Maria Vicente

As a Senior Literary Agent at P.S. Literary Agency, I represent illustrated books (graphic novels/memoirs/nonfiction, gift books, and picture books), teen and middle grade novels, upmarket and literary fiction, and nonfiction books for all ages. My specific wish list items are listed below by category. I welcome and encourage submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ creators whether or not your story is considered #ownvoices.

Literary Fiction

I am eagerly looking for inventive literary fiction writers to add to my client list. The novels I love are both incredibly written and have a compelling sales hook.

Some subcategories I’m particularly interested in seeing:

upmarket speculative fiction (grounded fantasy, magical realism, retellings of fairy tales and folktakes, horror) like Of Bees and Mist by Eric Setiawan, The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and anything by Helen Oyeyemi;

adult fiction with child/teen protagonists (referred to as “coming of age” stories by many), such as Gutter Child by Jael Richardson, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, and A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews;

novels that tackle mental health topics, like Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escoria, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides, Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk;

and books that experiment with storytelling structure, as in Night Film by Marisha Pessl, Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje.

Other literary fiction favourites of mine include Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam, anything by Akwaeke Emezi, and anything by Ivan Coyote.

Graphic Novels

I represent graphic novels, graphic memoirs, and graphic nonfiction in all age categories. I am only looking at submissions for graphic novels/memoirs/nonfiction by author/illustrators (a sole creator both writing and illustrating the book).

Some of my favourite graphic novels include: Spinning by Tillie Walden, The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïanowski, Constantly by gg, Operatic by Kyo Maclear and Byron Eggenschwiler, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green, The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown, Acquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill, Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, and the A Quick & Easy Guide series published by Limerence Press.

Young Adult

I am interested in a variety of YA genres: contemporary, magical realism, grounded fantasy, horror, and select mystery/thriller.

Teen novels I love:

authentic contemporary books like Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi, Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith, We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, Let Me Hear a Rhyme and Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo;

weird and wonderful tales like Wilder Girls by Rory Power, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton;

immersive speculative fiction like Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza, and Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyhebuchi;

compelling historical stories like The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf.

YA wish list: LGBTQ+ romance, historical fiction based on a music subculture, magical realism, experimental story structures

Middle Grade

I am currently looking at all genres of middle grade fiction. The only topics I’m not interested in at this time are gross-out humour, pirate stories, and sports stories.

Some of my favourite middle grade books:

realistic stories featuring characters with compelling interests, like in The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez and The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin;

luscious fantasy like The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill and Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee;

animal stories like Pax by Sara Pennypacker, Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe, and Santa Paws by Nicholas Edwards;

modern chapter book series, like Mindy Kim by Lyla Lee and Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton.

MG wish list items: fantasy based on folklore; creepy horror; modern Sweet Valley Twins series; animal stories (realistic—not talking animals); high concept illustrated chapter book series

Picture Books

I am only accepting submissions for illustrated picture books by author/illustrators.

I prefer “literary” picture books. My client Cat Min’s debut Shy Willow is the perfect example of my taste in picture books.

Some of my favourites include: Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddoir and Daniel Egneus, Birdsong by Julie Flett, Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault, Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson, This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary and Julie Morstad, and Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel.

Non-Fiction

I represent nonfiction books for both the children and adult markets. I expect a nonfiction book proposal to offer a new perspective on an entertaining topic. I particularly enjoy nonfiction in the pop culture, environmental science, history, occult, and lifestyle categories. And if you’re a millennial journalist hoping to turn your expertise on a topic into a book, please get in touch.

My favourite nonfiction reads include:

deep dives into mental health topics, like Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me by Anna Mehler Paperny and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig;

books about witchcraft, like Becoming Dangerous edited by Katie West, Witchbody by Sabrina Scott, and Witches of America by Alex Mar;

illustrated and photography books like Literary Witches by Taisia Kitaiskaia and Katy Horan, Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval, and What We See in the Stars by Kelsey Oseid;

essay collections like One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul and This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins;

socially conscious critiques like the Pocket Change Collective series from Penguin Workshop;

memoirs and (auto)biographies.

Specific nonfiction wish list items: history (pop) culture topics; environmental science; LGBTQ+ topics; music journalism

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to query@psliterary.com

Query letters should be sent to query@psliterary.com. Please include the title of your project in the subject line and address the email to me (Maria Vicente) to ensure I receive your submission. Do not send any attachments with your query letter (seriously—your email will end up in spam). Finally, do not query multiple agents at P.S. Literary Agency simultaneously.

Please view the P.S. Literary Agency website for full submission guidelines.

Guidelines & Details