Christina Lopez

St. Martin's Press

My Manuscript Wish List®

I am actively seeking adult commercial rom com, contemporary romance, women’s fiction/ book club fiction, and historical fiction. I’m especially interested in anything with characters from historically underrepresented backgrounds (especially Latinx characters, as I’m from a border town in Texas), anything with complex family dynamics spanning several generations (especially mother/daughter stories), stories about found family or finding home in people instead of places, historical fiction like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo that move between the past and the present, and stories involving romance, but where it isn’t the sole driving force of the plot, like In Five Years. Regarding rom-com, I’d love to find the next Katherine Center, who writes commercial rom-coms but with deeper emotional nuance and issues like mental health. I’m also looking for stories that uplift women, such as How To Fall Out Of Love Madly, and stories that give insight into the complexity of exisiting in the world with an intersectional identity. 

I want books that capture the enormity of emotions in the most mundanity of life. I’d also love stories about diverse people doing everyday things and getting a happy ending! 

I’m open to non-fiction having to do with pop culture, reality TV (especially dating shows), and growing up in the late nineties, Disney Channel era.

Some things I am looking for:

  • Character driven stories, especially if the MC is morally ambiguous
  • Stories with speculative elements (small elements of magic like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue)
  • Strong sense of place
  • Tropey romances, especially reimaginings of classic tropes/ rom coms with diverse characters (For example, a Devil Wears Prada reimagining with a Latinx MC)
  • Historical elements, especially when the POV switches from past to present (Like The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain)
  • Domestic psychological thrillers, but nothing too dark (like Sally Hepworth)
  • Manipulation of time/ time travel (The Midnight Library, Oona Out of Order)

Some things I’m not the best fit for:

  • Fantasy/ books with complex world building
  • SciFi
  • Horror
  • Animal stories
  • War stories
  • Westerns

I want a book that feels like a Taylor Swift song; dramatic, relatable, inspiring! Overall, I’m drawn to books with diverse, complex characters that make me feel big emotions.  

I currently assist Jen Enderlin, President & Publisher of St. Martin’s Press on bestselling authors like Kristin Hannah, Katherine Center, Heather Morris, Diane Chamberlain, Sally Hepworth, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to christina.lopez@stmartins.com

I’m only taking agented submissions. Please send manuscript or proposal to christina.lopez@stmartins.com.