Eva Scalzo
Speilburg Literary Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
I continue to value and search for underrepresented voices—with a special shout out to #latinx voices—but I truly love to see all genders, sexualities, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and all abilities in the stories I read and represent.
YA Contemporary: If you comp THE SUMMER OF BROKEN RULES, yeah, please query me. I do also love to see queer voices here, and all backgrounds represented. I think it’s especially key for this demographic. Mostly I want high concept hooks that have deep feels.
Historical mystery/gothic horror: I’m not kidding when I say I would love a grown up Flavia de Luce. Maybe with more poisons. Maybe she’s also a killer. I don’t know. Have fun with it and surprise me!
Fantasy/Romantasy: basically anything and everything. I love a retelling. I love a mashup. I love things cozy and sweet and I love things dark and spicy. Send it all my way.
Adult Romance: This echoes what I want to see in YA contemporary. But I’m also open to romance across all genre mashups.
But ultimately all of these things are just top of mind ideas, who knows what I want? Certainly not me! I don’t know what I want most days. I want to be surprised and swept away! Ultimately I want to see joyful, high concept work that blends heart, humor, and emotional authenticity. If you have that, even if it looks different from what I’ve listed here, please shoot your shot.
I still am not a good fit for nonfiction, picture books, literary fiction, and poetry. I am not currently open to middle grade.
Fun facts about me:
Eva Scalzo was born in New Jersey, but has lived in Houston, Buenos Aires, San Juan, and Boston before settling down outside of Binghamton, New York. She has a B.A. in the Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico and a M.A. in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College. Since graduating in 2002, she has spent her career in scholarly publishing, working for Houghton Mifflin, Blackwell Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, and Cornell University in a variety of roles.
Eva has been reading romance since the fifth grade when she discovered the Sweet Valley High series. On inheriting her grandmother’s collection of vintage Harlequin Romances, she promptly set about filling the gaps, and her goal is to someday finish reading all the treasures.
Actual Fun Facts:
+My name is not pronounced with a long E sound. I’m of Puerto Rican, Lebanese, and Spanish descent.
+I’m a Leo Sun, Libra Moon, Scorpio Rising
+I worked at a shoe store while in college. I was perennially broke, but my shoe game rivaled Carrie Bradshaw’s.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your query and first three chapters to:
https://QueryMe.Online/evascalzo
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Adult Rom Com, Adult Romantasy, Adult SFF, Category Romance, Commercial YA, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Cozy Fantasy, Diversity, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, High-concept YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+ rom coms, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx stories, Multicultural, Multiple POV, Multiple Timelines, Retellings, Romance, Upmarket Fiction, Urban Fantasy, YA Contemporary, YA Fantasy, YA Rom-Coms, YA Romance, YA Romantasy
I’d like the next…
-The Love Hypothesis
-Heated Rivalry/The Long Game
-Heartstopper (but in prose form)
-Dark Olympus series
My favorites include…
Tropes I love:
+Enemies-to-Lovers
+Fake Relationships
+Grumpy Heroes
+Opposites Attract
+Love after Loss
+Forced Proximity
Tropes that are not favorites:
+Second Chance Romance
+Best Friend’s Sibling (Especially if one of them has pined for the other for years, if it’s that they see each other in a new light, it’s all good.)
+Ice Queen (I find that there is too much veiled misogyny in these stories)
+Friends-to-Lovers (If it’s where one has pined after the other one for years, friends-to-lovers where both suddenly see each other in a new light is in the favorites column)
+Secret Baby (especially if pregnant with a different guy’s kid, I know it happens, I know that everyone deserves a HEA, I personally just don’t enjoy those stories)
A list of some of my favorite Romance & YA books (listed alphabetically by author):
+Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
+Him/Us/Top Secret by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
+Dance with Me by Alexis Daria
+Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye
+Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
+Only in My Dreams by Rowan Kirby
+Marrying Mr. Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
+Last Chance by Jill Marie Landis
+Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry
+The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery
+Replica/Ringer by Lauren Oliver
+Their Perfect Melody by Priscilla Oliveras
+When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
+Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
+Solo by Lauren E. Rico
+An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
+Rebel by Rebecca Yarros
