Jessica MacLeish
HarperCollins Children's Books
My Manuscript Wish List®
I particularly enjoy books that inspire some kind of emotional reaction, whether it’s laughing, crying, or laughing so hard I eventually start crying. If you can get me to laugh on the subway, you get a gold star.
You can see some of this in my #MSWL tweets, but…I’d like a YA or MG about questioning/leaving the faith (any faith). I love stories about toxic friendships and healthy friendships alike. Publishing authentic and diverse voices is important to me. I’d like to see some more urban-set YA and MG, especially set in NYC. I enjoy stories that get into the psyche of a mean girl, with just a touch of humor and satire, as well as love stories (be it romantic, platonic, or familial love). I’m always impressed when a novel can pull off the “set in one day/night” thing well. I’d also love a YA or MG novel that takes history and twists it up–in a funny way.
Submission Guidelines
I can only accept agented submissions/queries.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Contemporary YA, Fantasy YA, MG/YA
I’d like the next…
Fresh Off the Boat…for YA or MG.
Dope, my favorite movie of 2015, as a YA novel.
Heathers, my favorite movie of all time, as a YA novel.
Give me YA novels that evoke That 70s Show (need not be set in the 70s), Daria, and Freaks and Geeks.
A summer job YA novel, Adventureland-esque.
Mallrats in novel form.
A novel reminiscent of The Westing Game — a clever, puzzling, classic-feeling mystery with a quirky cast.
My favorites include…
I have way too many favorites to list, but here are a few…
Books: The Outsiders, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Boy in the Black Suit, The Interestings, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Westing Game, Sloppy Firsts, Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, Rules of Civility, I Wear the Black Hat, The Rap Year Book…truly, I could go on…
TV(current TV): Jane the Virgin, The Bold Type, Jessica Jones, Riverdale, The Fosters
