Hannah VanVels

If you've queried someone else at the Belcastro Agency and they've passed, you are welcome to query me. Please, only one at a time though. If you've queried me in the past but have *significantly* revised the project, you can query me again.

Random elements I'm into:
🍇Magic schools, carnivals, deserted islands
🍇Unreliable narrators
🍇MCs with questionable pasts
🍇Revenge stories
🍇Heists
🍇Ensemble casts
🍇Banter
🍇Angst

In Graphic Novels (young readers, MG, and YA), I'd love to see:
📷 STEM topics for young readers
📷 Tweens saving the world
📷 Queer teens living their best lives

In YA, I'd love to see:
🌞Queer romance
🌞Thrillers with isolated settings
🌞Horror with gothic and atmospheric vibes
🌞Historical that centers on POC stories
🌞Subversive and dark fantasy

In Middle Grade, I'd love to see:
⚽️Fantasy inspired by myths, folklore, or legends
⚽️Historical that centers POC stories
⚽️Contemporary with an environmental bent
⚽️Horror with ghosts, creepy crawlies, and witches
⚽️Growing up in non-traditional settings
⚽️Earth-based sci-fi

In Picture Books, I'd love to see:
🍎Family traditions and how they shape us
🍎Silly and fun wordplay (no rhyming books plz)
🍎Poetic, lyrical books that show emotional resilience 🍎Biographies and nonfiction focusing on people and eras that have been historically overlooked

I love identity-driven stories that reflect the first-hand, lived experiences of the creators. That means YOU. Not your child, not your sibling, not your friend. YOU.

First and foremost, I'm building an inclusive list with a variety of voices and genres. I'm looking for BIPOC authors, queer authors, neurodivergent authors, disabled authors, and generally, authors from historically excluded backgrounds. #MSWL

🌟Well-researched historical novels featuring underrepresented people and time periods
🌟Ensemble casts
🌟Novels-in-verse
🌟Heists
🌟Banter
🌟Angst
🌟Himbos

🌟Isolated settings such as islands, carnivals, and boarding schools and novels with a survival component
🌟Characters growing up in unconventional or nontraditional settings
🌟Revenge stories with unreliable narrators
🌟Strong sibling relationships and misfit friends

🌟Evergreen themes: body positivity, self-love, coming-of-age, girls supporting girls, friendship and friendship breakups, sex positivity
🌟Ghosts, creepy crawlies, witches, and things that go bump in the night

Things I love across the board:
🌟Stories inspired by mythology, folklore, and legends
🌟Magical schools
🌟Empathetic villains and morally gray heroes/antiheroes. Bring on the thieves, assassins, and characters with questionable pasts

Right now, my list is fairly PB heavy and fantasy heavy, and I'd love to find more in other categories I rep. I'm still looking for PB and fantasy, but I have fewer slots in my list to take on new projects in these areas.

I rep PB, MG, YA, GN, and select A genres. I keep my MSWL fairly up-to-date. There are a few areas that I'd love to build my list our more robustly in the coming months. #MSWL

I am NOT a good fit for:
💔 Not looking for adult fantasy right now
💔 Animal narrators
💔 Epic fantasy with dragons and elves
💔 Paranormal romance
💔 Word counts longer than 120k

In Graphic Novels (young readers, MG, and YA), I'd love to see:
👻 STEM topics for young readers
👻 Tweens saving the world
👻 Teens living their best lives

In Adult, I'd love to see:
⚡️Queer rom coms
⚡️ Contemporary stories of people navigating the start of professional life
⚡️ Gothic, witchy horror

In YA, I'd love to see:
👑 Queer rom coms
👑 Contemporary friendship stories
👑 Thrillers with isolated settings
👑 Horror with gothic and atmospheric vibes
👑 Historical that centers on POC stories

In Middle Grade, I'd love to see:
🧢Fantasy inspired by myths, folklore, or legends—especially if it's not European
🧢Historical that centers POC stories
🧢Contemporary with an environmental bent
🧢Horror with ghosts, creepy crawlies, and witches
🧢 Earth-based sci-fi

In Picture Books, I'd love to see:
🍎Family traditions and how they shape us
🍎Silly and fun wordplay
🍎Poetic, lyrical books that show emotional resilience
🍎Biographies and nonfiction focusing on people and eras that have been historically overlooked