💀 Atmospheric gothic horror with a cultural connection
💀 If it could be an A24 movie, I want to read it
💀 I like my horror with a side of societal commentary
💀 Confronting fear that develops our main character
💀 I like slow-burn surprise horror as much as an action-packed page-turner

#mswl

#mswl

I'm looking for more adult #horror and #mystery in my inbox. Let's break it down! 🧵 #mswl

✨QUERY UPDATE ✨

I was planning to close completely in March, but after some reflection I will be opening to BIPOC authors only. I will open back up widely in April.

Thanks! #amquerying

I've recieved almost 90 queries in 24 hours and I've only made a handful of requests, but the ones I have requested have all been voice-driven with strong opening pages. I do love how much feminist horror, and fantasy I'm getting from marginalized identities. Keep those coming!

What I'm seeing that I love in my query inbox rn: queries with CLEAR stakes, opening pages/lines that grab my attention immediatley, comp titles that make sense and don't feel like they are just put in there, and lots of genre blending (especially with horror/fantasy).

Adult Fiction- writing style preferences vary from literary/more prose driven, to voicey and fast paced. However, I'm not a good fit for contemporary and lean heavily towards speculative, witchy, horror, SFF/F. I'm getting alot of LGBTQIA contemporary romances which I love as a reader, but don't rep.

In YA: don't be afraid to push boundries. I'm NOT a good fit for clean fiction (If you see former MSWLs from 2015-2020 where I did request this it was due to my former agency's requirements). I'm drawn to bold, boundry pushing topics that teens can relate to.

Authentic voices: especially true for MG--your MG voice should feel like it's coming from a MG kid, not an adult trying to sound like a MG kid. I don't mean adding words like, "sigma, rizz, skibbidi toilet..." If you know, you know. MG voice is the HARDEST imo to get right.

Strong voices--Regardless of 1st/3rd pov, I like voice driven writing. Prose are great, but If your character is lost to your prose, that's not voice driven. Your character's dialogue, thoughts/feelings, emotions should show me (not tell me) exactley who they are and what they are trying to do.

Voice/Opening pages: For MG/YA--I prefer strong voices, and authentic voices, opening pages where I feel grounded in the world quickly, and a clear sense of character and stakes. (I'll elaborate more below).

Chosen one story lines. I much prefer rogue underdogs storylines to chosen one/prophesized one storylines. Now, if its a GROUP of chosen friends/found family who are also rogue underdogs, please send it to me.

Fairies/Fae/elves--I'm being completley honest here...they aren't my preference. Unless your fae are sapphic or gender queer, armor wearing, battle queens, it's likely not going to be what I'm looking for.

I'm getting fantastic queries for Dark Academia right now, especially ones comping to ONE DARK WINDOW (which I love BTW). However, I have 2 authors on my list right now with ODW as a comp title, and dark academia settings. I never take on competing projects I currently have on so I'm more likely to pass on projects that have these vibes.

I've been re-open to queries as of Feb 1st, so I wanted to share a thread of things I'm looking for/not looking for in queries at the moment. Hopefully this will be helpful. #querying #MSWL #amquerying

Hi Booksky! I've repped a fair share of pop culture and memoir, as well as pop science. I'd love to do more pop science from authors who have strong institutional support and/or major media platforms. Also would love to sell something that helps us see Shakespeare or Nabokov in a new light.

I’m only planning on staying open for about a month, so please get your submissions in if you feel like I might be a good fit for your work. I’m looking forward to reading!

I’m looking to bring back some classics: dystopian and steampunk settings like STATION ELEVEN and Arcane, respectively.

Literary novels with a singular, strange speculative element, like THE HUSBANDS.

I love all types and age ranges of horror, but I don’t get a lot of these submissions in YA! I’d love to see more of them.