Manuscript Wishlist for 2020: What I'm Looking for this Year!
It begins.
I'm open to queries again! I'm so excited to read new work, and to find some bold new voices this year! Here's what I'm looking for in 2020.
Please remember, to send a pitch my way, please use P.S. Literary’s submission guidelines and query email, found here.
Genre Blending Literary & Adult Commercial Fiction
If you love novels like Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, The Last One by Alexandra Olivia, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneggerand, The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters, The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff, and every book by Colson Whitehead... then your work is a good fit for me.
I'm looking for genre-blending fiction... books that pull a bit of genre into the literary.
When it comes to my clients, Mike Chen's Here & Now & Then and A Beginning at the End, and Alison Stine's The Grower’s Tale and Trashlands, are the perfect example of this. Literary fiction with splashes of time travel, secret societies, cults, and the apocalypse? Yes. Please.
I also really love literary fiction that takes you into small worlds and communities where I'm an outsider. A glimpse inside a complex family, or a workplace. Like my client Erica Boyce’s The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green or Lost at Sea. Both are family sagas, one set on a failing farm and another in a small fishing town.
So… give me literary fiction that genre blends, and commercial fiction that takes me somewhere unknown. It helps if you can break my heart in the process.
Select Science Fiction & Fantasy
I'm a bit picky when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy novels. I love them. I read a ton of them. But they have to be accessible. What does that mean? It means that readers who don't traditionally pick up much sci-fi or fantasy, can pick up one of these novels, and enjoy it. I feel like Mike Chen’s work does a good job of balancing this.
Some of my favorite recent sci-fi and fantasy reads include The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, Steel Crow Saga by Paul Kreuger, and the Sleeping Giants series by Sylvain Neuvel. I also love anything Chuck Wendig, Kat Howard, and Delilah S. Dawson writes.
Non-Fiction of All Kinds!
I’m looking for all kinds of non-fiction, especially cookbooks, memoirs, essay collections, wellness, and pop-culture history books.
When it comes to cookbooks, I love unique projects from platformed authors that explore topics that are hard to find in the bookstore, or haven't been explored at all. Standout single subject books tend to grab me really quickly. If you think your project is too niche, I might be right for you.
Recent projects of mine in this category include Eat to Feed by Eliza Larson and Kristy Kohler, a cookbook for breastfeeding mothers, Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum? by Sam Slaughter, a cocktail book full of 90's inspired drinks, and Lindsey Smith's Eat Your Feelings, a mental health focus cookbook about pairing food with emotions. Wildly different, right? But each of them are very specific.
And when it comes to pop-history, I love books that introduce readers to untold stories. My author Alex Rubens' 8-Bit Apocalypse is the perfect example, telling the untold story of the creation of the game Missile Command.
In the wellness space, see some of the work I’ve been doing with Sophie Saint Thomas, specifically her books Finding Your Higher Self and The Little Book of CBD Self Care.
I've loved every single book written by Mary Roach, and would love to find a non-fiction book along those lines. One of my favorite non-fiction titles ever is The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson.
Young Adult Fiction + Non-Fiction
I'm always hungry to find bright new voices in YA. As for what I'm specifically looking for, that's a hard thing to pin down. I read widely in YA, and enjoy just about every genre in it. I love moving contemporary reads, thrilling sci-fi, and lush fantasy.
To get a sense of my taste in YA, my favorite novels of last year were I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi, Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thorr, The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf, Slay by Brittney Morris, Jackpot by Nic Stone, and Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan.
My favorite YA novel of all time is Hero by Perry Moore.
When it comes to my favorite YA authors, I've read every book by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, Nova Ren Suma, Mindy McGinnis, Jeff Zentner, Zoraida Cordova, Meg Medina, Bryan Bliss, Nic Stone, and Nina LaCour.
Specifically, I’d also really love to get more YA horror in my inbox. Smart horror. I don’t want gore, I want a story that creeps me out, and asks questions I don’t want answers to. See authors Kim Liggett’s Blood & Salt for a flawless example. Very hungry to work on more LGBTQ+ YA novels and diverse, inclusive reads.
I'd also love to see more YA non-fiction hit my inbox. Memoir, essay collections, you name it. Queer There & Everywhere is probably my favorite YA non-fic title in recent memory, and a great example of what I’d like to see.
Middle Grade Nonfiction
While I’m not necessarily looking for MG fiction, I am on the hunt for non-fiction in MG. Show me glimpses of history that haven’t been taught to younger students before, collections of pieces, anthologies. See Robin Stevenson’s Kid Activists and Kid Innovators for perfect examples of this.
What I'm Not Looking For
And now, a quick rundown of what I'm not looking for, to save everyone's time. This isn’t meant to be harsh, just a list of what I don’t really enjoy, and would be a bad fit for.
Middle Grade Fiction or Picture Books (pitch my colleague Maria!)
Angel & demon love stories, Heaven / Hell stories.
Adult epic fantasy (pitch my colleague Kurestin!).
Military sci-fi.
Douglas-Adams-esque sci-fi.
Non-fiction about sports or politics.
Your thriller about some white guy fighting terrorists.
Portals.
Main character is Death.
Novellas.
Main character is a bigot and learns a lesson at the expense of marginalized people.
Redemptive story arcs for abusers. Nope.
New Adult books.
Anything comped as "Lovecraftian" (he was racist, not interested)
Anything comped to Orson Scott Card (if I have to explain this, we can't work together)
Commercial fiction about sports (exceptions made for sports YA, I love sports YA!)