Tia Mele

Tia Rose Mele Literary Agency LLC

My Manuscript Wish List®

I opened Tia Rose Mele Literary Agency in 2023. I’m really excited to be building my list with fantastic MG, YA, and adult projects. I graduated from UConn in 2016 with a B.A. in English and from SNHU in 2017 with a M.A. in English and Creative Writing.

I’m always looking for strong voices, characters I hate to love or love to hate, and books that can make me both laugh and cry. My first love is baseball, so I pay special attention to any book that features the sport. I have a few sports books on my list already, but I’m always open to MG, YA, and nonfiction related to baseball. In general, my YA list is pretty full right now, so I’m focusing on MG and adult projects. I’m still open to YA, but I’m being extra picky when it comes to this age range.

If it’s not listed below, please feel free to query me anyway! I’m not limited to this list, and I’m always open to trying new things.

What I’d Really Like to See:

Middle Grade Fiction:
Magical realism

A young sleuth solving crimes, with their best friend and their trusty dog side-kick.

Super dark, twisted contemporary that will terrify me (and the kids who read it)

Sweet friendship stories

A middle grade character dealing with a parent living with mental illness

A character with an invisible disability

A character with a visible disability

Sports related book featuring sports you don’t often see in fiction (like bowling, ping-pong, roller derby, archery)

Ghost stories

Stories featuring animals but NOT told in an animal POV

LGBTQ+ themes

Young Adult Fiction:
Sweet, contemporary romance, especially featuring LGBTQ+, neurodiverse, and fat characters

Friendship stories

A book set during a baking competition (there are a bunch of cooking competition/school books, but I’d love one that focuses on baking!)

Books that prominently feature baseball

A contemporary YA about ultimate Frisbee

Characters traveling to new places, both domestic (US) and international. Some of my favorite cities/countries that I’d love to see more of in books: Nashville, TN, Paris, Caen, France, Italy, India, Singapore, Brazil… the list goes on and on

Pen pals from different countries getting the opportunity to meet

Teens struggling with psychological disorders (bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, etc)

A big girl whose weight isn’t the entire plot

A cross country road trip

Sisters who don’t get along, but end up on a road trip together

A book that captures the amazing feeling of being at a live concert

Something set at a comic-con

A super hero story with teens facing internal and external stakes (think Marvel’s Runaways or Cloak and Dagger)

A YA version of the TV show Chuck (bonus points if it’s a female version, or LGBT+)

Pretty much anything featuring nerdy characters, like Max from The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Adult Fiction:
I’m only accept submissions for contemporary romance for adults.

Romances that aren’t afraid to put new spins on old tropes (enemies to lovers, fake relationship, friends to lovers)

Fun facts about me:

I love to bake, especially cupcakes. I love experimenting with new flavors and sometimes it’s a disaster, but sometimes they turn out awesome. Like the apple pie cupcakes I made a few years ago. Delicious!
My family has three amazing dogs. Ridge, a bloodhound, Ace (my brother’s dog), a german shepherd, and Athena (my dog), a lab mix.
I had a rabbit. He was a lionhead named Norman, and I adored him. He hung out with me while I read queries sometimes. Also, I got his name from a Sarah Dessen book (Keeping the Moon)! He passed away in April 2023 and I miss him so very much.
In 2013, I participated in the Disney College Program. I was in Florida for seven months working at the third largest store on Disney World property, Mouse Gear at Epcot!
I’m a huge Boston Red Sox fan!
My second favorite baseball team is the Hartford Yard Goats, the double-a affiliates of the Colorado Rockies. I’ve been to more games than I can count since the stadium opened in Hartford!
As mentioned, baseball is my favorite sport, so to stay on theme: I’ve been to fifteen of the thirty Major League Baseball parks. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox), Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees), Camden Yards (Balitmore Orioles), Nationals Park (Washington Nationals), Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies), Citi Field (New York Mets), PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates), Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers), Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds), Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays), Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers), Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels), Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), RingCentral Coliseum (Oakland Athletics), Progressive Field (Cleveland Guardians), T-Mobile Park (Seattle Mariners). My goal is to visit them all, and then move on to the minor league parks!
I love exclamation points and I use them way too often!
Being outside is my favorite. I love going for walks and hikes. I often read queries and submissions in the back yard just so I can be outside.