Ian Shea

***Please be advised I am currently closed to unsolicited queries***

I tend to lean towards YA and adult novels. I’m not currently looking for middle-grade or picture books. I’m open to both debut authors and writers who’ve been previously published. I only care about whether or not you have a well-written and compelling story that I won’t want to put down. I’m open to standalone stories or books with series potential.

I’m eagerly seeking the following genres:

• Mysteries and thrillers: Murder mysteries, psychological thrillers, “whodunit”, I enjoy it all!
• Fantasy: Far-off worlds, magic, superheroes, knights, evil sorceresses, chosen ones, magical girls, it’s all fun.
• Horror: Whether it’s a haunted house, a serial killer, or a centuries-old curse, if it will make me too scared to turn the lights off, I want to read it. I lean more towards suspenseful and atmospheric stories and I’m less interested in excessive gore.
• Science fiction: I like anything from artificial intelligence to epic space sagas and everything in-between!
• Adventure: Whether your protagonist is running from the mob or globe-trotting looking for ancient treasure, I’m open to reading it.
• Dystopian futures: I love stories about corrupt governments and the last of humanity trying to survive!
• Coming of age: I love stories about characters of any age going through life-altering journeys that cause them to grow as people. I particularly love stories about characters who are LGBTQ+ that aren’t centered around coming out.
• Re-imagined fairy tales

I’m not interested in:

• Romance or stories where romance is essential to the plot.
• Erotica
• Cowboys/Westerns
• Religion
• Poetry
• Memoirs
• Biographies
• Historical fiction
• Satire

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to submissions@maximusliterary.com

Format subject line: Query_Your Last Name_Title_Genre_Word Count.

Include a full synopsis and the first two chapters of your manuscript pasted into the body of the email. Unsolicited attachments will not be opened.

Query letter must state whether you have been represented by a literary agent in the past and if the manuscript has been self-published or been sent out on submission to publishers.

Any queries that do not adhere to the instructions will be discarded without consideration.