Sam B. Farkas

OK, #MSWL time. In Adult, I want SUSPENSE, especially centering women, queer characters, and BIPOC. I prefer smaller scale, with high personal stakes.

I'm not the right fit for detectives/police/military or ppl running around the world trying to stop [insert catastrophic thing]

Happy New Year! It's time for my 2022 #MSWL. As always, I'll add to this as I think of things, but here is what I would love to see in my inbox.

#MSWL

I've asked for this before, but I'll ask again. I would LOVE an MG that could comp to The Iron Giant.

I don't necessarily mean big robots from space; I mean sophisticated and emotionally taut MG that uses fantastical elements to take on gun violence/the military.

#mswl

This is a hyper-specific Horror ask but I would die (and be reborn as a ghost) for an Adult or YA novel that takes inspiration from "The Green Ribbon." #mswl

Competitions! I looooove books with competitions, especially when they're speculative: The Hunger Games, A Gathering of Shadows, Caraval, The Selection. I'm a big fan. #mswl

I see so many things comped to Naomi Novik that those comps have kind of lost meaning for me, but nevertheless I love romantic and literary fantasy that draws from folklore, especially if it's interrogating heavier topics, as SPINNING SILVER interrogates antisemitism. #mswl

Horror! Things that keep me awake at night! If it can comp to MEXICAN GOTHIC or Hill House/Bly Manor (or Pan's Labyrinth, my perennial fave), I want to see it! #mswl

Historical with fabulist elements. Think Alice Hoffman — literary prose, a sharply defined setting, just a hint of magic. #MSWL

Picture books! I've had a blast working on picture book texts recently and I'd love to see more of them.

I like fresh concepts with strong illustration potential and language that pops. #MSWL

You know, I don't really want to write Roller Coaster Tycoon Horror, but I want to read it, so if you have MG or YA amusement park horror, please send it to me. #mswl.

Thinking about how I really want an MG that could comp to THE IRON GIANT.

And I especially want a character like Dean. #mswl

My #MSWL page is live! Here is what I would love to see in my inbox:

manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/sam-…

I am steadily catching up on queries, but as a general note, I would love to see more Adult Contemporary Romance and more Middle Grade in my inbox. #MSWL

In MG I'm really drawn to books that include deeply flawed adult characters who influence the narrative beyond the standard parent/teacher roles. Examples: SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS by Jack Cheng; THE BOOK OF BOY by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. #MSWL

My SFF feelings apply to YA, too -- although in YA I am more open to Contemporary Fantasy/Paranormal than I am in Adult.

In YA and MG, I'm really looking for everything and anything, but lately my tastes have skewed more Contemporary. #MSWL

On to SFF! I am here for light SFF. I have trouble with space operas and anything with elves, orcs, etc.

I like my sci-fi techy and plausible (i.e. RECURSION by Blake Crouch) and my fantasy grounded in history/folktale (think SPINNING SILVER, CITY OF BRASS, THE POPPY WAR). #MSWL

I would also commit crimes for a novel from the PoV of Marie-Anne Lavoisier. CRIMES, I TELL YOU.

Swoony romance. Scientific partnership. The conservation of mass. A weird milk diet. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. * bangs pots and pans * #MSWL

And just throwing this out there: I would commit crimes for a novel from the PoV of Chaja Bielski (with the caveat that it's coming from a Jewish author) #MSWL

In a similar vein, I love biographical novels, and I would love to read about some lesser-known people.

Favorites: THE SECRET HISTORY by Stephanie Thornton; LOVE & RUIN by Paula McLain; UNDER THE WIDE AND STARRY SKY by Nancy Horan #MSWL