Saritza Hernández

I am currently accepting submissions from creators who identify with or are members of, a traditionally underrepresented group. Please note that I’m only acquiring in the following categories at this time:

1. Adult Fiction: romance and science fiction/fantasy only
2. Adult Nonfiction: food & wine (not cookbooks), science, pop culture (geek culture)
3. Middle Grade Fiction: all genres
4. Graphic Novel: author-illustrator works only in all genres across MG, YA, and Adult

Adult Fiction:

In the romance market, I’m particularly interested in romance stories featuring BIPOC & queer narratives from creators in these communities. Send me your romance novels featuring intercultural relationships, small-town contemporary settings, and historical romance novels set in the Americas (North, Central, and South) and the Caribbean. I’d love to see some RomDram too. (Think This is Us with a HEA). Small-town queer romantic comedies are my jam and I’d love to see more of these! I’m also looking for hard science fiction romance (space opera, interplanetary adventure with a romance story at its core), romantasy, and romantic suspense/thrillers.

In the Science Fiction/Fantasy market, I’d like to see works that blend the genres in new and inventive ways; where magic and science collide perhaps. Books like Binti by Nnedi Okorafor do this beautifully. Love hard science and space opera, galactic battles, spacefaring bandits, and adventure stories set in space! But I’m also looking for contemporary fantasy as well as speculative fiction where the real world and the fantastical merge! (Think Under the Whispering Door and Lone Women.)

Middle Grade Fiction:

In the MG market, I’m always looking for stories that feature BIPOC main characters in contemporary settings, science fiction/fantasy, or coming-of-age novels. I want a MG RomCom. I know but hear me out… that first crush, those awkward moments where you start to see your friend as more than a friend and you end up going together to the Spring Dance at the end? Tell me you don’t love that! I’m also drawn to historical fiction and nonfiction featuring underrepresented voices and perspectives from marginalized creators. Would love a book about historical eras and places we don’t always cover in school. I also love friendship books and mysteries in the vein of Stranger Things and the Goonies. Dying for character-driven stories of young people making a difference in the world and finding love & acceptance in the process.

Nonfiction:

I’m looking for more narrative nonfiction in science, pop culture (especially geek culture), and food & wine (not cookbooks) categories. In these, I’m looking for a strong proposal from an author with an established platform.

Illustrators/Graphic Novels:

I’m always looking for more graphic novels across Kidlit and Adult categories but I am not looking for text-only submissions. I’m looking for artists or author-illustrated works of humor and romance, or a good coming-of-age story in these spaces as well. Some of my recent favorites include Grace Needs Space, Frizzy, and The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Also looking to add more illustrators with a strong narrative voice to their work.

Submission Guidelines

Saritza prefers that you submit the 1-2 page synopsis and the first 5 pages of your manuscript via QueryManager.

Guidelines & Details