Julie Gourinchas

- suspense and psychological thrillers, but specifically with a textured, vibrant sense of setting (think Gillian Flynn’s SHARP OBJECTS)
- folklore and mythological retellings, particularly non-Eurocentric traditions
- magical realism

#MSWL

- speculative fiction
(I prefer grounded, literary sci-fi + fantasy. no secondary worlds, but rather our world steeped in liminal magic and/or technology. anything creepy, toothy, gritty, strange, something that sends a shiver down your spine.)

#MSWL

in terms of GENRES and NARRATIVES, I love:

- historical, particularly 19th and 20th century and particularly focused on international, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ stories
- alternate history
- dark academia
- horror and gothic
- character-led literary fiction

#MSWL

first, I'm someone who's always been gripped by VOICE, WRITING STYLE, and PROSE. so I'm looking for:

- anything in the book club, upmarket, literary spaces
- lush, poetic writing
- deep and intricate world/lore-building (when applicable)

#MSWL

#mswl frankly

I have *obsessively* been playing Hades for the past nine days, so, naturally: #mswl for folklore or myth retellings; #mswl for fraught family dynamics, particularly difficult fathers; and #mswl for a polyam triad in the vein of Thanatos x Zagreus x Megaera 💕

casual #mswl I'm just saying !!!

where oh where is my upmarket/literary retelling of the Tiresias myth from a trans perspective, I will beg for it once a month until it materialises into existence by sheer force of will #mswl

or a female-led gothic thriller set in rural Yorkshire. or a dark academia story, rife with ghosts and hauntings and murder, set in Scotland against the lashes and winds of the North Sea

I'm trying to put my #mswl together for y'all but every time I write something I want to read I get way too specific about it

like yes please I would like a queer retelling of the Morrígan myth set during the Irish War of Independence with speculative magic vibes

pls pls pls #mswl for a historical novel about this fascinating character!!!

yea yea we're all sick of Greek myth retellings but WHAT IF: a retelling of Tiresias's life (and death)??? clairvoyant blind prophet ... transformed into a woman for 7 years (trans myth! trans myth!!!) ... occupying the liminal space between humanity and godhood ... #mswl pls 🙏

tbh ... a historical fiction intrigue novel that has the vibes and grit and tragedy of Brel's Dans Le Port D'Amsterdam ... I want it #mswl
youtube.com/watch?v=OjYtY1…

just want more dark academia storylines tbh ... more Secret History, murdery, lush and twisty stories set against the backdrop of stifling academia, bonus points if it's historical (1940s or 60s would be fascinating, pls) ty and good night #mswl

also #mswl— more queer hijinks, pls

more (positive) neurodivergent rep of personality disorders, pls. I say this all the time, but I've had enough of people with BPD and bipolar disorder being portrayed as unstable, unreliable, or nefariously manipulative. give me joy, give me therapy, give me growth. #mswl

more books about the rage of teenage girls feat. gothic vibes, pls (like YELLOWJACKETS meets SHARP OBJECTS 😍) #mswl

just for ref there are many people in UK publishing who are still intricately entwined with the """gender critical""" movement (a proven hate campaign against trans individuals). my DMs are open if you'd like to know more. I will always do my utmost to protect
#mswl #amquerying

anyways, in response to the recent transphobic hullabaloo and the incorrect accusation flung at YA twitter: is now a good time to say that @JJBker is looking for some SFF YA and I personally (his first reader) would love to see some trans rep in the inbox? 😎 #mswl

still waiting for this novel #mswl