your friendly reminder that i am looking for magical realism, gothic fiction, and horror #MSWL

Picture Books: lyrical beautiful writing celebrating the different ways that people express love across cultures, personalities, the neurodiverse spectrum, or through disability. PBs that affirm "Love is love" and all the different incarnations love can take.

MG: stories highlighting the beauty of kids going through difficult things and complicated family dynamics; experiences of first love and crushes esp of queer kids discovering themselves; misfits finding connection, friendship, and the stirrings of desire.

Things I love in YA romances: queer love; sex-positivity; steaminess & tension; opposites attract (💜 stoic softies at heart); complex characters; discovering first love & lust; enemies or rivals to lovers; attraction (or battle) of minds; funny romantasy; dark gothic (2/)

A #MSWL in honor of love, specifics below but broadly: character-driven stories w/textured writing and complex themes, or beautiful prose that's deceptively simple & emotionally hard-hitting. A strong voice straddling commercial & literary lines, or more towards the latter. (1/)

Two types of horror that I'm especially keen to see in my submissions inbox: nautical and deep sea in the vein of INTO THE DROWNING DEEP and academic horror that reminds me of THE HISTORIAN. #MSWL

Quirky That 70s Show but the kids are brought together as adults to solve a mystery from their past #MSWL

I finished THE BANDIT QUEENS by @PariniShroff recently and CANNOT stop thinking about it. The hilarity! The murders! the whip-smart writing! The women, my god, these WOMEN. plus! a really good dog! I have never wanted to be a bonobo more 💕

Universe, I would love to see more romance in my inbox, please 🙏 #mswl

PB: (select)
- lyrical and fresh cultural stories
- laugh-out-loud books with sneaky adult humor

YA:
- BIPOC and queer romcoms with depth and heart!!!!
- Speculative thrillers
- Contemporary, literary stories, with hints of magical realism

MG:
- contemporary, slice-of-life stories with an abundance of middle school drama
- light fantasy adventures and folktales
- sister stories, friendship breakups, first crushes

New year, new #MSWL! What I'm looking for in 2023:

Overall, I'm excited about character-driven, diverse stories featuring ensemble casts and strong points of view.🧵

I'm also interested in SFF that shows characters with a strong sense of spirituality. Though caveat, I'm not the right editor for overtly Christian narratives.

Faith doesn't necessarily feel like a popular theme in SFF these days, but I am always interested in novels that deal with it. Whether it's religious horror, positive representations of Islam in high fantasy, or nuns in space, send it my way #MSWL

If you think we would be a good fit, please send your query and first three chapters to submissions@northstareditions.com and mention my name!

I can’t wait to get reading 🥳📚✨#mswl

Across all genres, I’m looking for:
-LGBTQIA+ representation
-neurodiversity
-representation of physical disabilities or chronic illness
-racial or cultural diversity
-unique or non-traditional family units (including found families)
-imperfect characters trying their best

-YA contemporary that brings ALL the emotions

I would also *love* to see a novel-in-verse in any genre!

-YA historical that features underrepresented experiences/time periods
-Unsettling YA horror/thrillers, especially with unreliable narrators
-YA high fantasy with innovative or unusual magic systems
-YA sci-fi, especially if it crosses genres (sci-fi horror/thriller/mystery)

Exciting news! @fluxbooks is open to submissions and I can’t wait to dive in 🥳 I’m looking for hard-hitting YA books in any genre! An engaging voice, fresh premise, and stand-out characters is what really draws me in. More info below! 🧵