Alyssa Miele
HarperCollins Publishers
My Manuscript Wish List®
My taste steers me more frequently toward contemporary realistic fiction in YA and MG. From commercial to literary, queer to straight, and everything in between, I’m looking for manuscripts that are chock-full of strong, flawed, and loveable characters that stay with you long after you’ve lived their story with them. I also have started to acquire picture books. For those, I love emotional, thought-provoking stories where questions are asked, worlds are discovered, and hearts grow at least three sizes by the last page.
To drill down a bit more into my YA and MG wish list, I’m looking for stories that:
- are mostly rooted in reality, but can have dashes of otherworldliness (I’d love a speculative!)
- feature LGBTQI characters
- feature characters from different backgrounds, cultures, parts of the world
- deal with complex family dynamics
- explore toxic relationships (romantic, platonic, familial)
- showcase strong, uplifting friendships
- take me through the worst of high school/grade school, but bring me out on the other side of it
Also: I would love a submission that somehow incorporates a character’s musical playlist/taste throughout the narrative or as some sort of narrative device/structure. Like High Fidelity for YA.
Additionally: I love stories that play with format and medium.
Other words that dance around my head when I’m thinking about what I want: voice-driven, coming-of-age, feminism, unreliable narrators, fresh narrative structure, secrets, sex-positive, body-positive, atmospheric, romantic, emotional, thrilling
Submission Guidelines
Agented submissions only
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
BIPOC Horror, BIPOC Mystery, Children's, Clever picture book, Commercial MG, Commercial YA, Complicated Relationships, Contemporary YA, Contemporary Young Adult, Disability, Diversity, Female Friendships, Feminist, High-concept YA, High-concept YA/MG, Immigrant Voices, Intersectionality, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Latinx stories, Literary Crossover, MG Horror, MG contemporary, Magical Realism, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Contemporary, Middle Grade Horror, Middle grade magical realism, Minority Voices, Multicultural, Multicultural Romance, Multicultural and Diverse Thriller and Mystery, Multiple POV, Multiple Timelines, Muslim, Mysteries, Neurodiversity, New Adult, Novels in Verse, Occult, Occult Horror, POC, Picture Book, Psychological Horror, Psychological Thrillers, Racial Justice, Relationships, Same-Sex Romance, Sexuality, Slice of life, Southern Gothic, Speculative, Speculative Fiction, Speculative Middle Grade, Speculative Thriller, Tarot, Trauma, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA horror, Young Adult, coming of age, commercial middle grade, commerical, contemporary, contemporary MG, contemporary middle grade, diverse, diverse voices, dramedy, family saga, found family, friendship, light Sci-Fi, light fantasy, memoir, music, queer, queer horror, queer narratives, realistic fiction, speculative slice of life
I’d like the next…
Euphoria
Now & Then
Virgin Suicides
Moonlight
Jellicoe Road
Breakfast Club
Girl, Interrupted for YA
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Say Anything (pls gimme a Lloyd Dobler)
Dead Poets Society
American Beauty (but with much more focus on the teens)
My favorites include…
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, She’s Come Undone, Your Voice in My Head, On the Jellicoe Road, Virgin Suicides, Ramona the Brave, Clementine, P.S. Longer Letter Later, The Glass Castle, Out of My Mind, Tweak, Speak, Ask the Passengers, Franny & Zooey, This One Summer, Wonder Boys, Grit, Sharp Objects, The Fever, The Impossible Knife of Memory, Honor Girl, My Sister’s Keeper, Cut Both Ways, All American Boys, Saint Anything, All the Bright Places,
