mona kanin
MKanin Literary, LLC
My Manuscript Wish List®
My Manuscript Wish List® Items
For All Readers
- Writing that sparks imagination, resonates with the unconscious, shifts perspectives, and deepens our common humanity.
- Books that clarify timely cultural undercurrents for any age group.
- Stories from a variety of voices that offer elemental truths and stir empathy and connection.
For Children (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
- Open on Query Manager to PB author/illustrators through August, 2026; otherwise by referral.
- Imagination comes first, amplified by feelings and curiosity.
- Also seeking compelling approaches to MG fiction and narrative non-fiction.
For Adults (Fiction)
- Ambitious, inventive, vivid Literary Fiction.
- Books that transcend form or genre while focusing on the well-crafted line.
For Adults (Non-Fiction)
- Non-fiction crafted as well as literary fiction
- Non-fiction (humanities and sciences) which provoke thought and may challenge societal norms
- Non-fiction with psychological foundations (no self-help, please)
After earning an MSLS at Simmons, Mona worked as a librarian at the Boston Public Library. She also studied at the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature and later managed a boutique bookshop in Washington, D.C.
Drawn to the imaginative challenges of content creation, throughout her careers, Mona has sought to forge connections—between audience and medium, between trust and collaboration, and between content and emotion.
After working as a developmental editor and literary agent, Mona founded M. Kanin Literary to be a creative partner to exceptional authors and illustrators and an advocate for imaginative, artistically ambitious books for adults and children—work by original thinkers and makers that trusts readers, resists simplification, and holds value beyond the immediate demands of the marketplace.
Before this, Mona spent 25 years designing, writing, and producing nonfiction media for broadcast, print, and the web. She became a producer through writing, helping to understand audiences and shape messages for, among others, the Human Genome Project, Weston Woods, Discovery, and PBS. Her work received top national awards. Kanin also studied design at Parsons.
Fun facts about me:
I created a nom de plume when I was 11.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to https://querymanager.com/query/MKaninLiterary/MKanin
If you are a writer who is interested in submitting a manuscript, please query Mona through the portal, https://querymanager.com/query/MKanin and in the “Sample” section please include:
- Fiction: The first twenty-five pages of your manuscript.
- Non-Fiction: Your Complete Book Proposal.
- PBs: the entire manuscript + sample illustrations.
Queries are accepted only via QueryManager. If Mona is interested in reading further, she will be in touch within 6 weeks. We regret that we cannot guarantee a response to every submission; if you have not heard back from us within 8 weeks, we are declining the opportunity to represent your work at this time.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
"Big Idea/Think", #ownvoices, Children's, Children's Nonfiction, Diversity, Feminism, Feminist, LGBTQ Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Literary Middle Grade, Literary Noir, Narrative Nonfiction, Own Voices, STEAM, STEM, Social Justice, cook book
I’d like the next…
For Kiddos, I’d like the next…
- Milo Imagines The World (de La Peña)
- Girl On A Motorcycle (Novesky)
- Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast (Gilmore)
- I Talk Like A River (Scott)
- The Tide Pool Waits (Fleming)
- A Snake Falls to Earth (Little Badger)
- Brown Girl Dreaming (Woodson)
- Pax (Pennypacker)
- The Wild Robot (Brown)
- Everything Sad Is Untrue (Nayari)
- Audition (Kitamura)
- James (Everett)
- The Memory Police (Ozawa)
- Vladimir (Jonas)
- I Have Some Questions for You (Makkai)
- Matrix (Groff)
- Exit West (Hamid)
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (Vuong)
- The Wrong End of the Telescope (Alameddine)
- An Immense World (Yong)
- Wildwood (Deaken)
My favorites include…
