Manuscript Wish List® and #MSWL are designed to answer one crucial question in the submissions process: “What do you wish you had in your inbox?”
Welcome to version 4.0 of the ManuscriptWishList.com site. What started as a hashtag and a Tumblr in 2013 (listen to the full story here) became a blog we hand-edited, then–thanks to Mike Chen and Sierra Godfrey Fong–became a site where agents and editors could login and update their own wishes.
Now, thanks to the support of our Manuscript Academy members, version 4.0 brings you faster search across platforms, writer accounts, #MSWL Live events, an email digest, and much more.
And we have plenty of new features on the way.
Manuscript Wish List® and #MSWL are brought to you by the following people:
Jessica Sinsheimer
Jessica Sinsheimer has been reading and campaigning for her favorite queries since 2004. Now an agent Context Literary Agency, she’s known for #MSWL, ManuscriptWistList.com, ManuscriptAcademy.com—and for drinking far too much coffee.
Always on the lookout for new writers, she is most excited about finding YA, upmarket genre fiction (especially women’s/romance/erotica, thrillers, mysteries) and—on the nonfiction side—psychology, parenting, self-help, cookbooks, memoirs, and works that speak to life in the twenty-first century. She especially likes highbrow sentences with lowbrow content, smart/nerdy protagonists, girls stopping serial killers, vivid descriptions of food, and feminist historical fantasy.
You can follow her on Twitter at @JSinsheim.
KK Hendin
KK Hendin writes books where people flirt awkwardly, make out, dish out a whole lot of sass and ridiculousness, and live happily ever after. She’s the author of many books, including the TWELVE BEATS IN A BAR series and the upcoming UNDERCOVER series.
KK is currently writing way too many books, and is still waiting for the subway to run on a regular schedule. When she’s not playing book Tetris in an attempt to fit everything onto the bookshelves in her tiny NYC apartment, she’s probably wandering her neighborhood with her camera or drinking yet another cup of coffee.
She also writes books as K. Hendin, where people aren’t as nice and Happily Ever After isn’t a guarantee.
Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest, where she probably is instead of writing.
Mike Chen
Mike Chen is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood, Here and Now and Then, Light Years From Home, and other novels. He has covered geek culture for sites such as Nerdist, Tor.com, and StarTrek.com, and in a different life, covered the NHL. A member of SFWA, Mike lives in the Bay Area with his wife, daughter, and many rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter to see pictures of his corgi: @mikechenwriter
Sierra Godfrey
Sierra Godfrey is the author of A Very Typical Family and The Second Chance Hotel (Sourcebooks). She was born in Santa Cruz, California and has lived many places, including Santorini, Greece. She loves hiking, watching soothing British farmland shows, and thinking of stories about messy families. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family, which includes a dog, two cats, and a turtle, all of which seemed like a good idea at the time. Find her at sierragodfrey.com or @sierragodfrey on Twitter and Instagram.
Monica Odom
Monica Odom (she/her) founded her own agency in 2019, after working in publishing for nearly a decade, including roles as agent at Liza Dawson Associates and Bradford Literary Agency. She earned her M.S. in Publishing: Digital & Print Media from New York University, and has a B.A. in English from Montclair State University. She was also schooled in bookselling and event coordinating at her local indie, Watchung Booksellers.
Monica is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents where she serves on the Board, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and co-chairs the Communications Committee. She is President of the DEI non-profit Literary Agents of Change. She has also served on the WNDB Walter Grant Judging Committee, and is dedicated to the holistic and intentional expansion of intersectional diversity, equity and inclusivity in the publishing industry. She is a frequent guest at writers’ conferences, publishing institutes and universities, delivering keynotes, speaking on panels, and conducting workshops.
Caitlin O’Connell
Caitlin O’Connell is an Associate Editor at Marvel and writer from northern New Jersey. She specializes in YA and children’s literature, but has a great love of all stories that are well told and inviting. When not writing or reading, Caitlin can usually be found drinking tea under a pile of cats or hand-sewing historical costumes for fun. You can follow her on Twitter @Caitlin_Renata or, to learn more about her writing and editing, visit caitlinroconnell.com.
Kelsey McKim
Kelsey McKim is a bibliophile originally from Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, Cornell University Press, and Pegasus Books. Her favorite things to read are quirky young adult novels, microhistories, upmarket fiction, and memoirs by strong independent women. Kelsey studied journalism at Ithaca College and has a passion for social justice. She also has soft spots for corgis and Parks and Recreation. Follow Kelsey on Twitter: @KelseyMcKim.
