"Looking for psychological crime thrillers like Ruth Ware."
curtisrussell.bsky.social #MSWL

"Send me lady knights, yearning, and narrative twists!"
Marina Green #MSWL

"Nonfiction I loved (from the past year or two): VULTURE CAPITALISM, STOLEN FOCUS, WINTERING, PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY, HOW TO RAISE A FEMINIST SON, POVERTY BY AMERICA, FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS, HOW TO DO NOTHING."
Carly Watters #MSWL

"Send me inventive middle grade fantasy novels. Ex: THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER, THE LAND OF STORIES, and THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL."
mariavicente.com #MSWL

“I want nonfiction proposals that offer a new perspective on an entertaining topic in any of these categories: art, the environment, pop culture, science, psychology, cultural history, and the occult.”
mariavicente.com #MSWL

I only accept queries via Querytracker: querytracker.net/query/MacLysaght

This link will open May 15th, 2026. See you soon!

Nos:

🤖🚫 IF YOU HAVE AI IN ANYTHING, NO THANK YOU

🖼️ PB, MG, or illustrator-only pitches

🙅‍♀️Faith stories, Aliens and Superheroes, portal fantasy

⁉️Stories with the express purpose of tricking or disappointing the reader

In Nonfiction:

💻 Fandom and nerd culture academia

🍬 The intersection of modern politics & pop culture

🦠 Weird histories, deep dives into oddball concepts

🚓 Ethical true crime & structural injustice

In YA:

🕵️ Hijinks, heists, and daring plots!

👠 Gender & sexuality as play and exploration, not trauma or parable

🎤 Voice for days, kids making 100% (in)correct KID choices

💬 Witty, complicated friend groups

In Horror:

⚰️ Indigenous horror, unexplored folklore of all countries and people

⛴️ Closed-set horror, like a cruise ship, a locked mall, a flooded island

👹 Tightly interwoven choice and plot; characters that drive the plot; rejecting puritanical moral codes

🌽 Ethel Cain & Hozier music

In Fantasy & Science Fiction:

🍷 Lush, decadent, slightly fallen worlds with horrible, sexy people

👺 I’m weak for a monster, a knight, a saint, or an alchemist

🏚️ A haunted house, a secret organization, a placid surface with fraught depths

🔮 A bargain, a deal with the devil, a curse

In Mystery:

🔎 I’m really looking for a charming sleuth with series potential!

💾 Monster/case of the week that builds to a greater plot

🏡 Harlan Coban pacing & intricacy, but not terrible to women

🐺 True Detective: Night Country, but if they were (correctly) gay

In Romantasy:

❤️‍🔥 ROMANCE COMES FIRST! If theres a monarchy, it exists to put the characters in a fraught marriage; magic exists to make them unbelievably sexy/horny/compromised

🌶️ High heat, high emotion, fast plot

🗡️ Toxic, horrible, sexy people. I want the reviews to be “WHAT DID I JUST READ”

In Romance:

💘 I want, most of all, to fall in love. Make me swoon like a Victorian maiden. 100/10 on the swoon scale.

🌸 Historical romance that explores secret societies, unspoken relationships

🗝️ Romance always has to have another genre for me, be that fantasy, horror, or mystery (or all three!)

Overall, I am seeking:

🗡️ Strong, confident writing with a tinge of darkness

🎓 Compelling voice and convincing authority in fantastical worlds

⚡ Stories dialed up to 11, high genre 🚀

💌 Tropes, done creatively!

🍳 Stories that pull a little of column A and B

🍑 Romance and mystery in *everything*

#Amquerying authors, it’s time for 2026 #MSWL refresh! As always, I am looking for YA, Adult, Graphic Novel, and select Nonfiction titles with a focus on commercial genre fiction from marginalized voices.

My reading taste is eclectic, but to give you some vibes, think of me for projects that are..

I’m a highly editorial agent.

If you have a great idea but need help shaping it into a compelling, market-ready proposal, that’s part of what I do.

I work closely with authors to develop projects that can break out both critically and commercially.

#MSWL #nonfiction

If you own your subject and can write the hell out of it, we should talk.

#amquerying #nonfiction

What I’m looking for:

• Authority: you’ve done the deepest work on your subject
• Originality: you’re saying something new and necessary
• Narrative drive: this is a story, not just information
• Platform: you can help this book reach the audience it deserves

#amquerying

I’m especially interested in:

• Narrative history with a strong throughline
• Deeply reported journalism
• Military, political, and international history
• Books that illuminate systems of power
• Fresh perspectives on overlooked or misunderstood events