Crystal Castro

Submission Guidelines

Hello! I’m Crystal Castro, an Assistant Editor at  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. I am so excited to be considering YA and MG fiction titles for my list! Below is an ever-evolving outline of things I’d like to see in my inbox.

I am actively seeking:

ACROSS ALL AGE GROUPS:

• Character-driven narratives
• Thrillers, mysteries, horror, fantasy, adventure
• Debut projects from BIPOC authors (this year especially I am hoping to bring more Puerto Rican voices to LBYR!). 
• Voicey manuscripts– I want to get a sense of the main character’s personality from the very first page!

YOUNG ADULT:

• Anything that feels dark and feminist. Give me girls who are angry, vengeful, and powerful. If you have something with a Bunny by Mona Awad (from the Bunnies POV), The Craft, girl-squad-that-eats-people vibe, I want it. 
• Books about cults/cult-like groups. Bonus for dark academia vibes (think The Secret History by Donna Tartt or We Were Villians by M.L Rio, but with a punchy YA voice), or cannibalism as a metaphor for something OTHER than consumerism.
• Books about mermaids/sirens (these could SO easily be horror!)

MIDDLE GRADE:

• Humorous stories about middle-grade issues (puberty, friend breakups, etc.)
• Fantasy, especially if there is some sort of school/academy element
• Realistic, contemporary adventure
• Quippy narrators (think Lemony Snicket!)

Things I love:

• Sisters. 
• The ocean. Storms.
• Coastal aesthetics (dark and light).
• Nature as character.
• Rivals-to-lovers (not to be confused with enemies-to-lovers)
• Lovers-to-rivals/enemies but they still have feelings for each other despite outside circumstances forcing them to fight on opposing sides.
• Books that take place in a short period of time (1 day to 1 week).
• Seeing the same event from multiple POVs.
• Short chapters.
• Books with BIPOC narrators that aren’t about being BIPOC. 

I am NOT looking for:

• Adult manuscripts. I work at a children’s publisher and I am unable to consider projects for adult audiences (yes, even if they’re really good). 
• Picture books.
• Graphic novels.
• Unagented submissions. 
• Novels in verse.
• Books with racism plot lines.