Joanna Rasheed

Joanna is looking to acquire Adult and picture books.

For Adult, genres she’s looking for include upmarket, fantasy, dystopian sci-fi, gothic, as well as select suspense.

What she primarily looks for is originality. If it’s a fresh idea, twist on a popular trope, or an interesting mashup, she’ll be hooked. She mostly gravitates to stories with magical elements. She accepts fantasy of all kinds—low, high, with or without heavy worldbuilding (e.g. BABEL, ATLAS SIX). She enjoys a dark tone, including dark academia (think A STUDY IN DROWNING but make it Adult). Most importantly, she loves a romance thread.

Right now, she is especially looking for cozies in any genre (including literary!) and would love to come across a POV that’s analytical (think ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES).

For children’s picture books, she’s looking for submissions overflowing with whimsy and wonder. Think layered and original stories with a unique perspective or angle. She appreciates a surprise ending that’s supported.

She does NOT want: manuscripts longer than 130k words; stories that revolve around sexual assault, travel, or AI; historical fiction (unless in the vein of a Jane Austen novel); memoir; military sci-fi; fairytale retellings; or a main character who is a princess.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to jrasheed@ultraliterary.com

Please submit your query letter and the first 3 chapters for Adult or the query letter and full text for picture books.