Rach Crawford

Wolf Literary

My Manuscript Wish List®

I am currently looking for literary and upmarket fiction, speculative fiction, and horror, as well as nonfiction by journalists and experts.

In nonfiction I am drawn above all else to lyrical writing and rigorous thinking, and I’m interested in climate change, nature, geopolitics, migration, pop culture, tech, and in works that might be defined as cultural anthropology—books that help us understand the world we live in now.

In fiction, as well as work that engages with the above topics,  I have a particular soft spot for social horror, literary and upmarket fiction that flirts with genre, working class characters, and intimate novels that burrow deep into the brain of one captivating weirdo.

Wishlist items (current as of November 2024):

  • Horror! I love folk horror, social horror (horror that illuminates a particular topic or issue), feminist horror, BIPOC horror, domestic horror – everything. Please send me your horror!
  • High concept mystery/thrillers (e.g. My Murder, The 22 Murders of Madison May).
  • Feminist spec fic (e.g. The School for Good Mothers, The Water Cure, The Natural Way of Things).
  • Speculative fiction that is influenced or informed by, or concerned in some way, with religion, spirituality, or cults (e.g. Alif The Unseen; Midnight Mass; The Girls). I’m particularly interested in how belief informs our everyday lives and shapes our understanding of the world. (And yes, this applies to horror, too!)
  • More and more I’m finding myself drawn to books that are about nature in some broad way: North Woods, Hamnet, Annihilation, Leave the World Behind, Our Wives Under the Sea etc. etc.
  • I’d love to see more submissions from writers from South-East Asian and Pacific Island diasporas.
  • I’m enjoying funny books, books that bring a light touch to topics of substance. (Margo’s Got Money Troubles).

AUSTRALIA/AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND: A few things that I’m especially keen to see from this region:

  • Stylishly written domestic suspense
  • High-concept crime/suspense/thrillers
  • Voicey, female-driven, millenial crime/suspense/thrillers – I want to rep the female Ben Stevenson, where is she?
  • First Nations writing, especially literary and speculative fiction.
  • I have a strong track representing industry-leading journalists. If this is you and you’d like to discuss book ideas, please get in touch!

I’m not looking for:

  • I’m not looking for nonfiction work on religion and spirituality – no how-tos, why-tos, or books that aim to convert the reader to a particular path.
  • Going against the industry trend here – I don’t mind a romance subplot, but I am not the right fit for “straight” rom-com, romance, or romantasy. (The only exception here is horror romance).
  • I don’t rep any work for children, including YA.

 

 

Fun facts about me:

  • I’m Australian, and moved back here after ten amazing years living and working in New York. Alongside my American-focused list I also rep Australian writers.
  • I am a very keen birder.
  • Rach, not Rachel!

Submission Guidelines

Please send your query letter and the first twenty pages of your manuscript (for fiction) or your proposal (for nonfiction) via querymanager. (Note I no longer accept email queries.)

Guidelines & Details

Vital Info

@rachac

Website

Agent

Fiction:

BIPOC Crime Fiction, BIPOC Literature, BIPOC Mystery, BIPOC Thriller, Caribbean Literature, Crime, Domestic Thriller, East Asian Literature, Eco-Fiction, Family Saga, Fantasy, Folklore, General, Gothic, Horror, LGBTQ, Literary, Magical Realism, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Short Story, South Asian Literature, South East Asian Literature, Speculative, Speculative Literary, Thriller, Upmarket Speculative

Non-Fiction:

Cultural criticism, Feminism and women\'s issues, Journalism, LGBTQ, Memoir, Pop Culture, Psychology, Science, True Crime

Favorite sub-genres:

"Big Idea/Think", AAPI Fantasy, AAPI Horror, Adult Horror, African Fantasy, Asian Diaspora, Asian Fantasy, Asian Horror, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Horror, BIPOC Mystery, Character-Driven Horror, Cli-Fi, Climate Fiction, Cross-genre, Domestic Fiction, Domestic Suspense, Domestic Suspense/Thriller, East Asian Literature, Essays, Expat/Exile Literature, Experimental, Fabulism, Fantasy, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Feminism, Feminist Horror, Folklore, Gothic, Gothic Fantasy, Gothic Horror, Grounded fantasy, Hauntings, High Concept, High-Concept Literary Commercial Fiction, Horror Comedy, Immigrant Voices, Indigenous Futurism, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx Horror, Literary Crossover, Literary Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Literary Horror, Literary Noir, Literary Thriller, Magic Realism, Occult Horror, Paranormal Horror, Psychological Horror, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thrillers, South East Asian Literature, Speculative Fiction, afrofuturism, award-winners!, body horror, book club fiction, books in translation, eco-fiction, horror, light Sci-Fi, light fantasy, literary suspense, queer horror, weird fiction

I’d like the next…

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART

LONE WOMEN

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS

NORTH WOODS

NOTES ON AN EXECUTION

THE 22 MURDERS OF MADISON MAY

MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES

Lisa Jewell

Benjamin Stevenson

THE HOUSEMATE (Sarah Bailey)

 

My favorites include…

Books: Mariana Enríquez’s OUR SHARE OF NIGHT; Kayla Rae Whitaker’s THE ANIMATORS; Victor LaValle’s THE DEVIL IN SILVER and LONE WOMEN; Samanta Schweblin’s FEVER DREAM; N.K. Jemisin’s BROKEN EARTH TRILOGY; Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s FRIDAY BLACK; Claire Vaye Watkins’ GOLD FAME CITRUS; Tamsyn Muir’s GIDEON THE NINTH; Daniel Mason’s NORTH WOODS.

TV: Brand New Cherry Flavor; The Boys; Fallout; Midnight Mass; The Fall of the House Usher.

Movies: Raw; Titane; Revenge; Longlegs; Dream Scenario (okay, Nicholas Cage’s entire oeuvre). Everything by Benson and Moorhead, but especially The Endless.

Games: The Cult of the Lamb; Firewatch; Untitled Goose Game.