Stephanie Stein

😼 MG fantasy with factions/houses/teams that make readers want to declare allegiance and inhabit that world--think warrior cat Clans
🌿 Cottagecore fantasy romance--homey worlds (not w/o darkness) where I'd want to set up my own Baba Yaga hut and herb garden in the forest #MSWL

🌻 MG fantasy with an inventive central conflict/no individual antagonist. Characters solving problems that are structural or inherited or driven by people trying to do what's right but disagreeing on what that is. Think recent Disney movies like Encanto & Moana #MSWL

😈 Ruthless schemers with a secret squishy marshmallow heart of gold (Roy Mustang vibes, basically)
🌃 YA contemporary fantasy with vintage Holly Black/Curse Workers vibes
👀 Narrators that knock big ol' holes in the fourth wall #MSWL

Some specific things I would love to see in my inbox:

🗡️ YA fantasy with sharp teeth that takes no prisoners and makes no apologies
💃 Dramatic historical romance/fantasy romance with Phantom of the Opera/Moulin Rouge/Great Comet ambience #MSWL

... a broad range of MG & YA fiction and graphic novels--fantasy (my first & greatest love as a reader), historical, romance, some great humor, and high-concept contemporary (especially with a framing device such as epistolary elements, then-and-now timelines, etc.) #MSWL

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).

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:

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)

Always! I'm dying for some deeply emotional MG contemporary, smart MG fantasy/adventure, and a sweeping, EPIC YA romance. More of my recent wishlist items are on the hashtag #MSWL! #okscbwichat

I turned 30 (!!!) last weekend, an occasion I'm seizing to share my #MSWL this year:
- sweeping YA romance
- ✨queer magic✨
- savvy, commercial MG fantasy
- joyful queer & POC stories
- & POC authors with something to say
- emotional contemporary MG
- cozy af graphic novels

In MG, my list is fantasy-heavy, and, like, don't stop sending me MG fantasy because I love it--but I want to see more MG contemporary! Particularly one that will make me ugly cry on the train, and then carefully glue my heart back together. #MSWL

YA fantasy is evergreen, but what I want to see is where the genre is going next. A more contemporary direction, a new take on paranormal, twists and turns on some heavy-hitting elements like dragons, gods, monsters, the nature of story? Bring it to me!! #MSWL

Eternal #MSWL! I love a different genre’s story in an SFF setting—especially if the author has cleverly teased out some smart interactions between the two.

You all know I love fantasy. Looking for things that feel a bit out of the box now. Contemporary fantasy, maybe? YA urban fantasy? An update on Harry Potter? I don’t know; surprise me. #mswl

WHY
NOT
BOTH
#mswl

Wry, smart, disruptive historical YA (+/- fantasy)! Think GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE and MY LADY JANE. #MSWL

!!!! Same. #mswl