Char Dreyer

After collecting lots of other work and life experience (which includes but is not limited to: podcast production, soccer coaching, bamboo cabin building, living in Chile, Spain, and Mexico, 30 day thru-hiking, and sheep farming), I joined St. Martin’s Publishing Group in 2024. Here, I am actively building my list across YA, NA, and adult, (I am currently focused on adult.) 

I’m seeking upmarket stories that marry 100MPH commercial plot with an addictive voice and glittering prose. I am nearly always drawn in by plot first, character second. I’m a sucker for the dark, f***ed up premise that is cut through with a dose of defiant delight; whether that be humor, hope, or both (more STATION ELEVEN than THE ROAD, for example). I spend as much time as I can outside, so anything that takes place outdoors will be a huge pull for me, especially when the land becomes a character in its own right, as in Charlotte McConaghy’s novels. In contemporary stories, I race through the pages when there’s a clever or playful structure that keeps me guessing, as in ASYMMETRY by Lisa Halliday or INTERIOR CHINATOWN by Charles Yu. But perhaps my greatest love is a bizarre and grounded speculative twist to our normal world. Whether that be the “book club dystopians” like SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS, THE DREAM HOTEL, and LAND OF MILK AND HONEY, or unruly love stories, like THE MINISTRY OF TIME, EMPIRE OF WILD, and NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

I am always looking for stories told from diverse perspectives across race, gender, ability, sexuality, and/or other identities.

As you may have gathered from both my work history, as well as my wish list, I move fast and have lots of different interests (yes, I’m a Sagittarius). Thus, I welcome submissions that run the gamut, so long as they have a dynamic, high-concept, cinematic feel that will excite, surprise, or challenge me –ideally all three! 

My only hard no’s:

• Animal abuse/death on the page
• Intense body horror
• Contemporary romance
• High fantasy

Things I’m really in the market for right now: 

• A book that feels like a Jordan Peele movie: horrifying, hilarious, and leaves me chewing on it for weeks
• A messy but sexy throuple (ideally if there’s some forbidden love in there!)
• Alternate timelines that break my brain

In terms of non-fiction, I would never say no to reading a proposal about:

• Survivor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Narrative, outdoor adventures with a strong sense of voice that features a diverse perspective, more like THE UNLIKELY THRU-HIKER than a white guy in the woods (No offense, Bill Bryson) 
• Sociological criticisms or calls to rethink elements of our lives, like BULLSHIT JOBS and THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING by David Graeber, SAVING TIME and HOW TO DO NOTHING by Jenny Odell, BRAIDING SWEETGRASS and THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer, or MORE by Molly Roden Winter. 
• Pop anticapitalism (Let’s make it a thing!)

Submission Guidelines

At this time, I am only accepting agented queries.