Lina Langlee

I should also mention that I only take on 1-2 new authors a year. I am not looking for new clients very actively but wanted to open for submissions since I've been closed for a longer period.

Not hard exclusions but I would be unlikely to take on any MG or cosy crime since my list here is very full. I am also not a big reader of gangland, anything overtly political, or men going on a journey of self-discovery fuelled by drugs (we receive more of this than you may think).

Horror: Folk horror, body horror, supernatural, sci-fi blend, gothic. Less keen on creepy real-world set horror where the resolution is that someone doesn't know what’s going on because they’ve been drugged.

Sci-fi: cool concepts, and the softer side: anything comped to Becky Chambers, crime/mystery or a beautiful love story that happens to be set in space etc, but also space operas.

Fantasy: open to all genres but would have more space for something with a subgenre like romantasy, historical mystery, dark fantasy or cosy. I would be verrry excited to find something that feels like a cosier, more feminine version of Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Love stories: concept-led rom-coms, sweeping epics, or something that will break my heart. I love yearning, longing, slow-burn or the intensity of first love - but also open to the steamier the stuff.

I am looking for fun concepts above all - something with a genuine elevator pitch. X meets Y, X but with Y, ‘Imagine a world…’ , ‘What if…’, fresh retellings etc.

In general I like anything high emotion, and I tend to veer more towards cosy/feel-good than eg psychological thrillers. However, like most people, I contain multitudes so am also excited about weird, creepy stuff.

I have not been good at social media since the demise of twitter (RIP), but thought I should come on to say that I am open for queries until end of August.

I am open to most fiction genres (do check our website) so this is not to restrict, but to do a little #mswl (below).

And yes, any books that could be comped with any of the above are very much on my #mswl!

Looking at all the books I read, I definitely favoured romance and fantasy in 2022. This is partly because it’s two genres I love, and also because I actively chose books that I saw all over TikTok for ~research~ (god, isn’t working in publishing great??)

Okay - that's me closed for submissions for the rest of 2022! I am looking forward to catching up on submissions already received, and will let the #amquerying crowd know what my #mswl is when I reopen in early 2023 again.

Okay, I’m open for submissions again! My #mswl currently includes dark academia, horror, big emotion romance, anything high concept - MG and up. I love folklore and myths from around the world. If I love the voice I’ll tag along for anything!

thenorthlitagency.com/our-friends-in…

For the UK #amquerying crowd: NOW would be a very good time to send me fun contemporary MG, magical realism MG, YA romance, YA horror or other YA/crossover SFF.
#MSWL
thenorthlitagency.com/hit-the-north/

Would read about 🤩 #mswl

Since I am still getting some traction for this #mswl I should mention that I have recently moved agencies to The North Literary Agency. More about what I am looking for here: thenorthlitagency.com/our-friends-in…

Seeing a lot of 'timely' manuscripts (read 'dystopian') in our submissions inbox when all I want is ESCAPISM.

I want your fluffy romances, the book equivalent of a Bollywood film, feel-good cosy stuff with a great hook that make you WANT to stay in.
#mswl
katenashlit.co.uk/submissions/

So, what I want is:
- A strong voice and clear concept that grabs you immediately
- Straightforward language
- Age appropriate story

If this is you and you are writing funny, magical, adventure or detective MG stories pleeease send in!
katenashlit.co.uk/submissions/

#querytip #mswl

- A mismatch between themes and reading level e.g. younger story told in advanced language
- Adopting 'young' style in dialogue but not in the rest the of narrative
#querytip #mswl

Common issues that mean I'll pass on a manuscript:
- Story/writing style/word choices more suited for an older readership
- The 'call of action' coming too late / too much exposition
#querytip #mswl