#pg70pit Agents' Combined Manuscript Wish List

Want to know what the agents participating in the  #pg70pit Contest are looking for?

Me too! After all, as a co-host, my job is to try and select the entries that have the best chance of finding the agent that's dying to sign that very manuscript. So I did a little research on #MSWL, and bios. And this is what I found.

Below is a combined Manuscript Wish List (MSWL) for the 27 agents partcipating in #pg70pit, divided by age category. In other words, a taste of what the agents are interested in seeing. The lists are long, but hopefully somewhat helpful! Enjoy!

Red text = Recurring themes that many agents mentioned

After the contest is over, I *might* be persuaded to post these divided up by agent. But it will take a bit of doing, so you'll have to convince me ;)

Who are the agents? Click here.

General #MSWL:

• #WNDB: MCs of color
• #WNDB: Stories set in other cultures, Caribbean, Asia, Cuba, Latina, Portugal 
• #WNDB: Different abilities/disabilities, religions
• #WNDB: LGBTQ // QUILTBAG
• Books that beg for a playlist
• Bonus points for: Michigan settings, small town settings, stories involving rescue dogs, Doctor Who-esque, dolphins, dinosaurs, pirates, unusual subcultures
• Cinematic feel
• Contemporary
• Diversity not only in race & gender identity, but also body types, abilities, religion. Intersectional.
• Female protagonists that are "strong," but not in terms of physical strength.
  Instead of fighters, MCs with intelligence, emotional strength etc
• Focus on friendship issues: falling-outs, break-ups etc
• Non-US settings
• Retellings: beyond fairytales, folktales, other retellings, alternate POVs (ie antagonists)
• STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics)- heavy books,
  .... especially with female MCs
• Thrillers
• Voice-driven: poetic, literary

Middle Grade:

• #WNDB - POCs as protags, different religions
• Adventure stories, adventures but with a literary voice
• Animal stories: Classic feel (ala Watership Down), or with animal not as protagonist, books with rescue dogs, books with dolphins, books with dinosaurs
• Alternate History
• Contemporary, contemporary, contemporary!!
• Contemporary with very light fantasy or sci-fi elements, contemporary Sweet Valley Twins, funny/light-hearted, realistic but with a quirky plot
• Coming-of-age
• Crossover appeal to older age brackets
• Dark, honest, dealing-with-adult issues
• Fantasy: High fantasy with a fresh take, or fantasy that feels historical/real, big, unique worlds, heroic stories, unicorns, dragons and daredevil princesses
• Historicals
• Horror ala Goosebumps
• Humor
• Literary
• Mysteries
• Non-US Settings: Asia, Portugal
• Protags who are: Spunky/brainy, funny/confident, Hermione-esque, Alanna-esque, Arya or Sansa Stark-esque, who are artists, who are into STEM, into sports
• Retellings of non-fairytales
• Sports themes: especially soccer or football
• Stories that "teach" about an unusual subject: non-English language, obscure field of research
• Steampunk or something similar
• Voice that's smart but accessible
• Voice that reads Victorian/Edwardian (ala E. Nesbit)

Young Adult:

