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 8 times in 5 different states.
- I’ve been playing both Genshin Impact AND Honkai: Star Rail since launch
- I have 2 dogs, Bentley and Bella, and 1 cat, Leia (who goes by Kitty).
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to matthewquery@megibowliterary.com
STATUS: CLOSED until May 15th 2026.
UPDATE: To help balance my workload and to lessen my reading time, I am continuing to limit my query window to only half the month. I will be open the 15th through the end of the month starting in January, 2026! Also, I am refining my MSWL to be a bit more succinct. Please double check what I’m looking for before submitting a query.
QUERY STATUS: All queries sent prior to 1/17/26 have been answered aside from roughly 60 in my maybe pile. If you sent a query prior to this date and have not heard back from me, please nudge me!
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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 being a full-time graduate student and a full-time teacher; Please allow around 6-8 weeks for a response and note that no critiques or feedback are included in passes.
Communication is very important to me, so please know that absolutely all queries will be read by me and will receive a response. I do not ghost authors, so if you submitted before the above date under “query status” and you haven’t heard back from me, please nudge.
I currently don’t accept pitches via social media, phone, snail-mail, or any other platform other than email.
Queries should be sent to ma**********@*************ry.com with the subject “QUERY – MANUSCRIPT TITLE”.
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SPRING 2026 MSWL: (Updated 5/15/26)
Please note that as of May 2026 my main focus will shift to genre fiction. I will be exclusively seeking Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Romance.
Adult:
- Fantasy
- All subgenres including: Romantasy, High/Epic, Cozy, Dark, Historical, Folklore Retellings, Dark Academia, Portal.
- I am desperately looking for LGBTQ+ and marginalized MCs in fantasy!
- Some recent favorites: THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon, IN THE VEINS OF THE DROWNING by Kalie Cassidy
- Science-Fiction
- All subgenres welcome, just keep in mind I’m very picky and looking for super high concept!
- I am desperately looking for LGBTQ+ and marginalized MCs in Sci-Fi!
- Some recent favorites: THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon, IN THE VEINS OF THE DROWNING by Kalie Cassidy
- Horror
- Paranormal, Demonic Possession, Historical, Folklore, Dark Academia, and Gothic.
- LGBTQ+ and marginalized MCs are a plus!
- Some recent favorites: INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE by Josh Malerman, DIAVOLA by Jennifer Marie Thorne
- Romance
- Contemporary, New Adult, Dark Romance, Paranormal, Romantic Comedy, Romantasy, Holiday, Sports
- LGBTQ+ preferred, but all are welcome!
- Spice at any level is welcome!
- Recent favorites: BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE KISSMAS by Sara Raasch
Young Adult:
- Science-Fiction & Fantasy
- All subgenres including: Fantasy Romance, High, Cozy, Dark, Historical, Folklore Retellings, Dark Academia, Portal.
- I am desperately looking for LGBTQ+ and marginalized MCs in YA fantasy!
- I am open to high concept YA Science Fiction
- Some recent favorites: LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by Sher Lee, THE PRISON HEALER by Lynette Noni, CROWN OF FEATHERS by Nicki Pau Preto
- Romance
- Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Comedy
- LGBTQ+ and marginalized MCs are a plus!
- Some recent favorites: DARK HEARTS by James L. Sutter, THE LONG RUN by James Acker, WHAT IS THIS FEELING? by Robby Weber
- Contemporary
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Things I would LOVE to see in my inbox:
- Greek Myth. I’m a sucker for Greek God shenanigans. Adult or YA. (Think Lore Olympus, Song of Achilles, Elektra, Ariadne, etc.)
- 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 that takes place in an undersea village.
- I would LOVE to see dark academia that takes place in foreign lands. Surely there are cool colleges and universities across the globe? Japan? Zimbabwe? Australia? China?
- Retellings: Myth, 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.
- Baking! Particularly an LGBTQ+ Romance with Great British Bake Off vibes.
- I am DESPERATE for LGBTQ+ Sports Romance / RomComs!
- Horror similar to INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE by Josh Malerman. 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.
Currently Closed to the following:
- Thriller
- Historical
- Literary / Commercial that isn’t grounded in the above genres
I am not the best person for:
- Manuscripts longer than 120,000 words or shorter than 50,000 words (I will auto-reject these, please double check!)
- Stories told in verse
- Slasher / Serial killer
- Superheroes
- Zombies
- Shifters
- Fae
- 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 do NOT accept:
- Nonfiction
- Memoir
- Middle Grade
- Children’s Picture/Chapter
- Poetry
- Short Story / Novella
- 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
