Valery Badio
Macmillan's Children, Henry Holt BYR
My Manuscript Wish List®
Valery Badio is a Haitian-American assistant editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. She is looking for young adult (crossover welcome), chapter books, graphic novels, and picture books.
She is interested in vulnerable and humorous realistic stories that center underrepresented characters. She especially loves stories featuring coming of age; girly and/or queer friend groups; precocious main characters; first loves (and heartbreaks); immigrant or intergenerational families (especially BIPOC or Caribbean); anything illustrated; flawed and awkward characters; mental health; the spooky and the whimsical; magical realistic connections to nature; quirky schools and teachers; fun murder mysteries; mother-daughter relationships; emotional support pets; and art driven picture books.
She’s currently very eager to find a YA retelling of a classic literature story, something in the vein of Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, or Pride by Ibi Zoboi.
Fun facts about me:
Valery has a black cat named Humphrey.
Submission Guidelines
Agented submissions only
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Contemporary YA, Cozy mysteries, Epistolary, Fairytale Retellings, Feminist Horror, Film/TV, Gothic, Graphic Novels (for all ages), Illustrated, LGBTQ+, Literary Horror, Literary YA & MG, MG contemporary, Magical Realism, Middle Grade Mystery, Mothers and Daughters, Slice of life, Speculative Fiction, YA Rom-Coms, YA horror, coming of age, contemporary middle grade, crossover appeal, dark academia, dramedy, friendship, queer horror, spooky mg, witches
I’d like the next…
- Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier and Andrea Tsurumi
- Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin
- Timid by Jonathan Todd
- To All the Boys trilogy
- The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
- Lisa Frankenstein
- Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
- Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi
- Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman
- Clueless
- 90s Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Not for me…
- High fantasy
- High Sci-fi (speculative is great though!)
My favorites include…
Books:
- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
- Emma by Jane Austen
- Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Sula by Toni Morrison
Movies:
- Bridget Jones’ Diary
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- Moonlight
- Jennifer’s Body
- Anything Studio Ghibli
T.V. Shows:
- Insecure
- New Girl
- Severance
- Bob’s Burgers
