Matthew Valdez
Megibow Literary Agency, LLC.
My Manuscript Wish List®
Kindness. Integrity. Patience. Profit. Enthusiasm.
Matthew’s love of literature began as a teenager when his mom handed him a copy of TWILIGHT after years of being a reluctant reader. Then, in college he took a Young Adult Literature class and was immediately hooked on reading YA. In fact, it was that professor who encouraged him to attend YALLFest- that conference is what launched Matthew into the world of publishing. With over a decade of volunteering at conferences and interning at literary agencies, Matthew brings a very behind-the-scenes perspective to his job as agent.
Matthew holds a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and is currently attending The University of Central Florida to obtain his Master’s in Educational Leadership. He lives in sunny Florida where he teaches High School English and hopes just a sliver of his passion for books rubs off on his students.
I am always looking to champion stories from writers of all marginalized backgrounds, especially voices from the LGBTQ+ community!
Fun facts about me:
- I’ve been a loyal Lady Gaga fan since 2008 and have seen her in concert 6 times in 4 different states.
- I’ve been playing both Genshin Impact AND Honkai: Star Rail since launch
- When not listening to Lady Gaga, my go-to genre of music is usually Japanese Rock / Pop (the GazettE, Girugamesh, Gackt, Versailles: Philharmonic Quintet, Jupiter, Kaya, Utada Hikaru, Ayumi Hamasaki, Angela Aki, amongst MANY others).
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to matthewquery@megibowliterary.com
STATUS: OPEN!
UPDATE: Beginning July 1st, 2025, I will be open to new queries from the 1st through the 15th of each month going forward. I want to give each query the attention it deserves and focus on giving timely responses back, closing for the last half of the month seems like the best solution at the moment.
QUERY STATUS: Currently reviewing submissions from April 2025.
Queries should be sent to ma**********@*************ry.com with the subject “QUERY – MANUSCRIPT TITLE”.
Kindly send your query letter and the first 10 pages of your manuscript in the body of the email, along with your author website if you have one (not a deal-breaker if you don’t). Note that my response time is currently elevated due to my full-time job as a teacher; Please allow around 6 weeks for a response and note that no critiques or feedback are included in passes. Absolutely all queries will be read and will receive a response. If you submitted before the above date under “query status” and you haven’t heard back from me, please nudge me!
I currently don’t accept pitches via social media, phone, snail-mail, or any other platform other than email.
What I’m currently looking for: (Updated 7/1/25)
Adult:
- Fantasy
- Romantasy
- High
- Cozy
- Dark
- Folklore Retellings
- Unique Dark Academia
- Psychological Thriller
- Horror
- Would love to see some Horrormantasy!
- Horror rooted in Folklore
- Romance (Spice is okay!) *
- Romantic Comedy *
- Commercial / Upmarket Literary Fiction
* Particularly LGBTQ+, but all welcome!
Young Adult:
- Fantasy
- Unique Dark Academia
- Contemporary
- Paranormal
- Thriller
- Dystopian
- RomCom *
* Particularly LGBTQ+, but all welcome!
Oddly Specific things I’m looking for:
- *New* A unique combination of genres that take place in a fantasy world with the focus NOT being on the fantasy world. Think a murder mystery set in a city in the clouds or a horror story taking place in an undersea village.
- Retellings: Give me all the retellings! From myth, to folktales, to Shakespeare; I want them all! I am particularly interested in myths and retellings from all parts of the world, especially ones we don’t normally see in media.
- Using actual history in an alternate way is absolutely up my alley.
- Baking! Particularly an LGBTQ+ Romance with Great British Bake Off vibes.
- LGBTQ+ Sports Romance / RomComs, with a particular interest in Baseball.
- Horror novels that feature dysfunctional families. Think Haunting of Hill House or DIAVOLA.
- Horror similar to INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE by Josh Malerman, in that this book had me turning the lights on at night for weeks. If you have a manuscript that will freak me OUT… I want to see it.
- LGBTQ+ Romance that features characters that are famous. IF THIS GETS OUT, KISS & TELL, DARK HEARTS, are all favorites! Would love to see some similar New Adult projects.
- Historical novels: I am particularly interested in historical novels that center on a specific person’s history with alternating time lines. I’m looking for projects that make me forget these characters are fictional. I absolutely loved THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT KITTY KARR, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD, and DAISY JONES AND THE SIX.
- Please note: I am closed to historical fiction at this time. However if your manuscript fits the above criteria, please submit!
I am not the best person for:
- Manuscripts longer than 120,000 words or shorter than 50,000 words.
- Stories told in verse
- Superheroes
- Zombies
- Fae
- Science-Fiction (I’m extremely picky with Sci-Fi, so I’m closing to it for now)
- War / Military (I like wars as seen in The Lord of the Rings, not Black Hawk Down)
- Politics
- Urban Fantasy (I’m not particularly interested in magic in our real world at the current moment- this could change in the future!)
I am currently NOT accepting:
- Nonfiction
- Memoir
- Middle Grade
- Picture/Chapter
- Poetry
- Short Story
- Screenplays
- Material for the Inspirational / Religious Market
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Adult, BIPOC, Book Club, Commercial and Literary, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, LGBTQ+, Own Voices, Paranormal, Thrillers, Upmarket Commercial Fiction, Young Adult, dark academia
I’d like the next…
T.J. Klune, Tomi Adeyemi, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Emily Henry, V.E. Schwab, Rebecca Roanhorse, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Freida McFadden, Abby Jimenez, Josh Malerman
My favorites include…
Books:
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab; Whalesong by Daniel Kraus; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Wool by Hugh Howey; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli; House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune; Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Babel by R.F. Kuang
TV:
Once Upon a Time, The Mandalorian, Outlander, Silo, The Crown, American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Fall of the House of Usher
Movies:
Hairspray (2007), Phantom of the Opera (2003), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (I know, I know), Star Wars: Rogue One, The Conjuring Franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Lord of the Rings Franchise
