Juliana McBride
Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
I represent authors who write adult literary and commercial fiction, young adult fiction, and select middle grade fiction.
At the moment what I’m really looking for are contemporary stories- what is commonly referred to as upmarket or bookclub fiction with a good hook and a strong voice. While all parts of a story should be in harmony, if I fall for the voice, it holds more weight than plot. I’m not afraid of mystery and suspense, and in the thriller space think psychological rather than police procedural. I’m a sucker for romance and especially witty dialogue and banter- but it has to feel fresh and utterly plausible. I also love stories that are funny and sad; I want to go on that emotional journey with your characters! And, I don’t mind a speculative angle or hook, but I am not looking for straight up fantasy or any kind of science fiction at the moment. I’m a big sucker for magic, but again, it has to be truly grounded in a contemporary setting if it’s there.
I’m a little full up on YA, but always drawn to stories grounded in contemporary settings; family, teen dramas with a heartfelt twist, romances, mysteries, thrillers and horror. If you can make me laugh out loud repeatedly, or cry, I’ll probably fall for your story! I’d love a really twisty dark academia YA. As with adult fiction, while I love a little bit of the impossible and fantastical, it very much needs to be grounded in the everyday, and feel fresh and genuine.
For the occasional middle grade project that I’m looking for, big feelings are wonderful, especially if they deal with sensitive topics handled with a light touch, but the characters need to really feel authentic, and as follows, the voice needs to feel authentically middle grade. Side note, for some reason stories that deal with divorce are probably not for me.
I love stories that take place in parts of the world or a time period not often explored, and I’m always looking for fresh new voices and underrepresented narratives.
I tend to be drawn to strong female characters, and quirky underdogs too. Regardless of genre the characters in your story have to be compelling and real, and the storyline not only believable but something I can’t put down. Don’t underestate emotional stakes and pacing. While I’m a fan of high-stakes as much as the next person- especially in terms of launching the beginning of a book, I think there is still a lot to be said for subtlety and economy of prose in the age of quick fixes.
All of the above aside, you can SURPRISE ME! These wishlists are always so hard because I have so many exceptions to my “rules”. If you think your manuscript might surprise and delight please please please send your query.
Fun facts about me:
I spent the first decade of my working life in book publishing, the second decade in the wine industry, and for this third decade of my employ I’m back on the other side of the book business and couldn’t be happier.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your query via my querymanager: https://querymanager.com/query/JulianaMcBride
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Accessible Literary Fiction, Adult Rom Com, BIPOC, Books about books, Commercial Women's Fiction, Commercial YA, Commercial adult fiction, Commercial and Literary, Complicated Relationships, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Mystery, Cross-genre, Dark Female Friendships, Dark topics with a light touch, Diaspora Narratives, Domestic Fiction, Domestic Suspense/Thriller, Fairytale Retellings, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Female Friendships, Feminism, Found Families, Gothic Horror, High Concept, High-Concept Literary Commercial Fiction, High-concept YA, Historical Fantasy; Fantasy Grounded In Reality, Historical Women's Fiction, Intersectionality, Layered Family Stories with multiple narrators, Layered Rom-Coms and Comedy of Manners with a cultural component, Literary Crossover, Literary Fiction, Literary Middle Grade, Magic, Marginalized Voices, Modern Dating, Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales, Modernized Mythologies, Mothers and Daughters, Multicultural, Multicultural Romance, Multicultural and Diverse Thriller and Mystery, Multigenerational, Multiple POV, New Adult, Political Thriller, Psychological Thrillers, Relationships, Retellings, Romantic Comedy, Slice of life, Smart Beach Reads, Speculative Fiction, Tarot, Thrillers, Underrepresented Voices, Upmarket Commercial Fiction, Upmarket Fiction, Upmarket Women's Fiction, Upmarket YA, Women's Fiction, Women's Issues, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA Mystery, YA Rom-Coms, YA Romantasy, YA horror, YA thriller/mystery, Young Adult, award-winners!, beach reads, book club fiction, classic retellings, coming of age, commerical women's fiction, contemporary, contemporary women's fiction, crossover, crossover adult, crossover appeal, dark academia, diverse and own voices, diverse voices, dramedy, fairy tales, feminine narratives, friendship stories, gothic romance, international, love stories, non-Western historical fiction, rivals to lovers, slow burn, whimsical, witchcraft, witty
I’d like the next…
My favorites include…
I love the Bronte sisters, and Jane Austen- and A Wrinkle In Time is a modern day classic I re-read every year in addition to many old friends (I think of the books in my bookcase like that). It’s true that Alice Hoffman and Philip Pullman have taken up enormous space in my coming-of age mind and have deeply influenced who I am and the stories I crave. Beyond the beautiful and mysterious worlds of Pullman and Hoffman, books like A Gentleman in Moscow, Hello Beautiful, Demon Copperhead, The Last Love Note, Lessons in Chemistry, The Paper Palace, Anatomy, Educated, Persepolis, The Light We Lost, Horse Crazy, Apeirogon, and so many many more have all left indelible imprints upon me.
Movies: The best movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally (was their ever better dialogue)? Give me a good rom com any night of the week. I like my dramas and comedies too. Not surprisingly, the most wonderful fantasy books don’t make the best movies. Come to think of it, most of the best books get turned into awful movies.
TV: Where do I start? Derry Girls, Ted Lasso, Empress, Friday Night Lights, The Sandman, A Discovery of Witches, The Crown, Gilmore Girls, Anatomy of a Scandal (so good), Reacher. I can’t keep this part relevant because so many good things come and go. TV for me is a great escape at the end of the night if I just can’t read any more.
