New year, new Manuscript Wishlist thread! 📚

I'm seeking romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror novels and graphic novels across a variety of subgenres, and I'm going to thread some of the tropes and stories I'm particularly hungry for!

Full #MSWL: stgibson.com/manuscript-wis…

🎉🎉BIG NEWS: I'm joining @LucindaLitNYC! I'm excited to expand their children's program and support their NF list, with some SFF as well. You can find what I'm looking for here: lucindaliterary.com/about/team/ and there will be some #MSWL updates soon!🥳

SFF💫 I would love to see futures that star BIPOC casts and fantasy worlds inspired by non-Western folklores and myths

Horror💫 I'm looking for elevated horror that unpacks societal, community, and/or personal traumas, as well as any monster reimaginings from a BIPOC POV

#MSWL for lit agent @KaninMona!

Genres I'm on the hunt for:
MG fantasy, MG literary contemporary, YA humor, YA fantasy, YA rom-com, Upmarket Women's fiction.
#MSWL - international settings, folktale re-imaginings, funny friendship banter, twisty YA thrillers, multiple POV, found family.

MG #MSWL

🛶 characters w/ compelling interests
🦄 luscious sci-fi and fantasy
🐅 animal stories
📘 high concept chapter book series
👻 creepy horror

My #mswl profile is up at the @ManuscriptWList site! There are a few more details here, especially the sections on the right side bar showing what non-book media I also love! manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/sara…

😼 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

Since I'm open to queries again:
MUST HAVE: Adult romance only. NO YA. Fantasy or sci-fi sub-genre ONLY.
Prefer: High heat level
#MSWL list:
1. Vampires or witches (still looking for something different)
2. mystery & humor even if dark
3. Bridgerton w/PR element
4. Surprise me

indulgent little birthday #mswl:
🎁 horror, especially anything ft. cults, cannibalism, bloodthirsty girls
🎁 deadly-decadent-court intrigue sff
🎁 decolonial, perceptive travel/food writing
🎁 literary voices exploring the seam of glamour & repulsion
🎁 i will read Any Bluebeard

For #YA SciFi, fantasy and contemporary, I love a trope where the younger generation is showing the older one a new way to thrive. Break generational trauma like in THE INHERITANCE OF ORQUIDEA DIVINA, and rebel to outer space to follow your own path in BINTI.

•Think high concept sci-fi like Dreamfall Chapters (video game), where people are addicted to virtual reality and can't funciton in society.
•Dark fantasy themes with equally dark humor like Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows. Tim Burton is a vibe.

Show me the world through the character’s eyes and help me experience what they’re going through. I love fantasy woven into #SciFi. Like the beautiful world you’ve built, and then destroyed, I too want to be left with my mind blown, melted into a puddle on the floor or both.

Of course, one of our favorite things it to be surprised. So if you've written a middle grade or young adult novel you're excited about, or an adult fantasy or horror, we'd love to hear from you! #MSWL

We're also looking to grow our commercial adult fantasy list in stories with a genre hook, especially expansive fantasy and psychological horror. Thing JADE CITY, CITY OF BRASS, THE ATLAS SIX, MEXICAN GOTHIC, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS. #MSWL

We're always on the hunt for standout YA fantasy and paranormal/supernatural. Think THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, LEGENDBORN, THE GILDED ONES, CEMETERY BOYS, HOUSE OF HOLLOW, etc. #MSWL