#mswl

New year, new #MSWL! I’ll be sharing the latest on what I’m looking for, including some BIG changes, tomorrow 👀 Stay tuned!

Agents, if you sent something before my leave that fits the above, please do send me a nudge. I'm working on a new system to stay more on top of subs & replies may be more brief but I'm trying for faster response times. Looking forward to connecting on some fabulous projects!

Across all genres and formats, I hope you’ll think of me when the setting is practically a character in its own right, characters are flawed but trying, themes involve grieving while living and/or found families, & the voice is particularly voicey

In picture books and board books, I’m looking for concept-driven, funny, sweet, and joyful read alouds that you’d immediately identify as a perfect baby shower or new baby gift

MG nonfiction that uses humor and playful formats to bring readers to both evergreen & rapidly evolving topics; in particular, I'd love to learn about civics, media literacy, mental health, body positivity, and food in fresh ways

Coming-of-age stories bursting with heart are my forever-love in MG fiction--but I still need that high-concept hook. The pitch should make me ask “what’s next?” or "how??" (or both! 🙃)

I'm not your ideal editor for high fantasy worlds, but I do love grounded fantasy, magical realism, retellings, time travel, and speculative twists in both MG & YA

Voicey YA romcoms, especially if they’re queer, and especially if they’re made more high-concept with a unique structure or unexpected twist

I am easily scared but still on the hunt for YA psychological thrillers with big emotional stakes and horror that grapples with social issues and The Way We Live Now

Weird, surprising, genre-bending YA fiction that plays with tropes, especially if it's darkly funny (does anyone have @searchpartymax for teens?)

I know I'm super late to this party but I can't stop thinking about this tweet and how I'd love to see a MG novel that tackles the idea. #MSWL

that's all I can think of for now! I hope this helps the
#amquerying crowd and that I'll see some great queries Feb 1!

in fiction and nonfiction, I particularly want to see more BIPOC, disabled, LGBT+ authors (though please don't feel pressured to disclose anything you're not comfortable with)
more indigenous/non-Western culture, mythology, and tropes

more loves: affairs (not about romance), extremely harsh settings, apocalypses, characters labeled as "crazy" who turn out to be right, sabotage, order quickly devolving into chaos, thelma & louise themes

I do love: fables, gallows humor, absurdism, unsettling atmospheres, unreliable narrators, sympathetic villains, anti-heroes, adventures, revenge-plots, twists that make the reader say "it all makes sense now!"

I'm not the right agent for these kinds of novels: reproductive horror or dystopia, high fantasy, multi-generational family sagas, drama surrounding music or singing

adult books only!
I'm NOT looking for PB, MG, YA, NA or kid lit in any form. I'm also NOT looking for romance or poetry or historical fiction.
(no, your book will not be the one that convinces me to rep [category I don't rep], and I won't/can't respond to those queries, sorry.)

I've updated this thread with some of my favorite books, for comps, etc
twitter.com/kim_lindman/st…

novels with contemporary settings need to contain at least one of the following elements: mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, or any kind of speculative something