AZ Hackett
Viking Children's Books | Penguin Random House
My Manuscript Wish List®
AZ Hackett is an assistant editor at Viking Children’s Books, assisting Tamar Brazis and Jenny Bak. She began her publishing career as an editorial intern at Candlewick Press and a We Need Diverse Books grantee. AZ has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Emerson College) and a Master of Fine Arts degree (the New School) in creative writing, both with concentrations in fiction. While at Emerson, she also minored in African American and Africana studies. AZ enjoys books from all genres, but young adult fiction—especially dystopia, fantasy, and romance—has a special place in her heart. AZ has been a storyteller for as long as she can remember, and her passion lies in the intersection between writing, diversity in literature, and social justice. Even before recent years, it was painfully clear to her how great the need for diverse voices in the literary world is, especially in children’s publishing.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to ahackett@penguinrandomhouse.com
Across the board, I am interested in any story featuring characters from diverse and marginalized groups. Diversity in children’s lit is very important to me so I’d love to incorporate that into my list in any way I can.
In terms of genre specific requests: I’m drawn to YA fiction, especially anything that’s super character driven. I’ll read pretty much anything except horror/thriller, but I’m particularly interested in dystopia, fantasy, and romance. The same goes for middle grade, save for romance. For picture books, I always get a little weepy about stories that tackle societal issues and mental health in a way that’s accessible!
I am only taking agented submissions at this time.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#wndb, AAPI Fantasy, AAPI Sci-Fi, Action-Adventure, Activism, Adventure, Adverse Childhood Experiences, African Diaspora, African Fantasy, African Sci-Fi, Africanfuturism, Apocalyptic, Asian American Literature, Asian Diaspora, Asian Fantasy, Asian Sci-Fi, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Sci-Fi, Caribbean Literature, Character-driven SciFi, Children's, Classic retellings with BIPOC characters, Commercial YA, Complicated Relationships, Contemporary Culture, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Inspirational Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Cross-genre, Cultural Criticism, Cyberpunk, Dark topics with a light touch, Diaspora Narratives, Disability, Diverse Protagonists, Dystopia, Engaged Activism, Ensemble Casts, Epic Fantasy, Fairytale Retellings, Family Drama, Fantasy, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, Female Friendships, Feminism, Fiction Picture Books, Folklore, Found Families, Funny MG, Grounded fantasy, High Fantasy, Humor YA, Immigrant Experiences, Immigrant Voices, Indigenous Futurism, Inspirational Fiction, Intersectional Feminism, Intersectionality, Issue-Driven, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+ rom coms, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Latine Diaspora, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx Sci-Fi, Latinx stories, Literary Crossover, Literary Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Literary Middle Grade, Literary Science Fiction, Literary YA, Literary YA & MG, Low Fantasy, Lyrical picture book, Magic, Magical Realism, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Mental Health, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Adventure, Middle Grade Contemporary, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Minority Voices, Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales, Modernized Mythologies, Multicultural, Multicultural Romance, Multiple POV, Muslim, Near future, Neurodiversity, POC, Picture Book, Picture book non-fiction, Racial Justice, Relationships, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Same-Sex Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy Favorite sub-genres: Absolutely all of them!, Sexuality, Slice of life, Social Issues, Social Justice, Social Science, Soft Fantasy, Soft Science Fiction, South Asian, South East Asian Literature, Speculative Fiction, Speculative Middle Grade, Spirituality, Steampunk, Superheroes, Supernatural, Supernatural Elements, Transformative Justice, Trauma, Underrepresented Voices, Upmarket Fiction, Urban Fantasy, West African Literature, YA Contemporary, YA Crossover, YA Fantasy, YA Rom-Coms, YA Romance, YA Romantasy, YA Science Fiction, Young Adult, anti-capitalist sci fi, character-focused fiction, character-focused stories, children's diversity, coming of age, commercial middle grade, contemporary middle grade, crossover adult, dark academia, dark fantasy, diverse and own voices, dramedy, faith-based stories, fiction and non-fiction picture books, invisible disability, light fantasy, mental illness, queer, queer narratives, quirky, read-alouds, rivals to lovers, romantic fantasy, speculative slice of life, stories that don't fit neatly into a genre, sweet romance, thoughtful graphic novels
I’d like the next…
My favorites include…
Books
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
- Babel R.F. Kuang
- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
- Beach Read by Emily Henry
- Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Movies & TV
- Challengers
- Bottoms
- The Fast and Furious Franchise
- Steven Universe
- Arcane
- Superhero media in general, but specifically…
- Black Panther
- Into the Spiderverse / Across the Spiderverse
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Young Justice
