Sera Rivers

Sera is opening to select genres in adult fiction on the first 7 days of each month, starting March 2025! She’s especially interested in inclusive narratives and authentic representation by children’s authors and illustrators who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and other underrepresented and marginalized identities and cultures.

What She is NOT looking for:

• high fantasy (or any fantasy traveling to other lands)
• kings, queens, or royal families
• chapter books
• picture book bios; or about death/grief/grandparents; or with rhyming text
• illustrators who do not also write
• author-only graphic novels
• demonic possessions
• historical fiction (80s and 90s okay—MUST have a reason that the story can ONLY be set in that specific time period)

Specifically looking for in 2025:

SELECT ADULT FICTION

Sera’s main interests include subversive horror, magical realism, grounded science fiction, grounded fantasy, speculative, and contemporary fiction that comments on social injustice. In addition to these genres, she is also interested in books by underrepresented authors in the vein of Emily Henry.

To get a better sense of the types of stories Sera is looking for, check out her favorite books/movies/shows in the sidebar.

KIDLIT

Sera is not open to unsolicited queries in the children’s book space, except for referrals, conference attendees and pitch events (follow special submission guidelines). Sera is looking for select children’s books in the following genres:

Young Adult—LGBTQIA+; horror; non-Western folklore, culture, and heritage; thriller; grounded sci-fi; speculative

Middle Grade—horror only

Picture Books— horror; books by underrepresented authors and illustrators

Graphic Novels— Author/illustrator only

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to https://querymanager.com/query/serarivers

For novel submissions, please include your query letter, full synopsis (including the ending), and the first ten pages of your manuscript.

For graphic novel submissions, please include your query letter, full synopsis (including the ending), and the first ten pages of your script. Please attach sample pages of art or character designs, or send a link of sample pages; please send a link to your portfolio.

For picture book submissions, please include your query letter and the full manuscript. For author/illustrators: please attach sample pages of art, or send a link of sample pages; please send a link to your portfolio.

PLEASE NOTE: Sera only accept queries via Query Manager. She will do her very best to reply to queries within 3 months and full manuscript requests within 6 months.

Guidelines & Details