Here are the main differences in my MSWL from last year:

-In the MG space, I'm only now open to upper MG (protagonists 12+)

-Open more to contemporary fantasy, less to genre fantasy

-Open less to PBs with animal casts

-Narrower parameters on historical and dystopian

NOT a fit for:

-Time travel, portals

-Insects

-Assassins, organized crime

-Animal narrators or talking-animal characters, outside select PBs

-Supernatural/fantastical characters other than ghosts, like faeries, vampires, werewolves, elves, dragons, mermaids

NOT a fit for:

-Graphic novels, comics (but I love hybrid/illustrated novels—A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness)

-Christian religious themes (except stories about leaving the religion) or parables

-Pirates

-Court fantasy or fantasy involving royals

-Sci-fi (esp. aliens/space)

Generally NOT a fit for third-person. I’d work on some third-person books (esp. PBs!), but strongly prefer first-person, as I often find it easier to connect with a character’s voice & interiority in first-person.

I have nothing against third-person; this is just my own taste!

I am NOT a fit for:

-Racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, xenophobic, misogynist, or otherwise discriminatory content

-Rhyming picture books

-Early readers, chapter books

-MG with a protagonist under 12

-Adult books

Specific Interests continued (II):

-Beach settings

-Knitting

-Gymnastics (BREAK THE FALL by Jennifer Iacopelli) or swimming, but note that I'm not a huge sports person otherwise

-Holidays (any holidays, especially underrepresented ones! I’m a huge holiday person.)

Specific Interests continued:

-Singers, music, musical theatre

-Pets (cats!!), esp. if the owner was hesitant at first

-Retellings (not so much retellings of popular fairytales, though—love DON’T LOOK BACK by Lilliam Rivera)

-Characters who don’t want kids

Random/specific interests:

-Death/grief (INTO THE DEEP BLUE by Jennifer E. Archer)

-Endometriosis, adenomyosis, hearing loss, brain tumors, trouble walking/balance disorders

-Asexual characters

-Fat characters *NOT* interested in weight loss

Sparingly open to nonfiction in picture books, from educational to memoir.

I'm open to bios; I prefer underrepresented subjects (NIKI NAKAYMA: A CHEF’S TALE IN 13 BITES by Debbi Michiko Florence).

Informative with some wit, like Mary Roach for kids!

I also love author-illustrators/teams! However, I am NOT a fit for art-only queries.

For some styles I like, check out the M&O team of picture book illustrators: Stacey Byer, Maribel Castells, Rachel Más Davidson, Tiffany Golden, Skylar Hogan, Dawn Masi, Sue Safianoff

-Disability, in both fiction and nonfiction

-Diverse cultures, holidays, traditions, identities (THE PROUDEST BLUE by Ibtihaj Muhammad, YOU ARE THE COLOR by Rifk Ebeid)

For both—again, open to any format/premise here!

I'm looking most for SEL-driven PBs in general! Topics of interest:

-Grief – hopeful but not saccharine; honest about the heavy parts. (THE HOLE by Lindsay Bonilla)

-LGBTQIA+ – Anything from celebratory, to informative, to issue-based (WHAT ARE YOUR WORDS? by Katherine Locke)

*NEW: I've learned that I almost always prefer picture books with human protagonists. If I did take on a picture book with an all-animal cast, it'd be heavily SEL-driven (POCKET FULL OF SADS by Brad Davidson and Rachel Más Davidson).

Picture books: I always knew this would be the smallest area of my list, as I work on so many wonderful PBs with my boss @ChristaHeschke , but I've become even more selective with them.

Anthology pitches: The industry is still not always full-steam-ahead on them, so my consideration may be a bit narrower than novels, but I’m interested, for both fiction and nonfiction. (THIS IS OUR RAINBOW and BEING ACE are favorites!)

I'd love to see ghost stories! I may be a bit more selective here, as I'm lucky to have a gorgeous ghost story on my list (hi again, @k_dishmon !!), but feel free to try me.

Note that I’m not a fit for other paranormal characters ( werewolves, vampires, zombies, faeries, etc.).

I also like murder mysteries, especially with dual timelines (WHERE SECRETS LIE by Eva V. Gibson), but ntoe that I don't tend to love plots with heavy police involvement.

Thriller/mystery/suspense: More open here! Though note that I tend to like more focus on character/relationship than is most typical for these genres--not necessarily as plot-driven as is typical--and very literary writing (I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU by Kara A. Kennedy).

Historical: I prefer stories stories set in lesser-told times in history that feature underrepresented perspectives and have a human-interest element alongside the education (HER REBEL HIGHNESS by Diana Ma).

Dystopian: I prefer stories that have social critique, magic, or both (BLOOD LIKE MAGIC by Liselle Sambury, INTERNMENT by Samira Ahmed.)

I'm NOT a fit for apocalypse or post-apocalyptic stories.