• #WNDB - Protags of Color please // LGBT // Dealing with mental health issues
• Cinematic feel
• Contemporary, Contemporary, Contemporary!
• Contemporary Retellings: Shakespeare retellings, Breakfast Club reimagining, 
• Contemporary: Voice driven novels from unusual perspectives, or that is hard-hitting, punky, or fangirly/geeky/cosplay/comic-con, or sporty
• Contemporary with very light sci-fi or fantasy elements
• Contemporary drama ala Gossip Girl
• Edgy: Dark,  gritty hard-hitting, no romance, over-the-edge, teen sex workers, love interests with criminal records, stories about blackmail/revenge porn
• Fantasy that feels "real"
• Fantasy: High fantasy with fabulous world-building, Multi-cultural fantasy, fantasy with queer protags, fantasy in the vein of Red Queen & Darkest Part of the Forest, fantasy with an Arya or Sansa or Alanna protagonist, a Fantasy where you hang out with the "normal" kids -- the Hufflepuffs not the Harrys.
• Female protagonists who are "strong" but not necessarily in the physical sense. They're not fighters
• Female protags occupying stereotypically male roles/interests, lady knights
• Focus on friendship/sisters. Girls supporting girls. Friend breakups. Books that aren't about romance.
• Funny coming-of-age, full of heart, or quirky comedy ala Romy & Michele's HS Reunion
• Geekery
• Genre-bending / mashups
• Historical: roaring 20's, Mad Men, hist-fic from unusual eras (e.g. Cold War), 1980s, Ancient China
• Historical Fantasy, ala Great and Terrible Beauty, Moulin Rogue
• Horror, Horror, Horror!
• Horror set in Asia, gothic horror, historical horror, post-apoc horror, ghost stories, urban legends, twisted fairytale, horror dripping with blood/gore, also horror without much blood/gore, horror ala Turn of the Screw, atmopsheric horror ala Bates Motel
• Issue stories that are stripped down, rather than self-indulgent. Humor okay.
• Magical Realism
• Mystery ala Veronica Mars, with a snappy protagonist, chick-lit detective story, a cozy but not cute mystery
• Noir
• Non-US Settings: Asia, Ireland, Middle East
• Platonic Relationships
• Protagonists ala Veronica Mars, Hermione Granger, Arya, Sansa, protags that are artists, protagonists that are geeky, or cunning/clever, lady knights, expats, protags who like STEM
• Retellings: of non-fairytales, horror-fairytales, Romeo & Juliet in the Middle East, fairytales from the antagonist's perspective
• Romance: Light-hearted with a super-sweet love story, romance ala Katie McGarry
• Science Fiction: that's light on the sci-fi, sci-fi with aliens, SFF set in Asia, sci-fi that tackles moral questions, big/epic/adventure sci-fi
• Shapeshifters of unusual varieties only
• Sports stories, sporty girls ala Any Way You Slice It
• Thrillers, Thrillers, Thrillers, THRILLERS! ;)
• Thrillers: Psychological thrillers or high stakes mysteries, literary thrillers, thrillers with magic ala the Prestige, MCs who can "profile" ala Criminal Minds, light-hearted ala Catch Me If You Can, a heist story, creepy thrillers, revenge based thrillers
• Unreliable Narrators

Adult Fiction:

• Book club fiction: focus on friendships, contemporary fiction about love, friendship, family & overcoming adversity
• Bookish settings: bookstores, libraries, manuscript archives
• Cinematic stories
• Characters: First generation Americans, 
• Cozy mysteries: bonus points for a "Storage Wars" like team of characters, with humor
• Dark/Edgy: Women behaving badly, Affairs, Serial killers (but not a crime novel), dark ballet
• Fantasy: Epic, steampunk/gaslamp, fantasy that almost reads historical, fresh take on high fantasy, a Fantasy with Ferris Bueller as the MC, a Fantasy where you hang out with the "normal" people -- the Hufflepuffs not the Harrys.
• Historical Fiction: anything set in roaring 20s, anything Mad-Men-esque, Anne Boleyn, 1980s
• Issue driven stories
• Horror: Psychological, medical
• Light, quirky: Detective chick-lit, rom-coms
• Literary: Love stories, tear-jerkers, Literary suspense
• Magical Realism: magic realism with a literary voice
• Non-US settings!!! Asia, Caribbean (w/local perspective), Ireland, Middle East,  a dark ballet set in Russia
• Romance: Romantic comedy, steamy/swoony/spicy romance, a modern You've Got Mail, historical/regency, sci-fi romance
• Science Fiction:  Sci-Fi that reads literary, Sci-fi that doesnt read like sci-fi, light-hearted sci-fi, non-western sci-fi, older protags, sci-fi with aliens, sci-fi that tackles moral questions, big/epic/adventure sci-fi, SFF humor re-invented (not derivative of Pratchett or Adams), sci-fi Oceans Eleven, Pushing Daisies, or Fiddler on the Roof. The Outsiders in Space. Sci-fi with a Stranger Than Fiction tone.
• Steampunk ... or the next steampunk
• Thrillers: suspense with a noir aesthetic, a thriller Girl w/Dragon Tattoo, but set in the Middle East, literary thriller ala Night Film, a thriller with magic/illusion ala the Prestige, crime fiction ala Thelma and Louise meets Broad City
• Transgressive Fiction
• Urban Fantasy that feels classic, but fresh, with new creatures
• Voice: Literary, or Irreverent yet serious ala Doctor Who
• Westerns
• Women's Crime Fiction of the quirky variety

Related Resources: #MSWL Twitter Hashtag || MSWL Archives || MSWL Paragraph 
   ... and don't forget to check agent's bios / agency profiles!

See anything that sounds like your manuscript? Run and get your entry ready for #pg70pit! Submissions open soon!!!