Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Senior Literary Agent, VP & Director of Literary Branding @PSLiterary . MA in Publishing Studies.
Ottawa
- #mswl (107)
- #queryfail (1)
- #querytip (90)
- #pubtip (215)
- #querystats (13)
- #askagent (138)
- #askPSLA (73)
Carly Watters @carlywatters · Mar 6
A reminder that my 2019 #MSWL is on my website: carlywatters.com/2019/02/26/201…
Carly Watters @carlywatters · Feb 27
A style/atmospheric #MSWL, but I'm throwing it out there: one of my favourite musicians is Lori McKenna. "Bird and the Rifle" <- if you have the book version of this let me know! youtube.com/watch?v=NUPfMX…
Carly Watters @carlywatters · Feb 26
Hello querying writers! I updated my #MSWL on my blog: carlywatters.com/2019/02/26/201…
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 18 Oct 2018
My #MSWL is here: carlywatters.com/2018/04/09/201… I'm looking for a whole lot of #ownvoices fiction and platform driven non-fiction. Submission instructions linked to on the page too.
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Lastly (I think) #mswl: non fiction in the form of parenting, feminism, health, wellness, cooking, business, essay collections—from individuals with *large* platforms (bloggers, influencers, experts, YouTube, newsletters etc)
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Evergreen #MSWL: Family secrets & single events that chance the course of many lives i.e. COMMONWEALTH, ATONEMENT
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Commercial “Millennial” novels: i.e. STARTUP, THE ASSISTANTS, THE KNOCKOFF, THE REGULARS. Starting careers, moving to new cities, friendships, new marriages etc #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Coming-of-age anything! Could have historical/magical realism twist i.e. THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY, YONAHLOSSEE RIDING CAMP, AFTER HER, THE SECRETS OF LAKE ROAD, THE GIRLS, HISTORY OF WOLVES, GIRLS ON FIRE, AGE OF MIRACLES #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Plot & character driven stories of marriage, complicated family drama, or mother/daughter relationships i.e. THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU, MATING FOR LIFE, MODERN LOVERS, THE NEST, SHE REGRETS NOTHING, THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING etc #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Still looking at dom. suspense & psych thrillers. V competitive out there so I’m not looking for something that is overcomplicated & trying to out-do what’s on the market. I’m looking for excellent, simple (which is so much harder!), haunting/spooky/creepy writing. #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Dark literary mysteries/suspense/thrillers with female lead i.e. DARK PLACES, YOU WILL KNOW ME, THE FEVER, THE POWER #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Multi POV, time slip or dual past/present narrative structure women’s fiction, historical, domestic suspense, or upmarket like THE ALICE NETWORK, THE SUBWAY GIRLS. #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Historical novels where plot & setting have to work together i.e. NIGHTINGALE, ARCADIA, GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND. I’m not interested in writers using historical to tell me how much research they’ve done. I want a very plotty historical. Beatriz Williams-esque. #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Upmarket, structurally interesting, sweeping love stories of all kinds. I’d love a LGBTQ story in the vein of ONE DAY/THE VERSIONS OF US. Something like a more commercial PAYING GUESTS (which I loved, but I'm not interested in ton of capital L literary fiction right now). #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Sep 2018
Carly Watters @carlywatters
Our @PSLiterary account is constantly tweeting out the agency #mswl throughout the year, but I'll be adding some to the queue to share today. Stay tuned.You can also follow me on instagram, I post everything I read with the #cwreads hashtag. Get a taste of my personal reading interests which shows what I'm also looking for in submissions: instagram.com/carlywatters/ #mswl
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 31 May 2018
A book I never, ever stop thinking about: The After Party by Anton DiSclafani.
I loved this one & wish I could read it again for the first time.
That plot twist, the friendship drama, the setting, themes of motherhood.
Perfection.
Send me this. #MSWL
Carly Watters @carlywatters · 12 Apr 2018
I'm open to queries again, folks! And I'm getting tons of great ones. (My #MSWL here: bit.ly/2v9tFiX) If you get a full request from me, I've got a list of things I'm looking for (which will be listed in the email you get) that is far more than simply a synopsis.