Caitlin O’Connell
Penguin Workshop/Penguin Young Readers
My Manuscript Wish List®
Hello! I’m an Associate Editor at Penguin Workshop. The bulk of my projects are work-for-hire focused on existing brands & licenses ranging from the Roald Dahl Story Company to Sonic the Hedgehog. Any agent representing a brand interested in book projects is also welcome to reach out.
I have room on my list for select original projects in Middle Grade and YA as well. First thing’s first, in all genres and age ranges: please, please send me queer stories. I would like all of them, especially queer stories that involve intersections with other marginalizations that may not have gotten enough of a spotlight in books yet.
I love historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, and any combination of the three. Give me an interesting, unusual magic system (like in Nettle & Bone or The Merciful Crow) and characters doing their best to handle it all and I’m in. My expertise is mostly in British and French history from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, but I am more than open to stories from all over the world and any time period. I am also interested in character-driven sci-fi. If it feels like a Becky Chambers or Martha Wells book for MG or YA readers, I’m interested!
I’m probably not the right fit for most contemporaries, particularly those without at least some mystery or fantasy element, but as a former musical theatre and dance kid I will always have a soft spot for stories set in that world, as well as hopeful-yet-honest depictions of mental illness.
I am always in favor of adding a cat, but if you do, please have the cat live past the end of the story!
My favorite stories, the ones that stick with me, tend to be very earnest. I love characters who try so hard—try to be good, try to help their friends, try to save the day. I want that yearning, sweeping scope of story to wrap me up and not let me go.
Fun facts about me:
I sew (by hand, because I’m just Like That, apparently) historical clothes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries for fun. So if you send me historical fiction, I will be looking for those costume details and getting it right. 😉
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to coconnell@penguinrandomhouse.com
Please note that for original projects I am only open to agented submissions at this time.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#ownvoices, #wndb, 1800s+ historical, Author-Illustrators, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Mystery, BIPOC Sci-Fi, Character-driven SciFi, Children's and Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, Commercial MG, Commercial YA, Cozy Mystery, Fantasy YA, Feminist SF/F, Graphic Novels, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction YA, Historical mysteries, Illustrated, Illustrated/Gift, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+ rom coms, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Mystery, Mysteries, YA Fantasy, YA Historical Fantasy, YA Mystery, Young Adult, epistolary novels
I’d like the next…
Something that feels like Legends & Lattes but for MG or YA
Something that you would recommend to fans of Tamora Pierce
Something that makes me feel like the Doctor and Yasmin Khan’s relationship makes me feel
My favorites include…
Favorite TV shows:
Doctor Who (especially Jodie Whittaker’s series)
The Great British Bake Off
Good Omens
Gentleman Jack
Favorite movies:
The Lord of the Rings
Stardust
Pirates of the Caribbean
Nimona
Favorite graphic novels:
Squire by Sara Alfageeh & Nadia Shammas
Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz
Ink Girls by Sylvia Bi & Marieke Nijkamp
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama
The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith
The Prince & the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
City of Illusion by Victoria Ying
Favorite middle grade:
Plain Kate by Erin Bow
The Song of Us by Kate Fussner
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Witchlings by Claribel Ortega
A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Sir Callie and the Champions of Hellston by Esme Symes-Smith
Favorite YA:
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed
The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
Echo After Echo by A.R. Capetta
The Afterward by E.K. Johnston
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Favorite adult books:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk
Finna by Nino Cipri
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A few favorite past books I’ve edited:
Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit by Samira Ahmed, Andres Genolet, Triona Farrell, and Joe Caramagna
Captain America: The Ghost Army by Alan Gratz and Brent Schoonover
Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma by Preeti Chhibber
Marvel Meow by Nao Fuji
The Unstoppable Wasp: Built On Hope by Sam Maggs
Spider-Man: Animals Assemble by Mike Maihack
Hawkeye: Kate Bishop by Marieke Nijkamp, Enid Balam, Oren Jr, Brittany Peer, and Joe Caramagna
Hawkeye: Bishop Takes King by Ashley Poston
