Cecilia Lyra

It’s that time of year again: let’s refresh my #MSWL! What follows is what I’m looking for as an agent — keep in mind I rep adult fiction & nonfiction on the adult side. 🧵

I rep adult fiction & nonfiction. For both, I am on the hunt for stories that explore *power* (imbalance, struggle, rise & fall), *identity* (perception, exploration, intersectionality) & *dysfunction* (familial, societal, cultural) told with originality, nuance, & authenticity.

The thing that makes me keep reading is VOICE. Please send me your voice-y narratives. I want access to your narrator’s INNER LIFE. I should feel what they are feeling. They should feel ‘bad’ things (e.g. anger, envy, greed, etc.), too.

I want to read stories that are dark + taboo. I ❤️ secrets and revelations. I ❤️ plot twists. I ❤️ reading about characters that grow up navigating two opposite worlds (class, culture, etc.). I do NOT like reading about perpetually happy, good, and moral characters (snooze).

Does your story have a feminist angle? 💪Does it involve parentified children? Does your MC consider herself to be a bad person? Did she have to reinvent herself? I AM INTO ALL OF THIS.

Is your protagonist unlikable? GREAT. Does she lie and pretend to survive? GIMME. Is she an overthinker and an overfeeler? WHY HAVEN’T YOU QUERIED ME YET? 😍

I would love to read a novel that takes place in a boarding school. Authentic writing is a MUST so if you didn’t go to a boarding school your research better be so incredible as to trick me into thinking you did. (I am not easily tricked.)

I love novels that deal with female relationships. Think: best friends; mother-and-daughter(s); sisters (incl twins!); sisters-in-law; mother-in-law and daughter-in-law; and girlfriends. Bonus points above apply.

In terms of FICTION: I am a sucker for novels about dysfunctional families. Extra bonus points if they’re wealthy (think HBO’s Succession) because, let’s face it, reading about rich people in trouble is fun. Super extra bonus points if there’s an immigrant angle in there.

My dearest #amquerying writers: I have new submission guidelines up on the @TRFNews website, so I thought it would be a good time to update—and elaborate on—my #MSWL all for Adult (I don’t rep YA, MG, etc.) (A thread).

Stories about adults who were parentified children! #mswl