Devon Halliday

I’m currently open to queries over at querymanager!

Across fiction and nonfiction, I welcome and prioritize submissions that bring a new perspective to the market. Writers from traditionally marginalized backgrounds or identities are encouraged to submit.

In fiction, I’m looking for…

Literary and upmarket fiction across most genres: contemporary, speculative, women’s fiction, softcore suspense, romantic comedy, YA. I like themes of complicated or ambiguous morality, stories that ask a question and give a few possible answers. I’m eager to see more inventive narrative structures, whether that’s playing with chronology, point of view, or typical entry point/focal point. I prefer love stories whose obstacles are organic: the complications arise from character flaws, not tricky plotted misunderstandings. I’m a fan of the dialogue tag “said”. I have a weakness for near-future lite dystopia. I like branching plotlines or sprawling intersecting casts, as long as all the characters are given equal weight and depth. I value strong, original, surprising writing above all else, and would rather help fix a crooked plot than a dashed-off sentence. Short story collections welcome, likewise genre-crossing or -deconstructing stories.

In nonfiction, I’m looking for…

Narrative, creative, investigative, and small-picture nonfiction across the board. I like clear, accessible writing with some enthusiastic momentum behind it that introduces new corners of the world to me. I have a layperson’s interest in psychology, medicine, linguistics, and philosophy, but I’m open to most subjects if they illuminate modern life in some way. I’m open to blended memoir: memoir mixed with societal criticism, with investigative journalism, with close observation of the niche and bizarre. I’m especially interested in serious anthropological/historical/cultural takes on the little-known pockets of our internet/entertainment world. I’m always looking for work that confronts the timely and timeless subjects of climate change, discrimination, and inequality.

I am not the right agent for…

I am way too squeamish for gory violence, so hardcore thriller, horror, mystery, true crime, and jump-scare suspense is not for me. I’m also not a good fit for religious, spiritual, or self-help, and I am (criminally) not a dog person. I tend not to go for retellings unless they’re substantively different from the original. My list of arbitrary pet peeves includes: unreliable narrators (that out-and-out lie to the reader), humiliation as humor, writer protagonists, pregnancy reduced to a plot twist, overly assertive hint-dropping, and prologues.

Caveat: my first prerequisite is and always will be strong, original, intelligent writing. I’m always willing to expand my horizons for my clients, and if I already adore your writing, any genre is fair game.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to https://QueryManager.com/devonhalliday

Please send your query, author bio, and 20 sample pages to me at querymanager. Looking forward to reading!

Guidelines & Details