I am interested in fictional works for all ages, including picture books, middle-grade, young adults, and adult readers. My favorite genres include contemporary, fantasy, historical, horror, magical realism, re-tellings, romance, science fiction and anything LGBTQIA-centric. I’m particularly keen to find books with pain-in-the-ass heroines, dark and creepy settings with lyrical voices, and books with well-thought out twists and turns. SciFi should be easily accessible and horror should not make me need to keep the lights on! Send me your LGBT+ books that are about more than just a coming out story. My list tends to skew towards children’s fiction, but I am on the hunt for select authors in the above adult genres as well. Overall, though, I love being surprised by books I never knew she wanted!
I am also open to select narrative nonfiction titles dealing with LGBT+ history, theatre (including biographies or theatrical analysis such as Horowitz’s Sondheim on Music), and music theory.
The most important thing to remember is this is not an exhaustive list of what I’m looking for! This is just what is at the top of my ‘want’ list.
CURRENTLY I am closed to queries but hope to open by mid-2021. Here’s my current wants so you can prep those query letters!
Picture Books:
- Anything in the LGBT+ space — especially if you have something like Jack (Not Jackie)!
- Make me laugh — I love puns for days! — that said, I am not the person for bodily function / fart jokes. That’s just one step too far!
Middle Grade:
- Still looking for that great adventure novel with a humorous and accessible voice. Bonus points if there are puzzles kids get to solve along with your main character! (Come on, where’s my Middle Grade Mummy or Indiana Jones??)
- A creepy and lyrical manuscript a la Coraline. Something with gorgeous world building and has a tone I want to get lost in and never return from (AKA, send me your dream worlds or your creepy carnivals with a twist).
- I love books that feature kids getting into trouble and having to solve everything before mom and dad get home!
- LGBT kids figuring out who they are and how they fit into the world. I’m dying to find that “first crush” or “first kiss” book in the middle school space.
Young Adult:
- A creepy supernatural sort of book—think Asylum by Madeline Roux. I grew up on Christopher Pike so I’d love to find books that have that same horror/thriller feel he captured so well!
- In terms of LGBT+, I’m not looking for a just a coming out story. I want to see these characters leading their own stories and not focused on their sexuality. That being said — I would look at a coming out story of underrepresented queer voices (such as intersex or asexual).
- I’m absolutely here for any and all rom-coms (queer or straight)
- I love re-imaginings of typically “straight” media and seeing them through a queer lens.
Adult:
- In SciFi or Fantasy, send me new twists on old tropes and storylines. I’m not the best fit for high fantasy or hard SciFi. (If I need a science degree to understand your book, it’s not for me.) I want books with impeccable world building that jumps off the page.
- I’m very, very picky about my romance these days. I’m still open to rom-coms (both queer and straight) — but it needs to be super high concept with a voice I fall into. If you can comp it to RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE — it’s something I’m interested in seeing.
- Narrative Non-Fiction: anything in queer spaces (both biography and memoir). As I have a background in musicology, I’d love any theatrical/classical music analysis or biography. I’m also interested in select memoirs by established musical theatre performers.
Any Age:
- Send me your diverse voices and your LGBTQIA characters—I’m always looking for more authors from marginalized communities including BIPOC and neurodivergent.
- Above all on my #MSWL are just great books with strong voice and characters I fall in love with and so often that comes from books I never knew I wanted. Strong hooks that I can’t put down. Things that have me tapping my iPad until 3AM when I curse that my battery has died 5 pages from the end.