the best YA feels
✨specific enough that it's speaking to teens now, using their lexicon, understanding their concerns, but also
✨universal enough to evoke a sense of nostalgia, a yearning to comfort your past teen self

(from BEATING HEART BABY by @EmoOcean, soo good) #MSWL

In any YA genre:
-LGBTQIA+ representation
-neurodiversity
-racial or cultural diversity
-male lead characters who subvert toxic masculinity
-found families and diverse ensemble casts
-strong friendships / platonic love stories
-protagonists as changemakers and activists
#mswl

I accept all sub-genres of YA fantasy, but I’m really picky! I’m looking for unique magic systems that feel real and novel, stakes that haven’t been explored before in the genre, and a premise that is truly fresh. #mswl

-high-stakes YA sci-fi w/ strong themes + character development
-YA contemporary that addresses relevant/timely social themes
-YA thrillers/suspense
-YA horror, especially of the uncanny/unsettling kind
-YA historical that highlights excluded or underrepresented experiences #mswl

-“out-of-the-box” YA stories that combine social commentary with a killer voice and a fresh premise
-strong emotional arcs and themes—I want to see characters evolving in ways that feel earned
#mswl

@fluxbooks is now open to agented and unagented submissions, and I am eagerly seeking my next favorite novel! I’m looking for well-crafted YA fiction with engaging plots and one-of-a-kind characters. I accept all genres of YA. More specifics of what I’m looking for below. #mswl

In MG & YA (incl GNs by Author-Illustrators):
•Diverse contemporary stories and romcoms
•Grounded sub-genres like horror or mysteries
•Novels by marginalized writers w/ stories yet told
•Stories that take you on an adventure and an emotional roller coaster all at once
5/7

YA historical featuring a trans/NB mc w/the gorgeous evocative prose of The Last Night at the Telegraph Club. A sense of angst, discovery, desire, a bit of complexity. If I'd had TLNATTC when I was younger, I'd have understood myself earlier. I want that for trans/NB teens #mswl

I am very much needing more magical realism in my inbox. Please and thank you!

#MSWL #YA #MG

"I want stories that celebrate neurodiversity, from authors who are themselves neurodivergent, both in fiction and nonfiction, middle grade, young adult, and adult."
@ericsmithrocks #MSWL

psliterary.com/submissions/

"I love diverse and inclusive young adult novels that reflect the world, and what the world could be."
@ericsmithrocks #MSWL

psliterary.com/submissions/

New year, new #MSWL. #kidlit #nonfiction #HistoricalFiction #picturebooks #middlegrade #YA
manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/thal…

In YA and MG, I’m sparingly open to other genres, too:

YA and MG contemporary fantasy: My second love! I’m interested in the same topics, and will look foremost for lyrical writing and character focus, with unique but very grounded magic systems. Example: THE NATURE OF WITCHES by Rachel Griffin.

YA and MG contemporary will be my first priority! Lyrical prose, novels-in-verse, “dark and gritty,” “issue-driven,” character-driven, voicey. I want to feature LGBTQIA+ voices, BIPOC voices, disability and chronic illness, mental health and neurodivergence, grief.

First, a bit about me: I’m a queer, chronically ill, disabled junior agent at McIntosh & Otis. I’m acquiring (in order of priority) YA, MG, and PB.

Contemporary/timely/queer MG & YA: Think Kacen Callender, Alex Gino, and Alice Oseman

#MSWL In MG and YA I want more queer sports stories! I love reading about the lead up to the big game/match/competition! But I think I’ve read enough about cis white kids playing soccer/baseball.

#MSWL I am eternally looking for a MG or YA fantasy that comps to The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. The worldbuilding, the characters, the magic system, the stakes, the reveals of the various mysteries – chef’s kiss!

2023 #MSWL 🧵! I represent picture books through YA (+illustrators!) and in all categories I am particularly looking to represent more non-white, queer, and disabled creatives. As a white, cishet, abled woman, I truly appreciate the trust you put in me by sharing your work.