MSWL*
*manuscript wish list
Samantha is looking for high-concept, commercial and upmarket fiction that features diverse, marginalized, and/or underrepresented voices with all-or-nothing stakes in adult, YA & MG.
If you would like to query me, please use this Query Manager form.
ADULT
Genres: book club fiction, contemporary romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, speculative, gothic, horror, and fantasy. (Don’t forget to send me all the genre blends—romantasy, horror comedy, book club thrillers, etc.)
Elements/themes/tropes/vibes: late-stage coming-of-age; second-generation immigrant experiences; healthy and toxic relationships (familial, platonic, or romantic); stories of obsession; stories that drop you in the chaos; specific experiences that hold universal truths; body positivity; sex positivity; fast-pacing; tight plotting; ruthless and messy characters; women killing for revenge; unexpected twists or POVs; con artists and grifters on job; convincing red herrings; ensemble casts; twisted games or puzzles; lots of yearning and pining; non-western mythology; magic systems with consequences; unexpected villains and/or villain POVs; unraveling secrets at a reunion or celebration; reincarnation/fated lovers; haunting, small, and/or isolated settings; curses and prophesies; inheritances; secrets amongst groups; cults and dark rituals; academia; gray morality; feminism; finding magic in the seemingly mundane.
Books I love: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria; The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert; Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola; In My Dreams, I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead; My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing; Never Saw You Coming by Vera Kurian; You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa; No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall; The Bridge Kingdom series and A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen; Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel; The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson; The Poppy War series by RF Kuang; Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
MG & YA
Genres: contemporary romance, mystery, thrillers, horror, speculative, and fantasy. (Don’t forget to send me all the genre blends!)
Elements/themes/tropes/vibes: fresh takes on familiar tropes; “how do I have the teen experience in a post-Covid world?”; body positive; sex-positive; BIPOC casts creating space in PWI; we have to fake kiss for “reasons”; LGBTQIA+ affirming; the spectrum and high emotions of firsts—first date, first kisses, etc.; friendship break-ups; all the shenanigans, hijinks, and lists; atmospheric and/or isolated settings; internal and external horror; generational reckonings; exploring grief; exploring hyper-specific fears; mixed media/social media; ensemble casts; academia; non-western mythology, folklore, and magic; competitions; prophecies from birth; healthy and toxic relationships (familial, platonic, or romantic);
Books I love: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon; Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar; We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds; Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes; Sadie by Courtney Summers; Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson; Sawkill Girls by Claire LeGrande; Wilder Girls by Rory Power; The Black Queen by Jumata Emil; The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna; I Feed The Beast and The Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea; All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & C.L. Herman; The Grace Year by Kim Liggett; Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald; Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin.
Other comps I love
Knives Out series; The Count of Monte Cristo; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Kill Bill; The Haunting of Bly Manor; Elite; Only Murders in the Building; The Afterparty; Severance; Defending Jacob; Gossip Girl; Sex Lives of College Girls; Schitt’s Creek; Ted Lasso; Behind Her Eyes; Booksmart; Trinkets; The Craft; Gilmore Girls; Never Have I Ever; Sex Education; The Old Guard; Crimson Peak; Julie and the Phantoms; Turning Red; Encanto; To All The Boys I Loved Before; Peaky Blinders; Heathers; Once Upon A Time; Switched at Birth; Ready or Not; Do Revenge; Missing…; Saltburn