Jane Chun

• The search for, dismantling, and/or rebuilding of identity. For example, a story about a character who is first/1.5/second gen and in between cultures, is queer and discovering they’re queer, has lost who they used to be due to disillusionment or conflict and is figuring out who they are now, is juggling different personas/masks, is changing because of shifts in their social or physical environment, etc. 
• Diaspora and displacement—in particular, stories beyond the usual narratives we tend to see for immigrants and children of immigrants. Those are important, but I would love for the range of stories we have to broaden in narrative, thematic, historical, and geographical scope
• Coming-of-age stories 
• Family and community including found family/community
• Friendships that are tested and long-broken friendships that are mended
• Examinations of power in relationships 
• Stories that deal with challenging topics but avoid being didactic or exploitative
• Emotional heaviness balanced with some measure of levity is a plus though not a requirement. Dark stories that have bits of silliness or absurdity like Parasite delight me 
• Headstrong women! I don’t care how that willfulness manifests (though I’m uninterested in girlbosses unless you have a searing, critical look at the damage they cause or they’re cringe flops like Shiv Roy). They can be anything: competent, conniving, immature, quietly fierce, loud and brash, etc. Prissy, pampered girls who need to loosen up, brawlers with a temper, goofy women, and more. They don’t necessarily have to be outspoken or assured, but they know what they want and are firm about it
• Characters who don’t fit gender or heterosexual norms and either grapple with or defy societal expectations of gender/sexuality
• Decisions by past generations affecting present and future ones and parallels between generations
• Buried secrets coming to light 
• Repression, imposed by oneself or externally inflicted
• Stories that play with memory, both individual and collective
• “Your [insert person/group here] were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”
• In YA and adult, characters, relationships, and situations that make me go “I want to study them under a microscope” or be the sickos “Yes… ha ha ha… YES!” meme
• Rotten institutions at the height of their power or in their twilight years
• Things are not what they seem and the discovery—or discoveries—reconfigures past moments in the book
• Little-known rituals or traditions specific to a certain location or culture
• I like serious, sad, and/or dark works, but I don’t want just that. I’m looking for spirited, fun adventures and sweeping, heartwarming sagas too!

What I’m NOT seeking:

• While I don’t represent romance novels, I’m open to romance graphic novels and select romantic literary fiction. Outside of those exceptions, I’m okay with romance as a minor element or subplot that’s very much in the background. I prefer romance as a vehicle to explore bigger themes 
• Animal protagonists
• Adaptations, reimaginings, and retellings
• Plots focusing on writers, artists, and musicians and their work (open to this in graphic novels, though!)
• Marginalized characters reduced to their identity; identity shapes who you are and informs the way you interact with and are seen by the world, but that doesn’t define all of you
• Narratives about marginalized characters teaching white/cishet/able-bodied/neurotypical protagonists to confront their privilege, ignorance, or bigotry
• Complex parent/child issues that are neatly resolved with a big heart-to-heart at the end 
• “I fell in love with my oppressor/I, an oppressor, fell in love with one of the oppressed” narratives
• White POV characters in Africa, Asia, Central or South America, or indigenous lands unless you’re a writer of color viewing these characters through a critical lens and the character is just one of the characters, not the sole main POV  

Jump to: Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative | Historical fiction | Horror | Graphic novels/nonfiction | Nonfiction | Middle grade | YA

Fantasy/sci-fi/speculative

Across SFF

• Conflict is mostly contained to one character and maybe a close circle of people, or at least starts off that way, even if it affects a massive number of people 
• Settings inspired by areas outside of Western Europe or areas in Western Europe shaped by non-white groups (e.g., Andalucía), particularly in fantasy. For the latter, I’m only looking for stories by writers of color
• I prefer everyday characters in extraordinary circumstances to characters who are “Chosen Ones.” However, I’m very interested in the trope when it comes to failed Chosen Ones or Chosen Ones that fall short. Characters who aren’t the Chosen One but find themselves in that position, whether they swindle their way into it, take the Chosen One’s place to protect them, or accidentally find themselves in that position (and aren’t revealed to be the true Chosen One all this time) are compelling as well
• An exploration of the idea of a monster. Who is a monster and why? What does it mean to be a monster? Who sees that person as a monster?
• I’m open to SFF that blends with other genres like horror, mystery, thriller, and historical

Fantasy

• Portal, historical, folkloric/mythic, gothic, and dark fantasy and both high and low fantasy
• Enchanting adventures that transport me elsewhere, whether the characters are in this world or another one and whether they’re on the road or confined to a few places
• Fresh spin on magic systems or unusual superpowers, e.g., Vicious, Hunter x Hunter, Misfits. I especially love seeing magic use that has consequences for the user 
• I also enjoy worlds that have magic embedded in their fabric but don’t necessarily have structured magic systems or magical academic, state, or military institutions. I’m still open to stories with either/both, but they need to feel novel

Sci-fi

• High-concept literary and upmarket sci-fi, where the approach is very character-driven. High-concept commercial sci-fi is okay for graphic novels, MG, and YA
• Regardless of how near or far it’s set in the future and whether it takes place on Earth or another planet or world, the story needs to feel intimately human
• Examines who we are and how we live (can be dystopian or hopeful), e.g., ethical quandaries, tech that affects and transforms what it means to be human, contact between humans and non-human beings
• Characters with unusual jobs or specialized knowledge

Not seeking

• Romantasy
• Hard sci-fi
• Space operas
• Celtic and Norse mythologies
• Elemental magic systems, i.e., powers focused on earth, water, fire, and air
• Epic, large-scale wars. If it is about war, I’m more interested in seeing the personal ramifications war has on a select group of characters and the ways that war uproots them emotionally and physically rather than the war itself
• I’m extremely picky with multiverse stories so unless you’re doing something innovative with multiversal communication and travel, I’m probably not the right person
• LitRPG (except in graphic novels) and D&D-inspired stories

