Stephanie Stein

#mswl!!!!

While it's still pitch dark outside by 5:30, I'd be extremely down for a middle grade ghost story, agent friends #MSWL

Mainlined all of Lupin last night & this afternoon, and it is SO EXTREMELY MY SHIT! A kind-of retelling where the source material exists in-universe and the characters are consciously riffing on it? Meta af, sign me up. Also an eternal #mswl

Extreme #mswl. Ashley is singing my song!

10) Surprise me! No, really. I'm looking to acquire widely this year and I want the thing I did not already know I was looking for. Send it my way! ✨

9) I am always a sucker for stories with what one agent friend spot-on named "a gimmick": epistolary novels, frame stories, timeline shenanigans, mixed formats, text messages, etc. Yes, I am that girl who wrote her college thesis on frame stories.

8) Yes, I do graphic novels! In addition to cozy fantasy, looking for MG fantasy/adventure more broadly and for moody, literary-feeling YA coming-of-age stories (the queerer the better).

7) An outrageously, wryly funny historical romp or rom-com.

6) Competitions, tournaments, puzzles, and mysteries! Give me those sweet aha! moments and high stakes.

(I would straight-up sell my soul for a YA in the vein of Song of Achilles or Circe. Just sayin'.)

5) Savvy, inventive retellings, from Baba Yaga to the Thousand and One Nights to Oscar Wilde, and beyond

4.3) Cozy MG fantasy that feels both literary and commercial. Think Studio Ghibli, Halloweentown, a touch of Anne Ursu. (I am also extremely looking for this in graphic novels!)

4.2) Historical or contemporary fantasy with a sharp, fresh, feminist twist on old folklore. Looking for my Holly Black or YA Alix Harrow 🙏

4.1) Commercial MG fantasy/adventure that could launch a 5-book series. I am ready to pick some fights with editor friends at RR Presents and Scholastic! 👀

4) Who's the next big thing in YA or MG fantasy? I want to help them get there, and I want them in my inbox. ❤️ Specifically:

3) High-concept YA contemporary or contemporary-with-a-twist, especially if it comes with an irreverent, self-referentially funny voice. Sarcastic or endearingly self-deprecating humor to the front of the line. I love a protagonist who feels like a co-conspirator.

2) Whoever brings me a queer YA read-alike to Casey McQuiston's Red, White, & Royal Blue and/or One Last Stop will win my heart forever (and more to the point, a lot of money 😇)

1) ROMANTIC AF fantasy (give! me! pining!) (also enemies to lovers, sword lesbians, star-crossed high stakes, we-can't-touch-'cause-we're-cursed, etc; love me a good fantasy-with-kissing tropefest)

Officially wrapped on 2020 submissions! Agents, here's my #mswl for this year.

Before I start: I will always be looking to foreground queer and BIPOC voices, and on the hunt for killer hooks I can't even finish pitching without someone mashing the preorder button.

Let's go!

Oddly specific Halloween #mswl: in the mood for... a YA ghost romance? 🤔 Some kind of historical or time-travel shenanigans a plus but not required.