Lee Melillo

I represent young adult and adult fiction across genres as well as select pop culture nonfiction. I prioritize authors from underrepresented communities, including writers of color, queer writers, disabled writers, neurodivergent writers, etc. Right now, I’m particularly interested in seeing queries from Muslim and Arab authors, trans/genderqueer authors of color, and Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian authors.

My tastes are broad, but I’m always looking for strong craft and personality. I have soft spots for weird, offbeat humor geared towards Millennials/Gen Z, and characters who find themselves in conflict with the world, whether as the defense or the prosecution. While I’m open to most genres, I’m a harder sell on high fantasy, hard sci-fi, and space operas (I prefer speculative fiction on the lighter side). I’m unlikely to be interested in genre romance, crime fiction, or commercial thrillers without some sort of genre blend.

Hard-no’s are at the bottom of this page.

In young adult fiction, I’m looking for stories I would’ve dedicated my tumblr blog to when I was fifteen. I want detailed, 3D characters driven by the emotions present in your teens (dark or light) so long as they’re raw, real, and explosive. I’d specifically love to see projects centered around:

• Fandom and fan culture.
• Teenagers dealing with OCD and/or autism.
• Well-researched historical fiction set outside (!!!) the US or Western Europe.
• Old-money private schools from the perspective of scholarship students.
• Bubblegum thrillers and queer horror.
• Early 2010s-style dystopias with marginalized teens at the forefront.
• Animated Barbie movie vibes (bonus points for fairies or mermaids).
• Girls who are disasters, are kinda mean, or otherwise suck.
• All-consuming yearning and the ridiculousness it causes.
• Rag-tag teams of misfits and weirdos who feel too much.

In adult fiction, I enjoy upmarket/literary fiction that explores societal themes through hyper-specific narratives (think Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom), and both commercial and upmarket speculative fiction with stellar writing.  Particular areas of interest include:

• Fiction centered around spaces and communities – public libraries or parks, isolated islands, or even a workplace.
• Women and other marginalized people who are fed up and ready to do something about it (ie, Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff).
• Late-bloomers (particularly autists) experiencing their first love.
• Peasants/average people living in major historical eras.
• Hooky, high-concept romcoms with genuinely unique premises and queer and/or BIPOC protagonists.
• ‘Weird girl’ lit, but, again, from voices less represented in this genre.
• Upmarket queer horror (I Saw the TV Glow vibes, please).  

I’m VERY selective with nonfiction; I am only interested in receiving proposals from qualified figures within the entertainment and/or theatre industries, as well as platformed experts on fandom/pop culture topics. I’d love anything in the vein of Everything I Need I Get From You, explorations of the evolution of fanfiction in fandom spaces, the history of tumblr, and/or the Golden Age of YouTube Vloggers in the mid-2010s.

I’m also interested in receiving proposals about the creation of popular TV shows or film phenomenons. Particularly of interest would be Succession, Heated Rivalry, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or 30 Rock. I’d also love something that delves into the rise of K-dramas and/or K-pop in international markets.

A few hyper-specific wants include (for YA or Adult)…

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

Also, no erotica; high fantasy or space operas; stories about AI; manic pixie dream girls; detective/private investigator protagonists; very experimental or structureless stories; anything US military/police/modern politics; WW1 or WW2; Greek/Roman mythology; British historicals (especially Regency Era); sports romcoms; stories romanticizing gang life or the mafia; explicit depictions or descriptions of sexual assault, graphic self-harm/suicide attempts, or violent cruelty towards people or animals; or anything where a pet dies.

Submission Guidelines

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

Guidelines & Details