Jennifer Gunnels, Macmillan

I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts. I do not look at middle grade or YA submissions.

I’ve been with TPG since 2017, and I want to give readers their deepest wishes. Whether that’s seeing themselves, trying out the inside of someone else’s head, or just a book that pairs well with an adult beverage after a hard day.

I love emotionally grounded adult genre fiction that runs from warmth and teamwork to nihilistic horror. Whether it’s hard or squishy, space opera or first contact, epic or cozy, I’m looking for compelling characters in a cinematic science fiction/fantasy/horror that feels like you’re watching it instead of reading it.

Things I love: snappy dialogue, complex world building, veins of weirdness and dark humor, ensemble casts and found families, cool people snarking and blowing things up then going in for a good ugly cry.

Secret wishlist: a Dark Academia book, but with a cut-throat faculty (think The Chair, but with magic), in system” sf, complicated first contacts, and stuff I didn’t know I needed until it fell into my lap in the best of surprises.

Science Fiction I love includes but isn’t limited to: The Expanse, Firefly, Andor, Severance, Foundation, The Last Watch, Semiosis, the varied permutations of Dune.

Horror I shudder to: folk horror (Wickerman, Midsomer), supernatural horror, gothic horror, ghost stories, Nope, Sf horror (Event Horizon, Alien), Housebound, Mary, Cassandra Khaw, S. A. Barnes.

But above all I want nuance—in the worlds, in characters, in dialogue. The books that I find most compelling engage with new ideas, alternate or immersive worlds, new science, and new spins on old tropes.

I have the pleasure of working with a number of talented Tor authors such as Sue Burke, J. S. Dewes, Nat Cassidy, L. E. Modesitt, and L. M. Sagas.

Both commercial and literary genre is welcome. I would love to see more diverse material in my inbox both in terms of authorship as well as characters.

I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.

I am also open to considering SF/F novellas for Tor.com Publishing and short stories for Tor.com.

If you click the editorial link, you can check out some of my latest authors.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to jennifer.gunnels@tor.com

Agented Submissions Only with the exception of material for Tor.com (short stories/novellas/novelettes)

1. The first three chapters of your book. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don’t use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.) The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence.

Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Times New Roman in 12 pitch. Make sure the header of the ms. includes your name and/or the title of the book as well as the page number (on every page).

2. A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format. The first page of the synopsis and the first page of the text should also include your name and contact information and the title of the manuscript.

3. A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us what genre or subgenre the submission falls into and mention any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets.

Guidelines & Details