MSWL Manuscript Wish List
In every genre I represent, there are some common threads that tie together what I'm looking for. Strong writing with a distinct voice is a must for me. That's sometimes hard to pin down, but when I see it, it jumps off the page and makes me want to keep reading. I also look for complex, multi-dimensional characters who feel real to me—I want to care deeply about what happens to them. I look for immersive, deeply woven, extraordinarily original stories with propulsive plots and richly layered worldbuilding. If this sounds like your work, and it matches my interests below, send a query my way—especially if it blends genres in ways I likely haven't seen before.
- Adult Fantasy
- In high and low fantasy, I'd love to see unique world-building with characters and settings based on cultures and histories that are traditionally underrepresented in the genre. In urban fantasy, I prefer genre-bending stories that feature gritty action, complex characters, unusual plot structures, or any combination of the above. Retellings, but only if they're a fresh take on a concept that hasn't been overdone. In the contemporary fantasy/magical realism space, I prefer thought provoking stories with a high-concept magical hook, a keen sense of wonder, and prose that leans toward literary.
Favorite authors include: N.K. Jemisin, Neil Gaiman, Fonda Lee, Shelley Parker-Chan, Rebecca Roanhorse, Andrea Stewart, Erin Morgenstern, V.E. Schwab, Robin Hobb, Sarah Gailey, R.F. Kuang, C.L. Polk, Scott Lynch, Josiah Bancroft, Marlon James, Peter McLean, Emily St. John Mandel, Kazuo Ishiguro, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, David Mitchell, Claire North, Margaret Owen
- In high and low fantasy, I'd love to see unique world-building with characters and settings based on cultures and histories that are traditionally underrepresented in the genre. In urban fantasy, I prefer genre-bending stories that feature gritty action, complex characters, unusual plot structures, or any combination of the above. Retellings, but only if they're a fresh take on a concept that hasn't been overdone. In the contemporary fantasy/magical realism space, I prefer thought provoking stories with a high-concept magical hook, a keen sense of wonder, and prose that leans toward literary.
- Adult Sci-Fi
- I love everything from contemporary speculative to cli-fi to science fantasy to africanfuturism to space opera. And I'd love to see more real diversity in SFF from diverse voices. In contemporary speculative, I prefer alt-present or near-future narratives with strong characters and creative story structures. But, please, no plagues or viruses, thank you very much.
Favorite authors include: Nnedi Okorafor, Ted Chiang, Octavia E. Butler, Tamsyn Muir, J.S. Dewes, John Scalzi, Martha Wells, Arkady Martine, Michael Mammay, Ursula K. Le Guin, Matt Haig, Chuck Wendig, Rob Hart, Mike Chen, Micaiah Johnson, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugh Howie
- I love everything from contemporary speculative to cli-fi to science fantasy to africanfuturism to space opera. And I'd love to see more real diversity in SFF from diverse voices. In contemporary speculative, I prefer alt-present or near-future narratives with strong characters and creative story structures. But, please, no plagues or viruses, thank you very much.
- Adult & YA Horror
- I'm looking for surreal, atmospheric horror that unpacks societal and/or personal traumas, monster reimaginings from BIPOC POVs or steeped in SWANA, Asian, or other non-western mythologies. I’m open to body horror, psychological horror, gothic, historical, and/or genre-blended with fantasy or sci-fi. I’d love to be surprised by something boundary-pushing that's unlike anything I've seen before.
- Adult Literary and Upmarket
- I'm very selective in literary and upmarket fiction. I'm looking for diverse, inclusive adult literary with a touch of the inexplicable, literary fiction with speculative elements, upmarket/literary fantasy in the vein of Alix Harrow, V.E. Schwab, or Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and true magical realism with roots in the Latine/x and post-colonial tradition. Bonus points for stories rooted in multi-generational secrets or those that explore folklores or cultural mythologies.
