Claire Elliot
FinePrint Literary Management
My Manuscript Wish List®
Claire Elliot is a Junior Agent at FinePrint. She also works as an assistant under Lauren Bieker and Peter Rubie. Before coming to FinePrint in 2024, Claire was an intern at Folio Literary Management.
Claire is a habitual rereader, and never falls asleep without an audio book on. Her favorite books growing up were Tamora Pierce’s Trickster’s Choice series. She’s still looking above all for books about girls who are generally up to no good.
In Fiction, Claire reads YA, NA, and Adult, and is interested in fantasy, historical, thriller, and mystery. She loves a romantic or political subplot (even if the subplot is very small), and an immersive and messed up setting. Claire is interested in characters who were not born heroes, but choose to be, and in stories that have symbolic resonance. Claire is especially interested in fantasy set in non-western inspired worlds (especially Southeast Asia) and in historical fiction set in these areas as well, about real or made-up figures. (I am dreaming of seeing a novel about Anagarika Dharmapala, Mary Foster, and Maria Banta “The Countess”).
In Non-Fiction, Claire is interested in Pop-science books that use data to tell clear stories (if you would comp your book to Emily Negoski, I want to see it!) Claire is also interested in narrative non-fiction that walks the line between long-form journalism and ethnography; she’s looking for the next Still Life With Bones, Friday Night Lights, or The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. Finally, Claire is looking for new and unexpected histories that are timeless, but touch on present-ist issues, (Eg: A global history of student protest movements and activism; a medical and social history of STIs (STDs); a book on religious pluralism and inter-religious cooperation.) Yes, let’s talk about your dissertation-to-book project.
While Claire is interested in books that touch on the topics of religion and politics, she is not in theology or manifestos.
Things Claire would like to see
- Books that center friendships/friendships falling apart
- Books with character-like settings
- Books with new/lesser known monsters
- Close POV (Even if it’s multi POV, I like to be in the character’s brain as I read.)
- Girls with the *audacity* and all the (misplaced?) confidence. (eg: Celaena Sardothien).
Things Claire is not taking at the moment:
- Memoires
- Trauma stories
- Romantasy that is romance-first (eg: Kingdom of the Wicked.).
- Christian fiction/romance
- Military Fiction
You can follow Claire on Instagram and Threads at @all.things.elliot
Claire is currently closed to queries.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#ownvoices, AAPI Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Activism, Adult, Adult Rom Com, Adult Romantasy, Adventure, African Fantasy, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Art history, Asian American Literature, Asian Fantasy, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Mystery, Character -Driven History, Chick Lit, Classic retellings with BIPOC characters, Commercial YA, Commercial adult fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Cozy mysteries, Crime & Thriller, Crime Fiction, East Asian Literature, Economics, Educational, Ensemble Casts, Epic Fantasy, Fairytale Retellings, Family Drama, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, Female Friendships, Geek Culture, Health and Wellness, Health and healing, High Concept, High Fantasy, High-concept YA, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fantasy; Fantasy Grounded In Reality, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction YA, Historical RomCom, Historical Women's Fiction, Historical mysteries, History, Investigative Journalism, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+ rom coms, Low Fantasy, Minority Voices, Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales, Modernized Mythologies, Monsters, Muslim, Mysteries, Mystery / Crime, Mythology, New Adult, Political Thriller, Politics/Current Affairs, Pop Culture, Pop History, Pop Psychology, Pop Science, Popular Science/Psychology, Regency Romance, Relic/Artifact Action/Adventure, Retellings, Rom-com, RomCom, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Romantic Thriller, Same-Sex Romance, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Soft Fantasy, South Asian, South East Asian Literature, Speculative, Speculative Fiction, Strong Females, Thriller, Thrillers, True Crime, YA, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA Crossover, YA Fantasy, YA Historical Fantasy, YA Rom-Coms, YA RomCom, YA Romance, YA Romantasy, YA Thrillers, YA fantasy/light sci-fi, YA rom com, YA thriller/mystery, Young Adult, animal fantasy, character-focused fiction, classic retellings, comedy, contemporary women's fiction, court intrigue, crime, crossover adult, crossover appeal, dark academia, health and fitness, high concept fiction, historical, historical mystery, historical romance, just one bed, just... all the tropes, light fantasy, love stories, non-Western fantasy, non-Western historical fiction, non-western settings, psychology, queer, rom-coms, romantacy, romantasy, romantic New Adult, romantic fantasy, romantic suspense/mystery, spy, traditional fantasy, traditional mysteries, who did this to you, witchcraft, witches
I’d like the next…
Fiction:
The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner
The Ruin of Kings, by Jenn Lyons
The City of Brass, by S. A. Chakraborty
Boudica, by Miranda Scott
The Winner’s Curse, by Marie Rutkoski
A Bachelor Establishment, by Jodi Taylor
Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon (with or without the ‘portal’ part).
Priestess of the White, by Trudi Canavan
Non-Fiction:
Friday Nigh Lights, by H. G. Bissinger
Still Life with Bones, by Alexa Hagerty
The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman
An Indigenous People’s History of the U.S., by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Come As You Are, by Emily Negoski
Burnout, by Emily and + Amelia Negoski
Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
My favorites include…
Westworld
Supernatural
Vampire Diaries + True Blood
Bones
Criminal Minds
JoJo Rabbit
Hot Frosty
Indiana Jones
