Erin Clyburn
@erin_clyburn
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @HowlandLit // Copy Editor @foodandwine // Southerner // hiking & horror movies // she/her
170 MSWL
6 AskAgent
20 Tips

I am still on the hunt for the book I’ve been dreaming about since I became an agent: a multigenerational family saga with spec elements set in the South, a Southern 100 Years of Solitude. Dream big, right?

Erin Clyburn
@erin_clyburn
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @HowlandLit // Copy Editor @foodandwine // Southerner // hiking & horror movies // she/her
170 MSWL
6 AskAgent
20 Tips

Still looking for my puzzle/scavenger hunt MG. Think GREENGLASS HOUSE. Also spooky MG. Also all MG.

Erin Clyburn
@erin_clyburn
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @HowlandLit // Copy Editor @foodandwine // Southerner // hiking & horror movies // she/her
170 MSWL
6 AskAgent
20 Tips

I’d love to see dark & twisty domestic thrillers by BIPOC authors.

Erin Clyburn
@erin_clyburn
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @HowlandLit // Copy Editor @foodandwine // Southerner // hiking & horror movies // she/her
170 MSWL
6 AskAgent
20 Tips

Adult upmarket fiction - women’s fic, spec fic, mystery. Looking for beautiful literary writing with a great hook. Would love to see more with older women protags.

Erin Clyburn
@erin_clyburn
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @HowlandLit // Copy Editor @foodandwine // Southerner // hiking & horror movies // she/her
170 MSWL
6 AskAgent
20 Tips
Stephanie Winter
@readbystephanie
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @komediamanagement TCAF Board of Directors AALA & PACLA Member
54 MSWL
40 AskAgent
1 Queries

#MSWL Fandom books and other illustrated, geeky/pop culture non-fiction for YA and MG (maybe even PB?) readers.

Stephanie Winter
@readbystephanie
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @komediamanagement TCAF Board of Directors AALA & PACLA Member
54 MSWL
40 AskAgent
1 Queries

#MSWL Middle grade takes on video games (fiction and non-fiction) that go beyond the "fell into the game" trope.

Stephanie Winter
@readbystephanie
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @komediamanagement TCAF Board of Directors AALA & PACLA Member
54 MSWL
40 AskAgent
1 Queries

#MSWL Queer rom coms that represent not just the L and the G in LGBTQQIP2SAA.

Alex Slater
@abuckslater
Literary Agent
Literary agent @GreenburgerLit @GreenburgerKids . Black Lives Matter. he/him.
132 MSWL
32 AskAgent
55 Tips
Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

And TBH these are all tipping points when I'm reading a manuscript that hits squarely in my #MSWL Yesses.

Ready to query? Contact info here!
dystel.com/sharon-pelleti…

And don't forget to check out the Submissions tab for query guidelines and FAQs

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

…your project has its best shot at being my next big Nah-to-Yes surprise if it: has strong crossover appeal beyond its genre; hits that upmarket sweetspot where craft, plot, and character meet; evocative (but not purple) setting-as-character; has a grabby pitchable hook #MSWL

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL DISCLAIMER probably most of the Nahs here, you could point to a book I already represent that fits them. One fun thing as an agent is to fall in love with something you never thought you were looking for, even when it makes you look like an idiot in your #MSWL! Sooooo…

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL: SF/F is not my thing. Open to grounded speculative with strong crossover appeal—ordinary with one small or bizarre twist vs. magical/fabulist. NOTHING TO SEE HERE more than NIGHT CIRCUS, THE CITY WE BECAME more than BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF. No dystopian or time travel.

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL Suspense Nah: crabby alcoholic detectives, LE or PI. Military or political thrillers mimicking current/recent events. Ghosts, dreams, mental institutions don’t work for me. Feeling ODed on Karens with shady husbands and vice versa

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL Suspense YES: setting-as-character in a location we haven’t seen before. A civilian in a career with an intriguing vantage point on people’s habits and motivations. Light grounded horror. Surprise me with something wild like SA Cosby, Rachel Harrison

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL suspense: I'm extra good at this and have a list full of rockstars, so you really gotta knock it out of the park. Upmarket: big on voice/setting, starting a conversation about issues of justice, equality, class, etc., character-driven storytelling, a truly FRESH twist

Stephanie Winter
@readbystephanie
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @komediamanagement TCAF Board of Directors AALA & PACLA Member
54 MSWL
40 AskAgent
1 Queries

#MSWL I'd love to see a MG or YA spin doctor. Think the energy of #ShirleyandJamilaSaveTheirSummer meets the Good Wife's Eli Gold.

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

#MSWL Book club fiction aka women's fiction aka upmarket fiction Nahs: mother-daughter stories, unhappy marriages, white person travels for personal growth, discovered letters/journals. Historical is usually not my thing (especially WWII).

Sharon Pelletier
@sharongracepjs
Literary Agent
Lit agent at @DGandBTweets | ranch dressing enthusiast | besotted aunt | prologue assassin | plant mom | she/her
63 MSWL
22 Tips

Sharon Pelletier @sharongracepjs

Okay 📣 time for the Great Pre-Vacation #MSWL Thread of 2020!

🔥Please note that ALL the Yesses that follow ESPECIALLY include voices beyond white, cishet, able-bodied, middle-upper-class experiences—tons of these find my inbox without needing a hashtag to help! 🔥

#MSWL: SUPER thirsty for juicy, smart, book club fiction like ASK AGAIN YES, THE VANISHING HALF, SUCH A FUN AGE

YES elements: multi-generation, sibling stories, career-oriented women, sense of humor, reinterpreting classic or myth through an unsung character’s POV