Arely Guzmán

I’m looking for smart, witty MG and YA with a compelling voice. Voices that represent in-between and intersectional identities. Books with a well-developed and fully-diverse cast – I’m always looking for a cast of characters that I can fall in love with beyond the pages of the book . YA memoirs, either traditional or graphic novels, illustrating the complexities of the teenage experience. Magical realism or fantasies that dive into the intersections between personal identity and mythologies.  I’m a big fan of romance that is either heartwarming and shows people of color/ LGBTQ joy or that uses romance to explore social identities, or both. Books like The Sun is Also a Star, Cemetery Boys, and When Dimple Met Rishi are great examples.

I also love books that feel like a warm cup of tea on a bad day, like Heartstopper, The Prince and the Dressmaker or The House in the Cerulean Sea for children.I want to acquire stories that will reverberate with the unseen communities, the intersections people rarely speak of—Black, Indigenous and Asian Latinx stories, bicultural children, young boys with eating disorders, queer immigrants— but also fantastic stories for children who never saw themselves as protagonists— neurodivergent pirates, nonbinary merpeople, and fantasy realms based on non-European myths.

I’m actively looking for novels in verse, non-celebrity memoirs for young readers and contemporary graphic novels, but I’m not a good match for books with (anthropomorphized) animals as main characters.

Bonus round: If your book explores Latinx identities, neurodivergence, LGBTQ themes or mental health, you’re a person after my own heart and I’d encourage you to submit

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to arely@levinequerido.com

At this time I am only open to agented submissions.