Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

10) Surprise me! No, really. I'm looking to acquire widely this year and I want the thing I did not already know I was looking for. Send it my way! ✨

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

9) I am always a sucker for stories with what one agent friend spot-on named "a gimmick": epistolary novels, frame stories, timeline shenanigans, mixed formats, text messages, etc. Yes, I am that girl who wrote her college thesis on frame stories.

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

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).

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

7) An outrageously, wryly funny historical romp or rom-com.

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

6) Competitions, tournaments, puzzles, and mysteries! Give me those sweet aha! moments and high stakes.

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

(I would straight-up sell my soul for a YA in the vein of Song of Achilles or Circe. Just sayin'.)

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

5) Savvy, inventive retellings, from Baba Yaga to the Thousand and One Nights to Oscar Wilde, and beyond

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

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!)

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

4.2) Historical or contemporary fantasy with a sharp, fresh, feminist twist on old folklore. Looking for my Holly Black or YA Alix Harrow 🙏

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

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! 👀

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

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:

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

3) High-concept YA contemporary or contemporary-with-a-twist, especially if it comes with an irreverent, self-referentially funny voice. Sarcastic or endearingly self-deprecating humor to the front of the line. I love a protagonist who feels like a co-conspirator.

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

2) Whoever brings me a queer YA read-alike to Casey McQuiston's Red, White, & Royal Blue and/or One Last Stop will win my heart forever (and more to the point, a lot of money 😇)

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

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)

Stephanie Stein
@stephlystein
Editor
Senior Editor @HarperChildrens & @HarperTeen , she/her, 47% caffeine by volume. Opinions my own, and I do have a lot of them. 🌈
213 MSWL
34 AskAgent

Officially wrapped on 2020 submissions! Agents, here's my #mswl for this year.

Before I start: I will always be looking to foreground queer and BIPOC voices, and on the hunt for killer hooks I can't even finish pitching without someone mashing the preorder button.

Let's go!

P.S. Literary Agency
@PSLiterary
Literary Agency
Representing a diverse list of internationally published, award-winning, bestselling and debut creators.
2858 MSWL
71 AskAgent
3 Queries
179 Tips

"Dark, twisted, borderline disturbing… words I’d use to describe my interest in thrillers. Not looking for gore at the moment, but definitely into psychological elements. Especially fictionalized accounts of actual crimes." @claire_m_harris #MSWL psliterary.com/submissions/

Sharon Belcastro
@SharonBelcastro
Literary Agent
Introvert surviving in an extroverted world. Lover of books, animals, plants, the beach, working out and eating tacos. @belcastr
52 MSWL
50 Queries
17 Tips

Finishing Home Baked by Alia Volz makes me hungry (no pun intended) for more memoirs of remarkable people, extraordinary lives and eccentric stories. Especially from diverse backgrounds. #mswl

Ameerah Holliday
@Ms_Holliday93
Literary Agent
“The very time I thought I was lost, / My dungeon shook and my chains fell off” Dancer | Poetess | Revolution | Agent - Serendipity Lit | Opinions are my own
47 MSWL

This is the last thing I’ll ask for this week, I promise! But it would be so cute to get some MG Latinx fiction. #mswl

Chelsey Emmelhainz
@LitAgentChelsey
Literary Agent
Night agent @coppsliterary . Daytime nonprofit marketing pro. Brunch anytime. Amusingly heretical. Query me: querymanager.com/query/ChelseyE
18 MSWL