Tiffany Shelton

I am acquiring in adult, new adult, and upper YA where my tastes in fiction generally overlap.

I’m really looking for stories from under-considered voices across race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, neurodiversity, or even the intersection of any and all of these marginalized groups. Uplifting and advocating for these voices is something I’ve really been passionate about since I started acquiring.

I’m looking for voice-driven and character-driven narratives with dynamic storytelling, immersive worlds, palpable and raw emotions, and characters to love (or love to hate). I have a soft spot for stories inspired by classic works, legends, myths, and fairy tales that feature diverse characters. It was a no-brainer that I fell in love with Within These Wicked Walls.

In the adult and new adult categories, I’m acquiring commercial and upmarket fiction with speculative elements; book club fiction in the vain of Brit Bennett, Celeste Ng, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Asha Lemmie, and Kiley Reid; and messy coming-of-age fiction like Maame by Jessica George, Luster by Raven Leilani, and Sally Rooney.

I would also love upmarket horror in the vein of Get Out or horror that uses the usual tropes in a new, interesting way; speculative in the vein of Orphan Black; sweeping historical fiction from groups traditionally erased from the genre (the further back in history, the better; no WWI or WWII); epic love stories that don’t necessarily end in an HEA similar to One Day or The Time Traveler’s Wife; twisty psychological thrillers; contemporary fantasy; southern gothic and gothic fiction; and dark academia.

In young adult, I’m looking for upper/crossover fiction across genres including—but not limited to—contemporary, thrillers, horror, dark academia, southern gothic, speculative, contemporary fantasy, historical fantasy (Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle and Diviners series), and epic fantasy.

I would love to see vampires in the vein of The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Cain make a comeback. Witches (across the Sabrina the Teenage witch to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina spectrum) are always a good fit for me in both adult and YA. I would love a new adult supernatural fantasy set in New Orleans, whether present or past.

I would also like more fiction set in college and immediately post-grad.

It’s like catnip to me when a novel has a romantic thread where the love interests are snarky to each other.

Somethings on the top of my wish list are: a friendship story—adult or YA. I think we relegate friendships to subplots too often and would love to see a novel that a friendship is the main story—whether it’s a toxic friendship, friendship breakup, friendship make up, or dealing with being the token marginalized person within a certain friend group. I would also like friendship stories featuring male friendships where they actively tackle toxic masculinity by talking about and expressing their emotions and ask for help (professional or otherwise) when they need it. And a twisty adult or new adult set in New Orleans (my favorite city in the U.S.), where the city feels like its own character (can be fantasy or contemporary).

I am also acquiring select commercial adult nonfiction projects in narrative, history, memoir, true crime, and pop culture. I am not the right fit for very academic or literary nonfiction.

I am no longer looking for category romance or romantic comedies, YA romance (not including other YA genres with romantic threads) or nonfiction in the mind/body/spirit and self-help/relationship spaces.

I am not a good fit for science fiction in any age group.

Submission Guidelines

Agented submissions only. Thank you for your interest! Macmillan does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Submissions must be sent through an agent or requested by us through conferences, contests, etc…