MSWL: Manuscript Wishlist
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As a queer woman of color, I am specifically interested in queer and BIPOC fiction. Across all areas of interest, I crave emotionally immersive, voice-y, character-driven projects that make “small stakes” seem big.
Young Adult Fiction
Give me the girls with skinned knees and boys with soft hearts and queer kids who couldn't be good if they tried. All the gray morality and friendships they would kill to keep. For real though, if it’s not queer it’s probably not for me.
Contemporary
I only want it if characters and world can be placed within the last 5-10 years. I’m tired of suburbs and bigoted small towns, and want to be dropped right into diverse, inclusive cities.
I like them gritty and angsty to fun and rompy! Not into academically driven, goody-two-shoes characters.
Romance, slice-of-life, to high-concept (easily pitched) and fast paced.
Plots centered around solely overcoming racial/homophobic injustice, trauma, and pain are not really for me.
Think:
HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE; I KISSED SHARA WHEELER; YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN; WHEN YOU WERE EVERYTHING; FELIX EVER AFTER
Horror
Nothing feels better to me than fear (that’s a lie, I’m a sucker for intense yearning).
I want to see horror at its most intimate: how we’re changed and shaped by fear, survival. Give me chilling scares juxtaposed with humor a la Scream or Cabin In The Woods!
Think: THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD; HELL FOLLOWED WITH US; THE HONEYS; THE UNDEAD TRUTH OF US; WILDER GIRLS; RULES FOR VANISHING;
Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Speculative
Currently bored of the landscape; not accepting.
Currently focused on grounded contemporary worlds with fantastical/speculative elements. The more intimate and selfish the stakes, the more I’m interested.
Please note: I am not interested in what are essentially war stories with white leads.
Think: OUR VIOLENT ENDS; WITCHES STEEPED IN GOLD; EACH OF US A DESERT; WATCH OVER ME; A SONG BELOW WATER
Thriller/Mystery
Missing/dead best friends? Secrets too tangled to keep? Single White Female situation but make it competitive cheerleaders? That’s my jam.
Think: I’M THE GIRL; THEY’LL NEVER CATCH US; MONDAY’S NOT COMING; POINTE; TINY PRETTY THINGS; PEOPLE LIKE US
Adult Fiction
Horror
I'm looking for more than domestic white family hauntings, though I’m still open to how intimately horrors effect our relationships and lives circa The Haunting of Hill House. Looking for projects that balances humor as well!
Intimate stakes with characters driving the plot in atmospheric worlds.
Think: JACKAL; WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS'; THE HACIENDA; HOUSE OF HUNGER; THE LUMINOUS DEAD; THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE; MEXICAN GOTHIC;
Think Movies Like:
Cam; Us; The Babysitter
Shows like:
Marianne; Black Mirror
Domestic Suspense
Don’t make me read another novel about a suburban white couple whose infertility drives one or both to psychosis.
Think: WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING; THE KILL CLUB; THE GIRL BEFORE (Rena Olsen); SHARP OBJECTS
Please note: I do NOT represent crime procedurals, crime thrillers or military fiction, nor am I interested in stories of that nature.
Romance
Contemporary. Historical. Genre-bending - I want it all ways!
Contemporary: I want current, fresh voices that can be dated between 2015-now.
I have a soft-spot for rom-coms, but also love a good suspenseful romance! In general, I lean away from completely light and fluffy.
No alpha males.
Think: SAVVY SHELDON FEELS GOOD AS HELL; ACT YOUR AGE EVE BROWN; ONE LAST STOP
Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Speculative
Leaning toward standalone and duologies set in more grounded worlds or second-worlds not based on Western societies.
The less moral-save-the-world-with-personal-sacrifice and more intimate and selfish the stakes, the better.
Really craving less swords and fire-light and more modern/technologically advanced worlds.
Think: BLACK WATER SISTER; THE UNBROKEN; GIDEON THE NINTH;
UPMARKET WOMEN’S FICTION/UPMARKET FICTION
Solely interested in BIPOC and queer stories that highlight the lives of millennial queer folks of color within the modern world. This can be exhibited in contemporary, speculative, or other genres. While interested in generational family stories, not interested in historical novels taking place largely before 2010.
Think shows like: Michaela Coel’s HBO series I MAY DESTROY YOU as the tonally vibrant genre-bending, voicey project I’m looking for.
Showtime’s WORK IN PROGRESS which centers co-creator Abby McEnany’s fictionalized self as a 46 year old self-identified fat, queer dyke which balances the levity of mental illness with comedic punch.
Let’s have fun, and get dark, get personal, while also showcasing BIPOC and queer lives outside of singular arcs of pain and suffering. I want the after coming out, the messy, hilarious, poignant moments that make up the little pieces of our lives. I want BIPOC lives within BIPOC communities in stories that don’t center navigating whiteness.
Probably Not For Me
A non-comprehensive list
Dragons
Magic schools
Interracial relationship cures racism
American War/veteran stories (I am literally the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee)
Non-genre (like mysteries, horror) stories set in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, early-2000s.
Conventional hero journeys.
Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic worlds, ESPECIALLY if it’s about overthrowing an authoritative power.
MC discovers they’re magical/mythical creature.
Traditional vampires, werewolves, mythical/paranormal creatures. Something entirely new & inventive like Blade was? LOVE!
I literally hate political thrillers, please never send them to me. Ever.
If it’s set during/about COVID 19, it is an AUTOMATIC PASS.