Cheyenne Faircloth
Handspun Literary Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
Hello! My name is Cheyenne (she/her). I’m most interested in manuscripts from historically excluded communities, i.e. queer, BIPOC, AAPI, neurodivergent, and disabled voices.
My interests include romantasy, cozy fantasy, speculative fiction, Southern Gothic stories with speculative elements, folkloric and atmospheric elements; rom-com plus (meaning a romance with a little something extra like a mystery/thriller/heist or a women’s fiction crossover etc.); young adult and adult fantasies with political elements and well-grounded world building; feminist retellings of mythology; and new takes on popular creatures of myth.
I am not currently accepting middle grade, picture books, contemporary YA, or nonfiction.
Fantasy and Speculative Fiction (both YA and Adult)
- Romantasy (Fantasy stories that center a romantic relationship/A sweeping romance at the center of an epic fantasy? Sign me up!)
- Cozy fantasy
- Queer!!!
- Romantic sub plot always a plus!
- Southern Gothic (think Summer Sons By Lee Mandelo, or a darker version of The Raven Cycle. I would really love something set in the American South (or the equivalent of that), a swampy and haunting and magical/speculative story).
- Well-grounded magic systems and/or world building (Xiran Jay Zhao, Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, Martha Wells, Hannah Kaner, T. Kingfisher, M. L. Wang).
- Writing that feels folkloric/atmospheric (Naomi Novik, Katherine Arden, Emily Tesh, Heather Fawcett).
- Dark/gothic fantasies with romantic elements (Ava Reid, S.T. Gibson).
- Monster romance (repeated under “romance”).
- Stories that pull inspiration from non-western mythology.
- Fresh takes on mermaids, vampires, werewolves (not just western interpretations/myths, and preferably through a queer lens).
- Stories firmly rooted in place/culture.
- Feminist retellings of myth.
- Stories that challenge sexuality/gender norms (this goes for all genres and age groups).
- Polyamorous relationships (PLEASE!!)
Adult Fiction
Rom-coms plus (open to all sub genres with stories centering queer, BIPOC, AAPI, neurodivergent, and disabled characters.)
- Rom-coms that have crossover appeal into other genres (thriller/mystery/heist etc.)
- Rom-com that straddles a women’s fiction space.
- Fresh takes on sports romances (queer, in conversation with gender, sexism; ones that address institutional issues, etc.)
- Trope-filled stories, soapy writing (found family, secret royal (yes, she’s *that* kind of American), all the romance tropes, enemies/rivals to lovers, grump meets sunshine are some of my favorites).
- Healthy examples of polyamorous relationships.
- Monster romance (repeated under “fantasy”). I would love to see something fresh in this space! Perhaps something that’s a little angsty and lyrical and contains a greater conversation.
Horror (open to adult or YA)
- Really voicey, the intensity of the voice should add to the horror element.
- “Sad”/emotional horror ie. The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor
- Dark academia (something like Babel by R. F. Kuang)–would LOVE to have a magical school set in the South, or set outside of America entirely, pulling inspiration/ influence from a specific culture.
- Characters with complicated relationships with religion (think Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Jospeh White and Godkiller by Hannah Kaner).
Fun facts about me:
- One of my favorite songs is “Malhari” from Bajirao Mastani. You can’t listen to this song and not dance.
- My first jobs as an editor were on Ao3, and I have a huge respect (and love) for fan-fiction writers.
Submission Guidelines
Handspun is currently open to general submissoins for the month of March! Submission guidelines are below:
Please fill out this form on Query Manager:
https://querymanager.com/query/HandspunLit
For fiction: please have a query letter, short synopsis (ideally 5 pages or less), and the first three chapters or 50 pages of the novel, whichever is more.
Attachments are best; we prefer Word docs to PDFs.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Epic Fantasy, Gothic Horror, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Urban Fantasy
I’d like the next…
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. A DELIGHTFUL romance that does cozy fantasy so, so right!
- You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. If souls could be made into books, I think mine would look like this. Love how Emezi doesn’t shy away from the exploration of grief, and I adore how healthy the main relationship in this book is (always looking for an Alim and Feyi in the query box).
- The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang. I am blown away by the world building in this book, and I really love the scientific explanation/exploration of the magic. Such an epic and sprawling world, and I LOVE how political it is.
- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: I love the politics, the poly relationship, how the narrative centers the rage of historically marginalized peoples, and the disassembling of a patriarchal society.
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: an epic, African-inspired fantasy with interesting dynamics between characters, loved how immersive Adeyemi’s writing is.
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: found family, gritty setting, voice-y writing, heist story, all my favorites!
- The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black: I would KILL for a fresh take on faeries/fae/popular creature of myth (ie mermaids/vampires/werewolves), or something done in this whimsical, haunting way.
- Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries: LOVED LOVED LOVED.
My favorites include…
- Blue Eye Samurai–love all the conversations this series had about gender, “otherness,” family, self discovery. And, of course, the badassery of the Main MC.
- Castlevania: Nocturne–I would kill for something like this as a fantasy novel. Very queer, sexy, found family–gimme, gimme!
- Good Omens: THE WAY SEASON TWO ENDED OH MY GOD.
- K-dramas: epic slow burns, ridiculously lovable characters, outrageous plots that somehow work.
