Alisha West (she/they)
Victress Literary
My Manuscript Wish List®
I have had a life-long love affair with stories. At Gonzaga University, I majored in English and added a concentration in Women’s Studies. I went on to earn a Master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Louisville. I always knew I wanted to be part of helping great stories make their way into the world. Though I took a circuitous route, through working at nonprofits to tutoring writing to taking writing classes to writing my own practice novel, when I joined Victress Literary, I knew I was home. As an editorial agent, I love helping writers perfect their already compelling stories so that readers feel every emotion with the characters and editors won’t want to stop reading.
I am narrowing my focus now that I have been in the business for awhile. I’m looking for:
Adult Fiction – I look for complex characters and thoughtfully crafted plots. I’m looking for stories that reveal the truths of what it means to be a human in our difficult, often oppressive, world. Genres that tend to make me giddy include thrillers, mystery/suspense, family saga, historical fiction, and some romance (if it’s anti-misogynistic with strong female characters). I love genre bending books and I’m open to speculative elements (if you have a witch who solves murders–please send it to me!) While I will take a look at almost any genre – because a good story is a good story – it is a higher hurdle when they aren’t one of the above genres. I’m looking for writing from historically underrepresented groups, with a special place in my queer little heart for LGBTQIA+ folks. I love older characters, fat characters, and deeply flawed but resilient characters.
Non-fiction – Though I’m interested in many non-fiction genres, my highest priority is books that touch on social issues of importance: racial and social justice; untold history of persons or movements that changed the world; biographies; memoirs (if you have a robust platform); environmental justice; women, gender, and sexuality; addiction (including food and sex); health and wellness.
What probably isn’t right for me at this point:
Religious or spiritual books
Picture books
Cookbooks (though I love them and read them)
MG or YA (I used to accept but I’m finding they just aren’t where my heart is)
High Fantasy
Space Operas
Military
Fun facts about me:
Alisha and their partner name their rescue fur babies after characters from TV shows. They have loved Roary Gilmore for 12 years, Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds for 6 years, Charlie Kelly for 2 years, Ronald “Mac” McDonald for 1 year; Walter White was adored for 7 years and Jenji Kohan for 6 (rest in peace).
Submission Guidelines
Queries must be sent through our Query Manager. Any queries that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.
Prepare the following items for your FICTION query:
- A query letter including what makes your book unique
- An Author bio
- A 1-2 page synopsis including genre and word count
- The first 50 pages of your book
Prepare the following items for your NON-FICTION query:
- A brief, 1-2 paragraph synopsis
- Your bio or resume specifying credentials and publication credits, if any
- A complete table of contents plus page and word counts
- 2 sample chapters, excluding the first two
- A description of your target audience ~One paragraph on your book’s unique advantages
- A list of competing, comparable titles and how your book differs
Please do not send complete manuscripts until requested.
Vital Info
I’d like the next…
Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence by Anita Hill; Shrill: Notes from Loud Woman by Lindy West (and not just because we share an awesome last name); The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Witch Elm by Tana French; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; The New Jim Crow by Michele Alexander; Know My Name by Chanel Miller; We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez; Pulp by Robin Talley, Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn.
My favorites include…
Favorite Books: All of the above AND Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman; Untamed by Glennon Doyle; Story by Robert McKee; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon; Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter; Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer; Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson; The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes; Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus; Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg; Passing by Nella Larsen; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series by Stieg Larsson; The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk; White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo; Autumn by Ali Smith (ok, everything by Ali Smith); The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
Shows I couldn’t stop watching even though I sometimes wanted to: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Newsroom, Dexter, Weeds, Fargo, Gilmore Girls, the original Arrested Development; Schitt’s Creek; the Good Place; Derry Girls; Grace and Frankie; Santa Clarita Diet; Ozark; Queer Eye, You, Good Trouble; Raising Hope, Broad City, Burn Notice.
Some movies I rated high (yes, I track that): Shutter Island; Birth of a Movement; Say Her Name: the Life and Death of Sandra Bland; No Country for Old Men; Silence of the Lambs, Casablanca, Django Unchained; Chinatown; Sunset Boulevard; Up; The Ascent; Ali: Fear Eats the Soul; American Son; Days of Heaven; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry; Network; Taxi Driver; Schindler’s List; Hannah Gadsby: Douglas; Hannah Gadsby: Nanette; Assassination Nation; The Exorcist; Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Memento; Fargo; Deep Red; Kwaidan; Detroit; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; This Changes Everything; The Mask You Live In; Night and Fog.
