Rachel Stark

Agents: GET SUBMITTING! #MSWL

Visual representation of me celebrating all the awesome books we're gonna make in 2022:

And finally: Please know that Disney does not allow me to accept unagented/unsolicited submissions. Please have your agent submit to me, unless I've invited you to submit to me at a convention or conference. Them's the rules, I don't make 'em. #MSWL

And finally, there's definitely crossover in the subject matter that interests me in graphic novels vs. novels! If you have an MG or YA novel that fits my GN wishlist, have your agent send it! If you have a GN for any age that fits my novel wishlist, same! #MSWL

NOVEL GUIDELINES: I am open only to MG and YA novels. Sadly not open to nonfiction, picture book, chapter book, or adult novel submissions (though, send me all your YA readalikes to One Last Stop, Gideon the Ninth, and A Darker Shade of Magic!) #MSWL

🌟Upmarket contemporary YA romance with substance, centering characters of traditionally marginalized identities
▫️Think: Furia, Felix Ever After, The Music of What Happens #MSWL

🌟Fantasy set in non-European-inspired settings
▫️Think: Raybearer, Aru Shah and the End of Time
🌟Epic YA romance embedded within a larger story
▫️Think: King of Scars/Rule of Wolves, Raybearer #MSWL

🌟Middle grade stories about (non-speaking) animals, human-animal bonds, nature, & high-stakes survival
▫️Think: A Wolf Called Wander, today’s My Side of the Mountain #MSWL

🌟Contemporary middle grade stories that take a “light and bright” approach to social change, solidarity, and self-discovery
▫️Think: Front Desk, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, George #MSWL

🌟High-concept comedy that can be summed up in a single sentence
▫️Think: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Jacked Up, Beauty Queens #MSWL

🌟High-stakes competition w/ a radical, subversive bent & meaningful consequences for the characters
▫️Think: the Squid Game of YA (but note that sobs don't have to be violenct, & I am definitely not looking for violence that’s used for shock value or voyeuristic pleasure) #MSWL

🌟YA thrillers, psychological horror, supernatural, & speculative fiction that radically represents & explores queer, female, and BIPOC rage & revenge
▫️ Think: Iron Widow, Sadie, Nimona, or, for a film example, Jennifer’s Body #MSWL

Here's what I'm looking for in NOVELS:
🌟High-concept YA fantasy and speculative fiction, especially that which uses the conventions of its genre to critique, subvert, or illuminate a truth about our world
▫️Think: Raybearer, Graceling, Dread Nation, The Witch King #MSWL

GRAPHIC NOVEL GUIDELINES: I'm open to GNs for ages 5+ (inc. adult!). Sadly it's hard for me to consider scripts w/o artists attached at this time. Art should be energetic, expressive, inventive, accessible, & commercial—full-color for MG & younger, at least 2-color for YA #MSWL

🌟Campy, fun, & funny stories for middle graders & teens that fully commit to the bit while maintaining a strong heart at their core
▫️Think: Lumberjanes, Cucumber Quest
🌟Early reader GNs w/ unforgettable characters, particularly human protagonists, & a strong sales hook #MSWL

🌟Grounded MG fantasy w real-world settings
▫️Think: the Stranger Things of graphic novels (but not necessarily horror!)
🌟Stories with creative, fresh ties to holidays/seasonal moments, esp cultural holidays & those outside of Xmas, V Day, & Halloween
▫️Think: Pumpkinheads #MSWL

(GNs) 🌟Middle grade humor with a big heart—I’d particularly like to explore careers outside of policing that nonetheless lend themselves to multiple adventures over the course of a series
▫️Think: Dog Man, InvestiGators #MSWL

That's the stuff that never changes! And here are the specifics about what I'm particularly looking for right now.

IN GRAPHIC NOVELS
🌟Young adult contemp romance w/ substance, especially centering characters w/ marginalized identities
▫️Think: Heartstopper, Pumpkinheads #MSWL

🌟Nuanced stories about rebellion against unjust systems, building solidarity and mutual support, or imagining a world better than our own #MSWL

🌟Sharp & original humor that shows a deep understanding of its readers—whether goofy, over-the-top humor for middle graders or well-observed sarcasm for teens
🌟Books that slide adeptly between humor & poignancy, that make me laugh on one page & cry on the next #MSWL

▪️Unique family structures depicted in a positive light—found families, guardians other than parents, multigenerational households, & loving & supportive separated families
#MSWL