Foyinsi Adegbonmire

Hello!

I’m an Editor at Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, where I acquire agented submissions (exceptions made for attendees of a conference I participate in).

I lean toward commercial and high-concept middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) fiction. My go-to genres include contemporary, romance, fantasy, science-fiction, and mystery but I’m also open to other genres/sub-genres (thriller, novel-in-verse, fairytale or fairytale retelling, etc.).

March 2025 Update: My main goal at the moment is to acquire a poly romance set at an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) and/or a whimsical MG!

Across MG and YA – but in no particular order – I enjoy stories that:

• Have very conversational narrative voices, especially if the voice is funny/humorous or sarcastic
• Are generally lighthearted, though it’s fine if they touch on serious topics
  • I ah-dore stories that take big life questions and build a plot around them (like Neal Shusterman’s Unwind and Arc of a Scythe series).
• Are based on the writer’s lived experiences and realities
• Feature strong and healthy friendships, romances, and/or sibling relationships (for me, you can have conflict without toxicity)
• Center characters who are part of historically underrepresented races/ethnicities/genders/orientations but aren’t “issue” books. In other words, stories that explore these cultures without the main conflict being about that aspect of the main character’s (or characters’) identity – though it can certainly still touch on and acknowledge the difficulties of being part of a marginalized community
• Are lighthearted/exhibit Black Joy…please!!
• Explore college/university life (still petitioning for New Adult to become a concrete category!)

In terms of genres for both MG and YA (again in no particular order):

• Contemporary
  • Stories set in glamorous/elite prep schools
  • Boarding school stories that aren’t necessarily dark/thriller-esque (just kids dealing with the difficulties of forced proximity to different types of personalities)
  • Teen/kid spies or con artists (The Con Code)
  • Whacky/silly stories (Sideways Stories from Wayside School)
  • ROMANCE (especially romantic comedies!)
    • Stories with healthy relationship dynamics and particularly the kinds of relationships the YA market hasn’t seen nearly enough of in traditional publishing, such as (but certainly not limited to): Black love; polyamorous relationships; relationships involving transgender and/or non-binary characters; relationships involving ace characters; etc.
    • I love slow-burn stories—give me all the ~yearning~ and romantic tension
    • Other beloved tropes: friends-to-lovers, enemies(or rivals)-to-lovers, fake relationship/fake dating, oh-no-there’s-only-one-bed, etc.
•  Fantasy
  • High-concept fantasy with lush, intricate world-building (the Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space series) and clear magic systems (Children of Virtue and Vengeance)
  • Royalty (Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard)
  • Fantasy grounded in our world (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky)
  • Stories set in our world with largely unexplained magical occurrences (Opposite of Always)
  • Fantasy in a futuristic setting
  • Fantasy with heart, humor, and a “classic” feel (How to Save a Queendom)
  • Absolutely stan Amari and the Night Brothers over here! It has the exact combination of magic, technology, and middle grade voice that I ADORE (and am looking for)
  • One of my dream acquisitions is a whimsical contemporary fantasy with a world that has the clever wordplay of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or The Phantom Tollbooth (NOT a retelling; the fun with words/language is the emphasis)
  • Another dream acquisition is slice-of-life stories that take place in high fantasy settings (bonus if the main plot is a romance). In other words, the high fantasy elements are simply facts of that world and nothing more so they aren’t the focus – some might consider this cozy fantasy
•      Science-fiction
  • Grounded sci-fi with super advanced technology (Iron Man, The 100 series)
  • Dystopian and time travel stories welcome (All Rights Reserved, The Hunger Games, The Reluctant Assassin, The Selection)
•     Mystery/Detective
  • “Everyday”/regular life detective stories or adventurous action-packed mysteries welcome
  • Stories that involve puzzles, secret codes, etc. (Escape from Lemoncello’s Library, The Mysterious Benedict Society)
  • Psychological thrillers in the vein of How to Find a Missing Girl

Please note: The above lists are merely examples of my literary tastes, NOT the be-all-end-all of what makes a story good, so please don’t feel discouraged if your manuscript doesn’t fall within these categories; I may not be the right fit but other Editors will be!

Announced Acquisitions

• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (YA contemporary thriller)
• Golden Ticket by Kate Egan (MG contemporary)
• Twice as Perfect by Louisa Onomé (YA contemporary)
• And Other Mistakes by Erika Turner (YA contemporary)
• The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jairgirdar (YA contemporary romance)
• Study Break (edited) by Aashna Avachat (YA contemporary anthology)
• The Melancholy of Summer by Louisa Onomé (YA contemporary)
• The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde (YA supernatural mystery)
• Mermaids Never Drown (edited) by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker (YA fantasy anthology)
• Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao (YA contemporary platonic-comedy)
• Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (YA contemporary thriller)
• Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar (YA contemporary romance)
• With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo (YA contemporary romance)
• The Beanstalk Murder by P.G. Bell (MG fantasy)
• Faeries Never Lie (edited) by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker (YA fantasy anthology)
• We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde (YA horror survival)
• Under the Heron’s Light by Randi Pink
• Rani Choudhury Must Die by Adiba Jairgirdar (YA contemporary romance)
• Love in 280 Characters or Less by Ravynn K. Stringfield (YA contemporary romance)
• A Barista’s Guide to Love & Larceny by Caroline Bonin (YA cozy fantasy romance)

Submission Guidelines

Agents: if you have a manuscript that may interest me or if you just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Authors: At the moment, I only accept agented submissions. Please do not sub to me directly unless you attended a conference I participated in.