Amanda Carbonell

Belcastro Literary Agency

My Manuscript Wish List®

I’m really looking to be immersed in an author’s story. I want to be deeply connected to your character’s thoughts, feelings, reactions, and movements. I’m looking for strong worldbuilding and solid pacing throughout.

Above all else, I am looking to have a diverse list. My goal is to uplift marginalized voices, allowing children, teens, and adults to see themselves within the pages of your stories. ALL marginalized communities, especially Latinx, are highly encouraged to submit to me!

Please Note: I am currently closed to Picture Books & Chapter Books at this time.

Middle Grade

Contemporary: I would love to see the humor, hijinx, as well as the stress that comes along with being in middle school. I would like to see/experience school dances, first crushes, friendships, friendship breakups, and all the other ups and downs of tween-hood. I would also like to see any sort of clubs or competitions in school. I’m thinking the vein of a more modern Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, etc. Fantasy: I’m open to any sort of fantasy in the middle grade realm. I would also love to see any sort of twisted fairytales or cool mythology in this category. I’m also a big fan of witches and other sorts of magic in this category. Horror/Spooky: Bring me any story that has all the Halloween, creepy, spooky vibes! I’m not the best fit for heavy Sci-Fi, I like more grounded elements.

Young Adult

Contemporary: I would love a standard teen in high school working a part-time job and experiencing the throes of this while maybe trying to win their love interest in the end. I would also love anything that can be compared to Jay’s Gay Agenda, Ophelia After All, Wish You Weren’t Here, You’ve Reached Sam, When Haru Was Here, Dear Wendy, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, This is Why They Hate Us. Horror: send me all the horror, especially lyrical, beautifully dark horror, as well as your slasher and campy horror. Some comps: Don’t Let the Forest In, Your Blood My Bones, My Throat an Open Grave, Within these Wicked Walls, The Spirit Bares its Teeth, White Smoke, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, The Forest, Your Lonely Nights Are Over, I Feed Her to the Beast, and the Beast is Me. Light Fantasy: I know I’m going to get a lot of flak for this, I always do, but I’m looking for light fantasy. What do I mean? Essentially fantastical elements, i.e. evil gods, messed up magic systems, twisted fairytales, different folklore and mythology rooted in culture (written by those of that culture), and so on. I’m not a major fan of elves or fairies being at the focus/center of the story (hence, light fantasy), but don’t mind them as side characters, especially if there is something dark about them or a new spin. If your story is more heavy fantasy, please don’t take offense at my wishlist. There are still many other agents who take on heavy fantasy. Literary Fiction: I am open to any sort of literary fiction, especially ones that focus on modern issues. Genre mashups/blending with horror, romance, light fantasy, etc. For YA, I am mainly interested in reading stories from a modern take, i.e. the timeline is now, in 2025, I am not the best fit for something that is meant to based in the 90s or early 2000s for YA.

New Adult/Adult

Genre mashups/blending with horror, romance, light fantasy, romantasy, etc. Thriller: I am dying for a psychological thriller! Horror: I am very open to anything horror (see YA horror, same specifics) Romance: I am dying for romance books! Anything that is funny, witty, and feels like I’m in a modern Kate Hudson movie. Commercial: I really want to find something that takes place within a school that’s very commercial with hints of rom-com. Something in the vein of Bad Teacher or even something focused around a PTA meeting/council. On the flip side, I would also love something like Bad Moms.

Niche Things I’m Looking For:

A twisted Rumpelstiltskin book with all the scares (MG–A)
Any twisted (classic) bedtime stories or something that could be a twisted bedtime story (MG-A)
Beautifully dark and poetic stories that even Edgar Allan Poe would cling onto (YA-A)
For contemporary YA: Drama/Theater kids, any sort of school clubs, i.e. Spanish club, bowling clubs, D&D clubs, gamers, and anything else that may fall within this category.
Influencer love story

ANTI-MSWL (PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME)

Any on-page physical abuse to a child (unless this is rooted in your characters trauma). If it is related to a case in a thriller novel that isn’t too graphic in detail, fine. I basically just do not want to read anything graphically detailing abuse happening to a child.
Anything from the perspective of a child predator (these are absolutely not for me)
Any story where a main character animal dies, my heart can’t take it (especially if it’s a dog, it’s always a dog). A sacrificial lamb sort of thing for a cult-like book? I’m fine. Animal carcass (preferably not a dog)? Also fine. I just don’t want to relive Atreyu & Artax or Old Yeller.
Spy, mob/mafia/cartel, or cop-related stories, they’re just not for me.
Heavy Sci-Fi or fantasy, including portal fantasies
MOST Speculative Fiction/Paranormal especially vampires & brujas (I am A HUGE FAN of spec-fic & paranormal, which is why I also write it, lol, I never want my two worlds to cross). I am fine with some speculative elements.

