Karyn Fischer

BookStop Literary Agency

My Manuscript Wish List®

I joined BookStop Literary Agency in 2014 and am currently looking to build my YA and MG client list. My favorite genres include gothic novels with twisty narratives and dark secrets, historical fiction, literary thrillers, well-drawn fantasy, and heart-tugging contemporary stories. I’m looking for anything with memorable characters, an engaging voice, and a tightrope-taut plot. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, have completed three publishing internships, and previously worked as a bookseller and buyer in a small independent bookstore. My background has given me a unique perspective on the book industry, as well as the skills to find and promote books I love.

For MG I’m interested in: Anything with a classic and/or timeless feel, adventure, historical, friendship & family, magic & whimsy, spooky, mystery, and magical realism.

For YA: Non-western fantasy, Magical realism, Genre blends, Historical, Rom-com or character-driven contemporary, fairytale or myth retellings done in a new way, gothic, literary thriller

Across the board I have a weakness for anything with: multiple converging storylines (think Holes), multiple narrators, twins, romance, genre blends, gothic elements, family secrets, dual timelines, epistolary format.

Specific things I’m on the hunt for:

  • Anything from a diverse/new voice and/or perspective
  • An Indiana Jones-esque adventure
  • A MG about Ancient Egypt
  • A novel centered around a game or puzzle
  • Something with a non-US setting
  • Something with a Sliding Doors angle
  • A one-that-got-away or ill-fated love story
  • A swoony rom-com
  • Historical fiction with present-day parallels (Blood Water Paint; Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue, Lovely War)
  • Pre-1950s historical fiction
  • Something set in a bookstore or library (bonus points if there’s magic)
  • Something with spectacle and magic (think Caraval, or Moulin Rouge)
  • An epistolary novel
  • Something that changes the way we see animals (think Art of Racing in the Rain or Water for Elephants)
  • A fun historical fantasy
  • Contemporary YA with a big hook (think American Royals)
  • A MG like Now & Then (female-focused group of friends dealing with tough stuff, first crushes, and coming of age while solving a spooky mystery)
  • A fun, action-packed YA suspense novel or thriller
  • A great road trip story in which characters are setting out to discover the answers to family mysteries and/or secrets

*Bonus points for submissions that contain multiple of these elements!

I am generally not a good match for “issue books,” heavy contemporary stories, drug/alcohol addiction stories; or sci-fi.

 

Fun facts about me:

I’m a dog lover, identical twin, movie buff, board game enthusiast, religious tea drinker, mother of two tiny people, and wife to my high school sweetheart.

Submissions should be emailed to http://QueryMe.Online/1325

Guidelines & Details

Vital Info

@kmrfischer

Website

Agent

Fiction:

Children's, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Favorite sub-genres:

Contemporary YA, Fantasy, Gothic, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Literary Middle Grade, Literary YA/MG, MG, MG Fantasy, MG adventure, Magical Realism, Multiple POV, Psychological Thrillers

I’d like the next…

Rebecca; Holes; Now & Then; American Royals; Ember in the Ashes; The Lovely War; You’ve Got Mail; I’ll Give You the Sun; Nevermoor; House of Salt and Sorrow; Children of Blood and Bone; The Wicked Deep; Indiana Jones; Gilmore Girls; Sold; Other Words for Home

My favorites include…

For MG: Holes; The BFG; Nevermoor; Harry Potter; Secret Garden; A Little Princess; Tuck Everlasting; Number the Stars; The False Prince; Walk Two Moons; The Invention of Hugo Cabret; When You Reach Me; Sold;  Mr. Limoncello’s Library; Harry Potter (obviously)

For YA: I’ll Give You the Sun; The Sun Is Also a Star; Strange the Dreamer; The Wicked Deep; Six of Crows; An Ember in the Ashes; The Wrath and the Dawn; Three Dark Crowns; The Lovely War; Fountains of Silence; American Royals

Adult: Anything by Kate Morton, Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Alice Hoffman; Unbroken; The Art of Racing in the Rain; Kite Runner

Movies: You’ve Got Mail; Notting Hill, Beauty and the Beast, Big Fish, Now & Then, 90s rom-coms, Les Miserables, Moulin Rouge, Shakespeare in Love, A Few Good Men, Forrest Gump, The Princess Bride, Some Like it Hot, Ocean’s Eleven, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones

TV: Friends, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, The Wonder Years, The Crown, Game of Thrones