA in French-English translation from NYU. Serene is a member of the AALA (Association of American Literary Agents) and serves on the DEI committee.

Represented authors

• Joan Chen Ho
• Jean Chen Ho
• Ari Koontz
• Hadley Leggett
• Gloria Muñoz
• Kaela Rivera
• SHANNON C.F. Rogers
• Jihyun Yun