Sophia M. Ramos
New Leaf Literary & Media
My Manuscript Wish List®
For Fall 2026, Sophia would specifically love to see more:
- Unique, haunting settings featuring horrible ruling class families determined to make things infinitely worse
- Interesting takes on the medieval period and subversions on knighthood and chivalry trope
- Seafaring or oceanic-inspired stories. I love vicious mermaids, nautical old wives’ tales, maritime folklore, pirates, and dramatic water-based magic
- Horror-Romance that feels more scary than campy
- Reimaginings of familiar tales from fresh character perspectives you wouldn’t expect
- Experts and academics past their studying days, actively adventuring or working in their fields
- Portal fantasies where the portal serves a real function beyond just an escape for a boring and/or miserable life
- Cozy stories, fantasy or contemporary, that capture a general season e.g. Fall, Winter
- Space-based stories with tight world-building, intimate settings, and a focus on humanity
- Gaslamp and Steampunk inspired settings, magic-systems, lore, characterizations are all welcome here
- Science Fiction exploring ecology, zoology, paleontology, and general climate what-ifs rather than technological ones
- Books set or inspired by the Arctic Circle
- I’m still looking for a humid fantasy or horror inspired by swamps, gators, mangroves, and the Florida wetlands at large
- If Teddy Hamilton would narrate it, I want to read it
- Gargoyles. Interpretation may vary.
- Books about books are always a hit with me
- I am always looking for more Latinx, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander writers and likewise-inspired settings and stories
MSWL Note:Â Just because these are what I’m looking for this year doesn’t mean your book might not be a good fit for me! Please feel free to try me if I have commonalities with your book that don’t necessarily appear in my specifics list.
Right now, I’m not looking to sign:
- Picture Books
- Police Procedurals, or detective/military protagonists who are essentially paid to solve the mystery
- Books with an AI-heavy plot
- Contemporary Rom-Com (I will do a rom-com if it has a high-concept hook that hits any of my asks above)
- Text-Only Graphic Novel submissions
Fun facts about me:
- Diet Coke Enthusiast—Disney World Fountain is the best
- Competitive Axe Thrower
- Mother to six dachshunds: Sunny, Ming, Mindy, Sky, Storm, and Monday
- Will devour any bread pudding, any time, any place
Submissions should be emailed to https://QueryManager.com/sophiamramos
Vital Info
I’d like the next…
My favorites include…
Books: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz-Zafon; The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow; Innamorata and Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid; Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy; The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater; Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo;
Film/TV: Widow’s Bay; Schitt’s Creek; Black Sails; Sinners; Avatar: The Last Airbender; Carnival Row; Frontier; Tarzan; Dimension 20; Encanto
Tropes/Themes/Elements: rivals-to-lovers, curmudgeonly academics, textile magic, little buddies/familiars, magic waters, women’s wrongs, the moon, the seasons/elements, grandmas with a secret, almost-kisses
