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.
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, Feminist Horror, Film/TV, Graphic Novels (for all ages), Illustrated, LGBTQ+, Literary YA & MG, Magic Realism, Mothers and Daughters, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Slice of life, coming of age, contemporary middle grade, crossover appeal, dramedy, friendship, 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
- 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!)
- Non romantic historical fiction
My favorites include…
Books:
- Maame by Jessica George
- 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
