Carolina Mancheno Ortiz

I’m looking to acquire middle grade and young adult fiction, as well as graphic novels. My interests cover a variety of genres, including but not limited to contemporary, romance, fantasy, historical fiction, magical realism, and adventure/action stories. But as long as a manuscript has a strong voice, I’m always willing to give the submission a read.

I always enjoy stories with found families, coming-of-age themes, unbreakable friendships, witty narrators, found families, and strong worldbuilding. But I have a special place in my heart for Latinx and queer stories, and overall, I’m always especially interested in seeing stories by creators from the margins. I would love to acquire titles that reflect the diverse world around us and would allow readers to feel seen in the books they read.

I would love to see the following in my inbox:

• Romantasy focused on romantic pairs of color
• Fresh and nuanced dystopia where characters of color are the heroes
• More romance genre mashups including horror, cottagecore, dystopian etc.
• A science fiction mystery that gives Black Mirror vibes
• New twists on historical fiction that incorporate horror and/or fantasy elements
• Contemporary takes on mythology from non-Western traditions
• BIPOC-centered stories that capture the intersection of disability and/or queerness
• BIPOC retellings of well-known and should-be-more-known classics
• Elevated horror stories that comp to Monkeypaw Productions
• Interracial romances, where both characters are of color
• Skewering science fiction with fresh takes on technology and/or capitalism ala SEVERENCE
• Dystopian and post-apocalyptic YA in the vein of THE LAST OF US, MAD MAX FURY ROAD, and STATION ELEVEN from a BIPOC POV
• A nuanced take on theme of reproductive rights from an author of color’s perspective
• After-high-school narratives that are not set in four-year, majority-white universities, including but not limited to trade schools, community colleges, non-western international universities, and HBCUs
• Joyful BIPOC and QBIPOC stories

*Anything listed above also applies to a graphic novel format!

Submission Guidelines

Unfortunately, HarperCollins doesn’t accept unagented submissions.

Agents, please email your pitch and the manuscript to me at HarperCollins.