Manuscript Wish List

I represent a range of fiction, from commercial rom-coms to radical speculative fiction, subversive thrillers and upmarket book club fiction. I don’t specialize in one genre or style— my list is united by some commercial element, and a modern sensibility. In romance, that may mean a relationship arc and HEA that will stand the test of time; in thriller, it may mean using the genre as a vehicle to critique flaws in contemporary society; in SFF, I love to see a radical future or a world intentionally avoiding the pitfalls familiar to ours. I am looking for books that engage with the issues of our time without necessarily being “issue books”. I’m interested in intersectional stories, whether that representation is integral to the plot or casually baked into the setting or cast. In terms of tone, my taste can be offbeat or wry, and I am often cynical. But I’m also grateful to be won over by optimistic, earnest writing. I’m a naturally curious person, and love learning about our world’s quirks incidentally.

I look for plot to keep the pages turning, but I am primarily interested in character-driven stories. Flawed characters are no problem for me, so long as they’re interesting, self-consistent, and not gratuitously violent or sadistic. In trope-driven genres, I love how a vibrant cast can make those frameworks feel like a starting point, rather than the end of a familiar, preordained story. In more upmarket, less structured areas, I am even more drawn to projects where the engine of the story is a character’s innermost wants and needs, and how they act on them.

I am also open to select nonfiction projects: memoir/essay from a unique and immersive perspective; inclusive, wide-angle health and life advice from experts in their field; pop science (not pop culture) and narrative nonfiction that answers questions I didn’t know I had about things I didn’t know I cared about. Nonfiction that reads like fiction is always a plus for me. My taste in nonfiction leans more upmarket than my taste in fiction. I am not the right fit for aspirational self-help/life advice, business, cookbooks, history, politics, or gift books.

I am not looking for YA, MG, or picture books at this time.

My goal is to build a list that is multi-faceted and diverse —representing a range of authors, characters, genres, and moods — but cohesive in its goals and advancement of the reading landscape. My ideal authors write immersive and self-contained works, which also fit into the context of the market and the world around us, encouraging us to investigate, critique, and improve upon it.

See below for a more specific wish list, and please bear in mind these are my own interests and opinions. And for all that I can share topics and categories of interest, some of the most exciting writing is that which surprises. If your work goes against the grain here, but you still have good reason to think we will be a fit, feel free to query me anyway.

Please send your queries via Query Manager. I can answer queries more efficiently and manage my inbox better by using this platform.

ONLY if that site is inaccessible to you, you may send a query directly to maria@ktliterary.com with the subject line “Query: [TITLE] by [Author]” and the first 50 pages of your work pasted into the body of the email after your query letter. Do not send attachments. Do not send half-baked queries. This is an accommodation for people who need it, not a shortcut to the top of the pile. Queries that are incomplete or do not follow these guidelines will be deleted unread. If I am closed to queries on QM, I am also closed to email queries.

I am interested in:

• Historical fiction set outside times/places publishing has focused on to date. (I am usually not a good fit for glamorous city settings.)

• Upmarket, character-driven fantasy.

• Multi-generational stories of sisterhoods and family identity.

• Contemporary novels with one weird/speculative element, which would still be published as mainstream (not genre) fiction.

• Book club fiction about overcoming (or holding on to?) a family grudge.

• Romance or rom-com that that questions toxic relationship dynamics.

• Lush, symbol-heavy fantasy a la Elana K Arnold’s Damsel, for an adult readership.

• Indirect but sharp criticism of the contemporary world. I am more drawn to character-driven novels than overt “issues” books.

• Complicated platonic friendship stories.

• Romance or rom-com about queer/bi/pansexual women and nonbinary characters.

• Romance or rom-com with strong secondary plots as well as a clear commercial hook.

• Queer characters in general, particularly when queerness is a given, not an obstacle.

• I would love a novel that has some connection to paleontology/dinosaurs. Perhaps that is the protagonist’s career, or an interest of theirs. (Not nonfiction or time-travel/sci-fi about dinosaurs.)

• Book club novels not about white-collar, college-educated characters.

• Commercial novels about grief, without that being the entirety of the plot.

• Genre mashups that are greater than the sum of their parts. Not ones that limit their potential readership with opposing elements.

• Gothic vibes or horror influence, without being truly scary. I am a wuss.

• Heists are often better suited for the screen than the page, but I would love a tightly-plotted, character-focused project like La Casa de Papel (Money Heist).

• Narrative nonfiction about under-discussed historical trends, events, or origin stories that have present-day consequences.

• Micro-histories that use one object or topic to explore a more universal experience or theme.

• Nonfiction a la Sabrina Imbler — somewhere on the axes of narrative-pop science-personal essay. Contemporary, voicey, personal while also being sneakily educational. I love weird pieces of natural history and overlooked critters, and how the natural world can be used as a way in to writing about the human condition, but if your beat is some other area of surprising and fertile ground, that’s still fair game.

• See also: #MSWL tweets I have made

I am not interested in:

• Military fiction — ie law enforcement-centric thrillers, political thrillers, narratives where military action is the central conflict and driver of the plot.

• Erotica.

• Projects that are squarely New Adult, though I wish the category was more supported by publishers and bookstores! I hope this will change in the future. Projects that work as adult are fair game.

• I am not looking for YA, MG, or picture books at this time.

• Books that have been self-published already.

• “Not like other girls” stories.

• Horror/gore/violence.

• Novels about eating disorders.

• Post-apocalyptic, pandemic, or government conspiracy plots.

• Novels that use an election or political conflict as a backdrop/mirror.

• “Social” novels. If you’re comping to The Nest, I’m not the right fit.

• Hollywood settings or plots, and/or celebrity-centric projects.

• Diet, exercise, self-help books or cookbooks.

• I’m not representing poetry at this time (although I’m happy to hear from poets writing longer forms).

Errata that might catch my eye:

• Endurance sports or fencing

• Plants, especially plants with some agency/sentience, and/or carnivorous plants; also fungi.

• Cryptids (but probably not a book about cryptids, more likely a book in which cryptids make an appearance or play a minor role).

• Animals I have a soft spot for include: most birds, dinosaurs, snakes, cats, armadillos, possums. No talking animal books, please.

• Hiking/the outdoors.

• The Pony Express.

• Child-free adult characters.

• Late stage capitalism (and where to go from here)

• Neurodiversity

My wish list in comps: