Lee Melillo

I am closed to unsolicited queries at this time. 

I primarily represent YA and adult fiction written by, for, and about traditionally underrepresented communities, especially authors of color, disabled authors, queer authors, and neurodivergent authors. At this time, I’m especially interested in receiving queries from authors who identify as Pacific Islander (Polynesian, Micronesian, Melanesian), Muslim writers, and trans/genderqueer authors of color.

Strong writing skills are a must regardless of genre. I look for clear narrative voices, atmospheric prose, and witty dialogue. Tonally, my tastes are broad, but I’m always searching for personality. I have a soft spot for weird, sharp senses of humor geared towards a generation of readers raised on the internet. I gravitate towards characters who are in conflict with the world, either as the defense or the prosecution. I like stories that center relationships – familial, platonic, romantic, etc. – and illustrate how we interact with each other, especially when thrown into impossible circumstances.

I’m open to most genres, in both contemporary and historical settings, but feel most at home with realistic fiction, light fantasy and sci-fi, romance, or grounded speculative projects. My favorite sub-genres are rom-coms, mysteries, and classics/mythology retellings.

YA Fiction

My taste in YA is simple: I want stories my fifteen-year-old self would’ve dedicated a tumblr blog to. Anything driven by the emotions present in your teens, whether light or dark, so long as they’re raw and real and explosive. I adore worlds I can get lost in, which could mean an unfamiliar historical epoch; a magical world similar to ours, but not quite; a dystopian future crafted by the poor decisions of today; etc.

Topics I’m especially into include: fandom and fan culture; teenagers with OCD; well-researched historical fiction; anything set in an old-money private school/university from the perspective of the scholarship kid; bubblegum thrillers; queer horror; animated Barbie movie vibes (bonus points for fairies or mermaids); girls who are disasters; all-consuming yearning; rag-tag teams of misfits. If your MC can be described as a weirdo who feels too much, I want to read about them.

Adult Fiction

A lot of my interests in YA apply here as well, but with less emotional “newness” and underdeveloped frontal lobes. I prioritize literary writing when it comes to my adult list, and enjoy stories with themes that resonate as profoundly on a societal level as an individual one.

I’m also interested in adult fiction centered around communities and spaces, be it a public library or a park, an isolated island in the middle of the sea, or a workplace. I want women and other marginalized people who are fed up, and ready to do something about it. I want late-bloomers experiencing their first love, or a lifelong outcast finding people who truly care for them. I want to read about a peasant living through a major historical era, and they have no idea – they just want money to buy bread. I enjoy dark, twisty plots; light, cozy reads; and reflective, atmospheric strolls in equal measure.

A few hyper-specific wants include…

• Afrofuturism in the vein of Octavia Butler or Rivers Solomon
• Any sort of zany, (anti-)historical adult fiction, like My Lady Jane or Glorious Exploits
• Anything centered around the 2010s YouTube vlogger era
• A K-pop sasaeng thriller

I’m NOT the best fit for…

Erotica; high fantasy or space operas; very experimental and/or structureless stories; anything US military/police/modern politics; WW1 or WW2; Greek/Roman/Norse mythology; British historicals (especially Regency Era); sports romcoms; stories romanticizing gang life or the mafia; explicit depictions of sexual assault, graphic self-harm/suicide attempts, or violent cruelty towards people or animals; or anything where a pet dies.

I do NOT represent nonfiction/memoirs, picture books, middle grade, or graphic novels of ANY KIND!

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to query@dunhamlit.com

Please go to dunhamlit.com/how-to-submit for a detailed list of subscription guidelines.

Guidelines & Details