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MANUSCRIPT WISHLIST

Experience

I’m an editorial assistant at Holiday House Publishing seeking MG & YA fiction, including graphic novels and novels in verse. I’m looking for horror, thrillers, contemporary, and speculative fiction.

 

My tastes tend to skew darker tonally, and while I respond to both literary and commercial writing, I can’t resist gorgeous line-level prose. But above all else, I gravitate to stories with deeply-realized emotional interiority and thematic heft, and I prioritize voices traditionally underrepresented in publishing.

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Below, you can read more detailed information about what I'm looking for in the above genres:

  • Horror

    • Horror exploring sociopolitical themes

    • Hauntings and ghost stories, particularly those that delve into the ways in which we’re haunted by grief, shame, guilt, or destructive societal forces

    • Body horror and/or horror that explores bodily autonomy (told authentically in a non-exploitative way)

  • Thriller

    • Socially conscious thrillers, especially those that explore the way power structures impact who society believes and whose stories it values

    • Campy slashers with some edge/a thematic undercurrent

    • Thrillers with distinctive, fun settings that heighten the genre elements

  • Contemporary 

    • Stories exploring mental health themes that impact young people’s lived realities, including more stigmatized experiences (Note: while portrayals of characters struggling with these issues can be complex, they should also ultimately be sympathetic.)

    • LGBTQIA+ stories of all kinds, especially from trans/nonbinary creators. As much as I love queer joy and the found family of queer friendships, I am also here for stories that reflect the challenges specific to this community.

    • Stories that address the ways in which the political environment impacts young people within their families and communities

    • Queer takes on popular tropes

  • Speculative (Think grounded contemporary fantasy, near-future cli-fi/dystopian still recognizably set in our own world, time loops, magical realism)

  • Historical

    • 90s-2000s historical fiction (What wouldn’t I do for 2000s emo culture historical?)

    • LGBTQIA+ stories

    • Historical fiction exploring activist history or periods of major social change

Submission Guidelines

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Please email submissions to kdishmon@holidayhouse.com and include #MSWL in the subject line.
 

I accept agented and unagented submissions.

 

I prefer to see full manuscripts (fiction) / full proposals (graphic novels).

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DISCLAIMER: My freelance editorial services are in no way connected with my editorial work for my current employer. Use of my editorial services also cannot guarantee an offer of representation or publication.

For freelance editorial services, please reach out to me via the contact page of this website. My workplace email is for submissions to be considered  by Holiday House only.

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