Reasons for my Anti-MSWL:

I know I don’t exactly owe an explanation for my anti-MSWL, but I still get some questions on why, so here it is.

- Not wanting to read about abuse to a child: I have an almost 2-year-old son, and ever since having him, I’ve been very sensitive to those topics and don’t care to read them because of this for my own mental health and because it’s too close to home.

- Not from the perspective of a child predator: the reason for this should now be a bit obvious if you read the first bullet.

- No dog deaths/main character animal deaths? I am a big animal lover. I have 2 dogs of my own, and that’s pretty much it.

- Spy/mob/cartel/cop stories or heavy Sci-Fi/Fantasy type of books, they are just not my cup of tea at the moment, and you want an agent who LOVES the genres you write in.

- Vampires/Witches/Paranormal books? I write in this genre myself and don’t want the two to cross. I am fine with speculative/paranormal elements, but there are certain things that I cannot take because I have many projects in the works.

THIS LIST WAS LAST UPDATED 6/18/25

Fun facts about me:

I’ve seen Gilmore Girls at least 60 times, all 153 episodes.

I have two dogs – one English yellow lab (who is an explosive detection dog) and one German Shepherd mix I rescued from a kill shelter in New Mexico.

I am also an author who dabbles in horror and speculative fiction.

I have a two-year-old son that my husband named after a famous Viking king, which explains his unmatched energy.

I LOVE horror books, but I’m scared of horror movies.

I’m Puerto Rican, but I sadly am not fluent in Spanish, due to my family’s fear of children confusing the language. I understand more than I speak.

I’m terrible at Math 🙂

Submission Guidelines

Please send any queries to my query link: https://QueryManager.com/3570

I ask for your query letter, synopsis, and first chapter.

Please do not query multiple agents at Belcastro Literary Agency, when one of our agents pass, please feel free to query another you feel may be a good fit!

Wishing you SO much luck!

Vital Info

amanda@belcastroagency.com

@amandabadillo25

@amandacarbonell25

Website

Junior agent

Fiction:

BIPOC Thriller, Folklore

Favorite sub-genres:

#Dis, #ownvoices, AAPI Fantasy, AAPI Horror, Adult Horror, Adult Rom Com, Adult Romantasy, African Fantasy, Asian Fantasy, Asian Horror, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Horror, Character-Driven Horror, Chick Lit, Commercial MG, Commercial YA, Commercial adult fiction, Commercial and Literary, Complicated Relationships, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Dark Humor, Disability, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, Female Friendships, Feminist Horror, Found Families, Funny MG, Gothic, Gothic Fantasy, Gothic Horror, Horror Comedy, Humor, Humor YA, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ rom coms, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx Horror, Latinx stories, Literary Crossover, Literary Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Literary Horror, Literary MG, Literary Middle Grade, Literary YA, Literary YA & MG, Literary YA/MG, Low Fantasy, MG, MG Fantasy, MG Horror, MG adventure, MG contemporary, MG/YA, Magic, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Mental Health, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Horror, Middle Grade Humor, New Adult, Occult, Own Voices, Paranormal Horror, Psychological Thrillers, Rom-com, RomCom, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Same-Sex Romance, Social Issues, Social Justice, YA, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA Crossover, YA Fantasy, YA Rom-Coms, YA Romance, YA Romantasy, YA fantasy/light sci-fi, YA horror, Young Adult, campus novel, comedy, coming of age, commercial, commercial middle grade, contemporary, contemporary MG, contemporary middle grade, crossover adult, dark academia, diverse and own voices, diverse voices, enemies to lovers, family stories, fantastical, found family, friendship, ghost story, horror, queer, queer horror, romantasy, romantic New Adult, spooky mg, weird fiction

I’d like the next…

Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew

Your Blood My Bones by Kelly Andrew

Witchlings Series by Claribel Ortega

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban

Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews

Hollow by Taylor Grothe

You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

My favorites include…

Gilmore Girls

Buffy

Shameless

Cobra Kai

Real Housewives (guilty pleasure)

Jersey Shore (guilty pleasure)

Wanda Vision

Twilight Zone (old & new)

Books:

Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

I Feed Her to the Beast & the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea

Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

My list is very long so I’ll keep it to this for now

Movies:

The Outsiders

Stand By Me

Queen of the Damned

In the Army Now

Hunger Games series

All Marvel