My Manuscript Wish List
I am an editorial assistant at St. Martin’s Press interested in acquiring commercial fiction and upmarket women’s fiction. Originally from Arizona, I am a sucker for any books set in the Southwest. While at Northwestern University, I studied Creative Writing and International Studies and wrote a book column for a student-led arts and culture magazine. My time working on a thesis in poetry and researching modern depictions of female suicidality gave me an appreciation for books that tackle complex topics in a way accessible to most readers. Since starting at SMP in 2022, I’ve worked on thrillers, mysteries, and upmarket women’s fiction, but I also love speculative fiction, romance, and nonfiction! A few themes I am always interested in are family dynamics, addiction, and sibling relationships.
For fiction, I would love to see:
- Stories that incorporate diversity as a crucial part of the world, such as N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities series (or any of Jemisin’s work!)
- Dark and modern retellings of old tropes and narratives like How to be Eaten by Maria Adelmann and The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
I am not interested in any books where a cop is the main character.
For nonfiction, I love:
- Pop culture and science books that investigate the oddities of the world in a way that makes learning fun, like Butts by Heather Radke, Land by Simon Winchester, and Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus
Please send all submissions to grace.gay@stmartins.com. At this time, I am only accepting agented submissions.