Rebecca Kuss
Editor
Disney Books
senior editor @ rick riordan presents+disney hyperion. @DVpit_ program manager. 🇰🇷✡️. she/her.
Editor
Molly McGhee ✨ @mollymcghee
As a former editor I’ll say the quiet part out loud: there are so many submissions that the only way to order your reading is to do it by urgency. Therefore only the MSs that have a lot of hype/ have an initial editor interested will move quickly through this process twitter.com/alecdshane/sta…❤️ this 🧵. molly verbalizes something i've struggled to explain to ppl's satisfaction: why i no longer have, or will ever have again, an #mswl. while there are a few reasons, a biggest one is i like to be straightforward. 1/
Editor
a more complete 2022 #mswl is coming, but in the meantime here are some v specific things i am looking for in ✨YA✨this year:
-dark whimsy
-stories ft BIPOC on the aro/ace spectrum
-ballet stories from a non-cishet non-female POV
-anything inspired by THE MUMMY (and ft BIPOC)
Editor
& now some recently read favs:
💀CEMETERY BOYS by aiden thomas
🕸🙋🏼♂️A SHOW FOR TWO by tashie bhuiyan (not out yet--you're gonna love it!)
👸🏾YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by leah johnson
👠CINDERELLA IS DEAD by kalynn bayron
🦩WHERE THE RHYTHM TAKES YOU by sarah dass
#mswl
Editor
& bc examples are always helpful, here are some of my all-time fav contemporary YAs:
⚽️FURIA by yamile saied méndez
💕THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by maurene goo
😈SHADOWSHAPWER by djo
🐼AMERICAN PANDA by gloria chao
📚THE EDUCATION OF MARGOT SANCHEZ by lilliam rivera
#mswl
Editor
i want 📚 w unforgettable characters i'd follow to the ends of the 🌎; who make mistakes & are messy & we 💓 them thru all the ⬆️& ⬇️; who bring me back to those teen days when we felt like everything was on the line & one night of adventure could change our entire lives #mswl
Editor
i'm a sucker for: boarding school stories (the soapier the better); stories that take place over 24 hours; generational family stories; & stories that put BIPOC in places where we don't often get to see them (like boarding school, on vacation, the world of ballet, etc) #mswl
Editor
i love contemporary YA full of heart that plays with speculative elements in a way that hinges on the emotional connections between people.
i want stories that tackle weighty sociopolitical issues from an emotional, character-first POV, & with a thru-line of hope & joy #mswl
Editor
the best thing about YA is that high emotional stakes can come from something as simple as a first date, a text msg gone wrong, a misplaced love letter 💗--& i want to feel those stakes so much that they give me goosebumps & butterflies & tears #mswl
Editor
for disney-hyperion, give me ALL THE TROPES (seriously all of them) but make them feel ✨new✨ again
i want stories where BIPOC to take center stage when it comes to all the fake dating, graduation night, only one bed, epic road trip, one last summer, joy-filled tropes #mswl
Editor
im ALWAYS looking for ✨contemporary✨ stories that center BIPOC & lead w joy!!!!
for RRP i'd love stories w an emphasis on intersectionality, deeply tied to culture & identity--bonus points for stories that play with magic/supernatural/mythology in fresh, exciting ways #mswl
Editor
...but one thing i do accept is that theres much more i can do to work towards a better world for BIPOC creators & young readers.
authors of color are writing some of the most incredible books right now, & i can't wait to see even more of them in my inbox! now onto my #mswl ☺️
Editor
...& being more conscious, purposeful, & selective in how i spend my time as an editor & the voices & stories i choose to uplift.
it took me a long time to accept the fact that i have any kind of power to affect change in this world/industry (bc really who am i??)...
#mswl
Editor
...& my fear of turning off agents is why i've hesitated until now to state this outright. but publishing is broken, & that inequity disproportionately affects authors of color. so i'm doing what i can to work towards a more equitable system for BIPOC creators...
#mswl
Editor
first, i want to say that my lists at both RRP/disney-hyperion are focused on 📚 from BIPOC creators that center BIPOC voices--& these are the only stories i'll be acquiring. i'm very conscious of the fact that some may see this as me drawing an unfair line in the sand...
#mswl
Editor
agents! while my inbox is overflowing with amazing MG subs right now, my list is predominantly YA & i would love to see more of it! so here is an updated YA #mswl so you can PLZ SEND ME MORE YA💕📚
as a reminder i acquire YA for both disney-hyperion & #rickriordanpresents!