Amy Giuffrida
Literary Agent
Belcastro Agency
My ADULT wishlist is sparkling & new!
In addition to dark and gritty, I really want to read about people’s joy. I want to laugh and cry with your characters and root for them to the very end. I want to read about people I don’t know, but become my best friend in the end.
🌲Kids who are activists and engage in their community to invoke change
🔪Vengeful and angry main characters
😆Humor with heart
🧶Close-knit family stories with underlying tensions
🗾Big, sweeping adventures
💀Dark and gritty horror full of tension
🐕Rescue dogs
😍Emotion
I REALLY want some COLLEGE-AGE YA! I binged The Sex Lives of College Girls and just adored these characters so much. I want to see diversity, humor, willingness to be messy, friendship, and honesty.
There can be romance, but it doesn't need to be the center of it all.
I really need to be pulled in immediately by your characters--keep me invested by the voice, the tension, the hook. THAT is what I am looking for in a story, no matter the genre. BUT I am seeking some specific things this year...
Now for some fun! A #MSWL 🧵
Let's start with MG and YA...
Other than YA Fantasy...I will be completely open to every genre in MG and YA for 2022!
**Fantasy writers...I do make special requests during pitch contests so keep an eye out for me lurking. Lol.
#writingcommunity
Why aren’t more people talking about The Sex Lives of College Girls???? When I re-open to queries on January 4th I am looking for comps to this BIG TIME! #MSWL
The Fear Street movies are everything I love about horror and more. #MSWL I’d love to see anything along these lines in YA horror. Make it contemporary, sassy, full of friendship, enemies that band together, and don’t forget the jump scares. #FearStreetNetflix
I can’t stop thinking about the twists in Panic. I’d LOVE to see something in this vein with a friendship twist and some sort of romantic entanglement. Make it dark, twisted, and set somewhere fresh and new. #MSWL
This week has felt like a year, so please send me some fun contemporary! Give me all the MG and YA goofiness that makes me giggle and gives me all the feels. I’m ready to open my inbox and smile🥰 #MSWL
Just watched the finale of Superstore. I’d LOVE a YA version of this—diversity is a must. I mean reality is that high schoolers and college kids truly run most fast food restaurants, retail stores, and grocery stores, especially at night. Oh and the antics... #MSWL
Check out Tj_Rossetti's video! #TikTok #MSWL! vm.tiktok.com/ZMJoVUBwY/
I am ALWAYS seeking #OwnVoices stories by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors, non-western settings, and strong voices.
Last but not least...I don’t normally open for science fiction, but I’m really looking for something in the MG or YA space to knock my socks off. I don’t want anything set in space or with ships. I’ll keep my inbox open to this genre open until the end of February.
Thrillers! MG, YA, or adult. I want to sit on the edge of my seat. I want to question the narrator. If you have something like The Flight Attendant or You, then send away.
I’m jonesing for something unique in MG and YA—think lyrical voice or a unique format.
Amy Giuffrida @kissedbyink
Dare I post this?? Now that my inbox is back to a manageable level, I have some things I’m really in the mood to read. #MSWL a thread... pic.twitter.com/bxafODtmypI am a complete sucker for teens who are activists. If you have a MG or YA where the kids engage in their community to invoke change, I’d love to see it.