Paula Weiman

#mswl butch protagonists, please! Especially in YA! A YA romance with a butch love interest would be so delightful

That's all for now. I don't answer questions about queries on Bluesky so direct any questions to the ASH Literary submissions email address. Looking forward to reading!
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#mswl this is very specific but I'd like to see a contemporary YA novel about a formerly high-achieving teen athlete who has to redefine their sense of self after a physically disabling injury or illness changes their relationship with the sport

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#mswl labor rights in fiction is a big buzz word for me. Extra intriguing when someone can pull it off in middle grade, but I'm open to speculative or real-world settings, middle grade or YA or adult.

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#mswl I still haven't signed a YA rom-com and I'd love to! Send me rom-coms please. I love fun, bantery romance with thoroughly teenage priorities, especially when grounded in queer or multicultural identities.

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#mswl heists please! YA or adult, contemporary or fantasy settings. Bonus if the heist is intended to right a legal injustice in the vein of the show Leverage or the book Portrait of a Thief. Extra bonus if there's a lesbian protagonist.

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I'm looking for picture books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, and speculative adult fiction. I'm open to science fiction for the first time; please be gentle with me.

I'm NOT currently accepting queries for graphic novels.

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I'd really love to work on a YA suspense novel this year! I'm looking for stories that aren't murder mysteries, but instead follow a teenager trying to tackle an unjust system in their local community.
#mswl
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I want to read a YA contemporary novel that dives deep into teenage bisexual angst. Something like The Last True Poets of the Sea, or Don't Let It Break Your Heart (though now that I think of it, I'm not sure if any of those characters are bi... that's the vibe, though).
#mswl
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I'd love to read some YA or adult horror stories from indigenous voices, and more broadly, horror stories that use a speculative lens to examine topics of racial identity.
#mswl
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Bonus points for YA rom-coms:
-butch love interest
-autistic protagonists
-former athletes rediscovering their identity after an injury or health crisis that ends their career within the sport
-protagonist thinks they're nemeses and love interest thinks they've been flirting for years
#mswl
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I haven't received as many YA rom-coms as I'd like yet. I want stories that are heavy on the com, and have subplots with a lot of depth that inform the development of the rom. #mswl
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I'm on the hunt for an exciting anti-colonialist YA or adult fantasy. Something along the lines of Skin of the Sea, So Let Them Burn, or Babel. #mswl
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Looking for the same things as usual: YA rom-coms that combine shenanigans with some deeper social issue, YA suspense focusing on local injustice, YA heists (please send me your lesbian heist novels!). Still on the lookout for a story about child labor rights.
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I've been hearing about "genre-bending horror" a lot, particularly horror-romance and horror-comedy. I'm curious to see some novels in those categories! I'm looking for both YA and Adult horror novels.
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I'm currently closed to queries and won't be fully participating in #mswl Day, but when I reopen I'll be on the lookout for:
- YA romcoms with depth and shenanigans
- heist novels
- literary horror
- author/illustrators working on picture books and graphic novels