Manuscript Wishlist: What I'm Looking for in 2022!
Well, it’s that time. The search begins. Again.
I’m back open to queries at P.S. Literary, and here’s what I’m hoping to find in 2022. My big specific wishlist items are the same as they were last year:
Stories that celebrate neurodiversity, from authors who are themselves neurodivergent, both in fiction and non-fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult.
Joyful novels and powerful memoirs about the adoptee experience, written by adoptees. I can’t stress that enough.
Unique, genre-blending romance novels. For example, I wish I had worked on The Plus One by Sarah Archer or any of Roselle Lim’s breathtaking romantic contemporary fantasy novels. Give me an adult rom-com in space, or with magic. Let’s get weird.
In-verse kid-lit projects! I have one MG verse novel coming out in 2023, and I really want to work on more in the Middle Grade and Young Adult space. Especially if it’s something genre-blendy. My kingdom for a sci-fi in-verse novel, my goodness.
These were my favorite novels that I read in 2021, which will totally give you an idea of what my taste is like. And of course, the books I’ve worked on in my agent life, which you can check out here.
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Genre Blending Literary & Adult Commercial Fiction
I'm looking for genre-blending fiction... books that pull a bit of genre into the literary. Some of my favorites in that space include Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and The Last One by Alexandra Olivia.
Great examples in my agent life include Mike Chen and Alison Stine’s stunning genre-blending literary novels, which dig into time travel, secret societies, cults, superheroes, climate disasters, and more, while tackling heavy themes around family and relationships. Make me cry, while surprising me chapter after chapter.
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 novels (The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green and Lost at Sea).
I’m also really hungry to find some great rom-coms. A few of my clients are working on them, and I’d just love to find some unique, genre-blending romances, like I said above.
So… give me literary fiction that genre blends, commercial fiction that takes me somewhere unknown, and rom-coms that make me laugh and swoon.
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.
Some of my favorite sci-fi and fantasy reads include The Book of M by Peng Shepherd and Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I also love anything Chuck Wendig, Kat Howard, Fran Wilde, and Delilah S. Dawson writes.
Select Non-Fiction
I’m a little all over the place in non-fiction, but specifically I’m trying to find more memoirs, essay collections, pop history, and wellness books. Please note, I’m not really looking for cookbooks anymore.
With memoir, I’m best suited for projects that read like a collection of essays. James Tate Hill’s Blind Man’s Bluff is a great example of a project I worked on in that space.
When it comes to wellness, I’m looking for platformed writers who are experts in their respective topics, writing books in that space. For example, the projects I’ve done with Sophie Saint Thomas, circulating around sexuality, witchcraft, and cannabis.
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. I love diverse and inclusive Young Adult novels that reflect the world, and what the world could be.
To get a sense of my taste in YA, my favorite Young Adult novels released in 2021 were It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp, In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner, The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman, You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao, It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi, and One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite.
My favorite YA novel of all time is a toss up between Hero by Perry Moore and The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness.
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, Ashley Poston, and Nina LaCour.
I'd also love to see more YA non-fiction hit my inbox. Memoir, essay collections, you name it. My client Mary Kenney’s Game Changers, a collection of essays on overlooked women in the video game industry, is a good example of what I like.
Middle Grade Fiction + Nonfiction
Last year I opened up to MG and there are a few really lovely projects incoming. To give you an idea of what I’m looking for, some of my favorite recent MG titles were Claribel Ortega’s Ghost Squad, The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert, Clean Getaway by Nic Stone, Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga, and New Kid by Jerry Craft.
I’ve loved all the Middle Grade novels by Preeti Chhibber, Victoria Schwab, Roshani Choskhi, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Ashley Herring-Blake.
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.
Picture Books (pitch my colleague Maria!)
Angel & demon love stories, Heaven / Hell stories.
Adult epic fantasy or sci-fi. I’m not right for doorstoppers.
Cookbooks (not anymore, sorry!)
Military sci-fi.
Douglas-Adams-esque sci-fi.
Non-fiction about sports or politics.
Novels about suicide.
Your thriller about some white guy fighting terrorists. It’s bad. I’m gonna hate it.
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!)
And that’s about it!
I hope this breakdown was helpful, and I wish you best of luck in your querying. Hopefully I’m a good fit!