Kelly Peterson

Rees Literary Agency

My Manuscript Wish List®

What I’m looking for:
Kelly is looking for voice driven fiction in the MG, YA, and Adult age ranges. She loves stories with strong world building, characters that are quirky and witty, and writers that have a natural understanding for relatable dialogue and pacing. Kelly is always seeking to promote #OwnVoices stories and authors who have a strong story to tell, including POC,  LGBTQIA+, and neurodiversity.
MG: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Contemporary, leaning towards heartwarming stories and adventures that showcase the tough issues that need to be read by young readers.
YA: Fantasy (all sub genres of fantasy accepted), Steampunk, Sci-Fi (futuristic, not space!), Paranormal (Ghosts, please!), Historical, Contemporary (all the rom-coms!), and any combination of the above with strong, female main characters.
Adult: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Contemporary Romance (Cowboys, anyone? Sexy and somewhat geeky entrepreneur? Sports? Yes?), Historical Romance, or any combination of the above.

Not The Best Fit For:
Non-Fiction, Mystery/Crime, Children’s Picture Books, Emotional Turmoil (i.e. stories that revolve around depression, anxiety, rape, etc.), as I prefer my books to help me escape. Characters that have some of these traits but it doesn’t overwhelm the story are okay.

Fun facts about me:

– I have a horse named Leroy and ride western.
– I workout at a UFC gym and take some pride in my ability to throw a good punch.
– I’m a huge animal lover and can’t stand dog movies or books because I just cry.
– I have two pups of my own, and am planning on getting another hound dog eventually.
– I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs.
– I teach dance in my spare time, with pointe being my favorite!
– I’m a large camping and outdoor enthusiast. Spring is my favorite!
– I’m a large sucker for Reese’s and chicken bacon ranch pizza…not at the same time…
– I’m called Superwoman because I’ve worked three jobs (two full and one part-time) and am still productive.
– My clients become family. We even have our own writing group called The Fellowship

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to http://QueryMe.Online/KellyPeterson

All queries can be sent through my Query Manager form at http://QueryMe.Online/KellyPeterson.

Please take note that you will need a query, synopsis, and the first 5 pages of your manuscript pasted in to the form, as well as the ability to tell me a little bit about yourself and answer some fun questions. Come prepared! =)

If you don’t have anything to put in the bio paragraph yet, I’d love to see some quirky details about you instead. You like horses too, and your horse’s name is Bocephus, or Celaena Sardothien? Awesome! The more relatable, intelligent, and human you appear in that small paragraph, the better.

Guidelines & Details

Vital Info

Kelly@reesagency.com (for business use ONLY, no queries, please!)

@LitAgentKelly

Facebook

Linkedin

Website

Agent

Fiction:

Action/Adventure, Children's, Fantasy, Historical, Humor, LGBTQ, Middle Grade, Military, New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult

Favorite sub-genres:

#ownvoices, Adult, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Diversity, High Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, LGBTQIA, MG, MG adventure, Paranormal, Steampunk, YA, YA Science Fiction

I’d like the next…

My current wishlist includes the following:

– A Harley Quinn-like character/retelling.
– Contemporary YA with diverse, realistic characters and humor!
– Sci-Fi that doesn’t take place in space…
– Fantasy with worlds, creatures, and magic systems that we’ve never seen before, particularly mythologies from cultures that we have yet to publish and talk about.
– Sucker Punch-like group of girls in a YA Fantasy!
– Women doing daredevil and BA things. I love manuscripts with life-defying sports and thrills.
– Colonial Historical Fiction in YA! Where’s my Ruby from Cold Mountain surviving on her own in the wilderness with only a bow or gun?

My favorites include…

Favorite Books:
– The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi
– The Darkest Minds by Alex Bracken
– Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
– An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
– Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
– Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Favorite Movies/Shows:
– Marvel EVERYTHING
– The Enemy Within
– Call the Midwife
– Designated Survivor
– Game of Thrones
– Timeless
– Chicago Fire
– Westworld
– The Bold Type
– Younger