- I'm very selective in literary and upmarket fiction. I'm looking for diverse, inclusive adult literary with a touch of the inexplicable, literary fiction with speculative elements, upmarket/literary fantasy in the vein of Alix Harrow, V.E. Schwab, or Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and true magical realism with roots in the Latine/x and post-colonial tradition. Bonus points for stories rooted in multi-generational secrets or those that explore folklores or cultural mythologies.
- Adult Mystery
- I'm very selective in Mystery as well. For the time being I'll be seeking only BIPOC voices in Mystery with elements of speculative, fantasy, or horror.
- I'm very selective in Mystery as well. For the time being I'll be seeking only BIPOC voices in Mystery with elements of speculative, fantasy, or horror.
- Young Adult Contemporary
- I'm looking for YA Contemporary with fully-realized characters, strong emotional beats, and clear stakes. I lean toward perspectives outside my own, and prefer stories that ask tough questions but don't shy away from finding the humor amid the difficulties of teenage life.
- I'm looking for YA Contemporary with fully-realized characters, strong emotional beats, and clear stakes. I lean toward perspectives outside my own, and prefer stories that ask tough questions but don't shy away from finding the humor amid the difficulties of teenage life.
- YA Fantasy & Sci-Fi
- In YA fantasy and science fiction, I'm basically looking for all the same things I love in the Adult space, but told through a YA lens with YA characters and relationships. I'm open to writers exploring all forms of their uniquely diverse experiences in YA fantasy and sci-fi, and the same goes for writers of Adult fantasy and sci-fi as well.
Favorite authors include: Ryka Aoki, Xiran Jay Zhao, Sarah Raughley, Margaret Rogerson, Sabaa Tahir, Erin Morgenstern, Alix Harrow, Tahereh Mafi, Laini Taylor, Daniel José Older, Leigh Bardugo, V.E. Schwab, Marie Lu, Tomi Adeyemi, Rosiee Thor, Julie Kagawa, Roshani Chokshi, Dhonielle Clayton, Naomi Novik, Hafsah Faizal, Natasha Ngan, Rin Chupeco
- In YA fantasy and science fiction, I'm basically looking for all the same things I love in the Adult space, but told through a YA lens with YA characters and relationships. I'm open to writers exploring all forms of their uniquely diverse experiences in YA fantasy and sci-fi, and the same goes for writers of Adult fantasy and sci-fi as well.
- MG Fantasy & Sci-Fi
- I want to see STEM, I want to see cultural diversity, I want to see Locke & Key from a BIPOC pov, I want to see Vietnamese myth-based fantasy, or contemporary fantasy with a SWANA cast solving mysteries using their grandmothers' stories, give me inclusive and diverse witch and wizard schools like WITCHLINGS or THE MARVELLERS, anything that comps the TRISTAN STRONG, THEO TAN, ZACHARY YING, or ARU SHAH series—and anything that middle grade readers need but can't find on shelves!
If you want to go a little more in depth on some of the more specific #MSWL items I've mentioned, feel free to check out my ever-expanding #MSWL twitter thread.
Personal note: I prioritize stories by writers from traditionally underpublished communities. Since working toward correcting the imbalance in whose stories end up on shelves is part of my personal mission statement as an agent, stories with POV characters written from outside a writer's own experience will always be a hard sell for me. In all things, I value authenticity in voices, and while one person's story will never be representative of an entire group or community, each writer's personal experience is valid and their stories are worthy of sharing.
While supporting writers who draw from their own lived experiences and backgrounds is extremely important to me, people's stories do not have to be issue-related or center group or individual traumas for them to be valid and have worth. Sharing the joys and positivity within a community is just as important, in my opinion, as tackling difficult issues. As the privacy and safety of every writer is crucial, public acknowledgement of any writer's marginalization is neither necessary nor required. Lastly, if the things I mentioned here don't jibe with your beliefs, I may not be the right agent for you.
In the genres I represent, I'd love to see more projects by writers from Black, Indigenous, Latine/x, Asian, AAPI, SWANA, and African communities and their far-reaching diasporas, as well as the LGBTQIA+, trans and nonbinary, and disabled and neurodiverse communities.
And I do not represent: non-fiction, faith-based/
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