Possible comp titles: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn, The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob, A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, The Lightness by Emily Temple

ORCA SHIVERS

• High-interest contemporary horror novels aimed at readers aged 9–12 with a reading level approximately at age (grade 4-6)
• Relatable protagonists between 11 and 14 years old in stories with fairly intense, high-stakes horror plots. Moderate violence, mild gore and death are okay.
• Supernatural (vampires, ghosts etc) or natural horror (crazed animals, serial killers) are both welcome.
• 10,000-20,000 words, short chapters, each with cliff-hanger endings (shorter stories of 6000+ words will be considered).
• Please send a cover letter, a short (100–200 words) synopsis, a chapter-by-chapter outline and three sample chapters to the attention of Gabrielle Prendergast. Orca authors please contact Gabrielle with a pitch first.

Esty is looking for book club or upmarket fiction, romance, genre-blending SFF, children’s picture books, YA, literary fiction, and select nonfiction. She’s seeking manuscripts which center the adoptee experience, LGBTQIA+ narratives, anti-colonialist and anti-Church topics, and stories by and/or about BIPOC authors. And she favors stories which either celebrate with noisy joy or burn everything down and then salt the earth.

She is also ArtHouse’s #1 fan thanks to their commitment to bold and diverse voices, and the collegial, supportive environment. ArtHouse is an agency growing by leaps and bounds, and she feels so lucky to be building her list of talented artists and authors with with such a stellar team. Before working in publishing, Esty worked as an inpatient pediatric LPN. At home, she has five children, three dogs, one husband, and a partridge in a pear tree.

• In book club/upmarket, Esty is looking for titles with women in STEM like LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, updated classics like Ann Napolitano’s Little Women retelling, HELLO, BEAUTIFUL, and wlw knockouts with queer representation like THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO.

• In sci-fi, fantasy, or speculative fiction send work like THE NIGHT CIRCUS, magical realism like Carmen Maria Machado’s HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES, or nonlinear, poetic work like THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR. She’d also love to see genre-blenders like LEGENDS & LATTES, romantasy with strong leads like A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES and CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, fae stories with romance tropes like THE CRUEL PRINCE or EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAIRIES, character-driven journeys like THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE, the nonstop, spicy tension of THE WINTER KING, or the fairy tale vibes of SPINNING SILVER.

• In romance and YA, Esty is looking for tropes like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and grumpy-sunshine like THE FLATSHARE or BEACH READ, or marriage-of-convenience stories like THE UNHONEYMOONERS. She’d love to see a fresh take on PRIDE & PREJUDICE, EMMA, or ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. If you’ve got contemporary stories with dual POVs and impossible love like THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, or classic retellings like THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS that include high stakes, plot tension, and compelling soulmate vibes, send those her way, too. Or accessible page-turners like THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS or ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN, especially if they spotlight BIPOC main characters.

• In picture books, send heartwarming titles with a BIPOC focus like EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS and creative, imagination-friendly projects like DRAGONS LOVE TACOS. Authors or author-illustrators only, please.

• In literary fiction, send artful realism like THE RABBIT HUTCH, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, or LUSTER, the heart wrenching yearning of NORMAL PEOPLE or ARCADIA, characters challenging society like OUR MISSING HEARTS, A CHILDREN’S BIBLE, OUTLAWED, or EXIT WEST, or books like THE INCENDIARIES, ALL MY PUNY SORROWS, and SEVERANCE that examine marginalized characters, injustice, or religion. Characters examining systems of oppression through twisty plots in books like THE NICKEL BOYS, SALVAGE THE BONES, and INTERIOR CHINATOWN are welcome, and mythological retellings like Madeline Miller’s CIRCE, especially those set outside of Europe.

This is a home for fresh retellings, fairy tales, and artful, rebellious prose. For a better look at the kind of titles Esty gravitates towards, scroll her Pinterest board here.

What She Doesn’t Want: Dead dogs, horror, thrillers, erotica, police/legal procedurals, mysteries, anything ageist/ableist/racist/misogynistic, Christian fiction, or anything where queer people die in the end.