Paula Weiman

I’m open to submissions ranging from picture book to YA and speculative adult fiction.

I’m open to picture book texts, picture book illustrator portfolios, and author-illustrator picture books. I’m looking for text with sly and clever humor, a clear hook, and a complete plot arc, especially if it ties into a cultural heritage topic or a STEM concept. I’m looking for bold and distinct art styles featuring human children as characters, or striking geometric scenes. I’m working with a few traditional illustrators and while I love traditional art, I’m open to working with more digital artists too! I have a soft spot for art that combines the cute with the spooky, and for elaborate abstract line work. Favorites include Kenard Pak, X. Fang, Kyo Maclear, Byron Eggenschwiler, Esme Shapiro, and Marianna Coppo.

Chapter book: I’m open to high concept chapter books with a hook that lends itself to an episodic series, particularly if they feature protagonists from backgrounds and identities that are underrepresented within publishing. Illustration-forward projects are welcome.

Middle grade: I’m focusing on mysteries and adventure stories, but I’m open to the occasional tear-jerker if it has a strong voice and clear stakes. I like active narrators with a charming and clever voice, and protagonists who are a little bit messy even when they mean well. Favorites include The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise; The Best Liars in Riverview; Ghosts, Toasts, and Other Hazards; The Hike to Home; The Language of Spells; and anything by Kelly Barnhill, Catherynne M. Valente, or Patricia C. Wrede.

Young adult: I’m still on the hunt for a well-executed heist! I’d love to see thrillers that are less “murder mystery” and more “teenagers tackling systemic injustice in their community.” I’m on the lookout for rom-coms full of shenanigans with substantial subplots grounded in real issues teens face, especially featuring protagonists and love interests who are queer, BIPOC, religious minorities, and/or physically disabled. Favorites include TJ Powar Has Something to Prove, Don’t Let it Break Your Heart, Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot, Sadie, Where There’s Smoke, and Not Like Other Girls.

For both YA and adult audiences, I’m drawn to psychological horror rooted in topics of colonization, familial trauma, environmentalism, and empathetic depictions of mental illness. I’m looking for second-world and contemporary fantasy with unique magic systems and efficient world-building that won’t require me to learn con-lang vocabulary.  Settings outsode of Europe or the anglophone world catch my attention, as do stories that draw heavily on the author’s cultural experiences. I’ll consider New Adult fantasy if it’s clear that the story belongs in that subcategory for reasons beyond the age of the protagonist. Some favorites include Fiendish; Wilder Girls; Chlorine; Summer Sons; Our Wives Under the Sea; Girl, Serpent, Thorn; Skin of the Sea; When the Moon Was Ours; Gideon the Ninth; The Ten Thousand Doors of January; and anything by Nghi Vo or Helen Oyeyemi.

Across these genres and age categories, I welcome stories about marginalized characters and stories written by marginalized authors.

If you’re trying to decide between querying me and one of my colleagues at ASH Literary, Alice’s tends to prefer more commercial prose, Saffron is the best fit for more elaborate prose, and my taste tends to be more literary.

Unless there’s an unrelated hook that draws me in, I’m NOT the best fit for: hard sci-fi, space travel, fiction with animal protagonists, vampires, werewolves, coming-out stories, feminine rage channeled into revenge on the protagonist’s boyfriend or husband.

Buzzwords that DO often catch my attention: heists, labor rights, butch love interests, trans-affirming horror, skeleton imagery, fantasy worlds with multiple religious groups.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to submissions@ashliterary.com

Please include a note in your query letter if your manuscript includes depictions of sexual assault or dead children (including teenagers). For novels, please send the first three chapters. For picture books, please send sample illustrations that include at least one image of the main character and upload the entire text.

Paula can be queried through QueryManager or su*********@*********ry.com. Submissions sent elsewhere and those sent to both QM and the email simultaneously will be deleted unread.

Guidelines & Details