Historical fiction

• Marginalized individuals (e.g., POC, women, queer people, disabled people, ethnic/religious minorities) who find ways to survive and thrive despite systemic oppression. Note: I’m seeking writers who are from the group they’re writing about
• Stories set in ethnic enclaves and neighborhoods richly steeped in history
• Hidden histories and anything that either is set in a time or place that isn’t well-represented in U.S. fiction or focuses on a community that has often been overlooked if it’s a time/place that’s familiar in U.S. fiction
• Sumptuously detailed settings

Not seeking

• The colonial and Civil War eras in the U.S.
• Viking Age
• I’m usually not the right person for stories set in medieval Britain, Ireland, France, and Germany

Horror

• Anything that’s unsettling, atmospheric, eerie, macabre, gothic, and haunting 
• Goosebumps and chills more than jumpscare frights
• Settings that either feel like they are characters themselves or may even be sentient
• Menace lurking quietly and sinisterly
• Veneers of civility masking malice
• Liminal places 
• A mirror of who are as a society now and an excavation of those violently silenced and buried in our past

Not seeking

• I’m not opposed to gore, but I’m not into slasher or splatterpunk horror

Graphic novels and nonfiction

• Art that can stand on its own even without color or before color is added
• Dynamic movement in and through the panels
• Stylistically engaging, unique art that either feels nostalgic but not derivative or feels fresh and boundary-pushing
• Strong sense of interplay between art and prose (knowing how and when to progress the story through the art vs. text) 
• Great use of space and tempo to evoke emotion
• Manga and manhwa sensibilities are a plus

Not seeking

• Writers who aren’t illustrators themselves or don’t have an artistic partner they’re working with for all their projects. I’m mostly focused on finding the former rather than the latter

Nonfiction

• Memoirs and narrative nonfiction with a nuanced, intersectional approach that tap into the vein of current issues. I particularly enjoy explorations of niche subcultures and people on the periphery of their own communities
• Extraordinary people who have gone under the radar
• Hidden histories about people whose accomplishments have been diminished or attributed to others
• Narrators who use personal experience or an on-the-ground perspective to situate the reader in their work and speak to a larger topic
• Perspectives that are critical of systemic inequalities and unjust social structures and constructs such as colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, the carceral state, etc. 
• Conversation-changing journalism that critically examines the society we live in through a progressive, social justice lens regardless of topic
• Books about nature, climate, and science that deepen our knowledge of the mysteries of the world around us and explore our relationship with nature/society
• Books about food, travel, pop culture, and cultural criticism that dive deeply and thoughtfully into culture and traditions. I’m primarily interested in works by writers of color featuring non-white (especially Korean or, more broadly, Asian) subjects and settings 

Not seeking: prescriptive nonfiction, self-help, religion/spirituality nonfiction, essay collections

Middle grade

• Stories that give as much weight to the young protagonist’s troubles as they would an adult’s and understand that even if the struggles are “small,” they aren’t so for the character at their age 
• Characters who are going through growing pains and don’t feel they’re on the same page as everyone else. Their peers are growing up faster than them or they’re the ones who are growing up too quickly
• I also enjoy characters with a bratty streak like Artemis Fowl, Nathaniel (Bartimaeus Sequence), and Lyra Belacqua (His Dark Materials)
• Growing awareness, whether sudden or gradual, that the world isn’t black or white and is a much larger and more frightening, mysterious, and exciting place than the protagonist thought
• Protagonists who are or learn to be courageous and self-sufficient 
• Sprinkles of wit and humor even if the story is dark
• Writing that is innovative with form (e.g., A Series of Unfortunate Events) is a treat
• Novels that feel classic and timeless 
• Magic, oddity, and wonder in the mundane. Even if the story is contemporary and realistic, it feels like something unusual is right around the corner, ready to be stumbled upon and marveled over
• Peculiar settings that you can’t slot neatly into a certain genre, e.g., Holes and A Series of Unfortunate Events

Not seeking: 

• Message-driven stories, meaning stories that are mostly focused on imparting lessons to young readers
• Nonfiction except for graphic memoirs

Young adult

• Messy, vulnerable characters who trip over their emotions, whether they bottle things up and the pressure leads to an explosion or they always wear their hearts on their sleeves
• Characters who don’t get what they want and need to find another path forward
• Plots that go sideways because of mistakes 
• Friendships and rivalries that spur characters to greater heights
• Drama that isn’t rooted in miscommunication or love triangles
• Difficult decisions that close certain doors and potential futures and irrevocably alter relationships
• Characters starting to break the rules imposed on them by family and society that no longer serve them unless they’re already rebelling or completely outside those constraints altogether
• Figuring out what to hold onto and what to let go. Comfort and nostalgia competing with stagnation and ennui when you cling to the past vs. fear of the unknown competing with the necessity of change and evolution when facing the future
• For contemporary, realistic novels without any speculative elements, I strongly prefer a clear high-concept hook (contemporary, slice-of-life graphic novels are okay, though)
• While I’m open to historical fiction set in any era, for more contemporary period pieces, I’m interested in writing that heavily leans into subcultures, movements, and pop culture, e.g., early Internet culture, 90s K-pop fandom 

Not seeking: 

• Romance (romance graphic novels are the exception). However, I’m okay with romance as a minor element or subplot that’s very much in the background. I prefer romance as a vehicle to explore bigger themes
• Nonfiction unless it’s a graphic memoir