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).

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.

Guidelines & Details

Vital Info