Hannah Fergesen

KT Literary

My Manuscript Wish List®

Updated 6/1/21

**Please note: I am currently closed to queries. When I re-open to queries again, I will be looking for the below:

 

In Adult I want:

Speculative Fiction – Specifically, I’d love to see the following:

Intelligent second world fantasy (PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE, TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT, etc)

grounded narratives with speculative elements (think New Weird or magical realism, not urban fantasy – THE CITY WE BECAME, THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE, etc)

horror (THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB GUIDE, HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS, etc),

science fiction (THE VANISHED BIRDS,  A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE,etc),

thrillers/suspense that flirt with horror.

In everything, I love found families, LGBTQ+ characters, and clever world-building, and elements of horror in all genres. In all genres, I’m looking for elevated/upmarket prose and elevated and/or high concepts. I love things that are off-kilter yet magnetic; GIDEON THE NINTH was a favorite this year.

Upmarket Fiction – Think elevated prose with a high concept hook and book club fiction. I especially love ensembles and concepts millennial readers will sink their teeth into. SUCH A FUN AGE, PLAIN BAD HEROINES, etc. Speculative elements ala SHARKS IN THE TIME OF SAVIORS, THE WATER DANCER, or STATION ELEVEN? Even better.

I would also like to have some fun this year! Romance, suspense, fantasy, etc – If you have a compulsively readable book with a super fun premise and cast of characters, send it along! DIAL A FOR AUNTIES, THE HATING GAME, or THE HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA are all great examples of what I’d love to see in those genres.

In the YA and MG categories I am continuing to look for:

A good, twisty mystery or suspense that could become a series.  I loved the Charlotte Holmes books, and if anyone has the novel-version of BRICK, please send it to me.  I am still dying for it.

Magical Realism

Speculative/New Weird (consider THE VALLEY AND THE FLOOD by Rebecca Mahoney as a great reference for what I’m looking for here)

Queer/BIPOC-focused Rom Coms (I want seriously fun, sweet cinnamon rolls with extremely shippable characters) and unique contemporary (not fantasy) retellings of older works (ala Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, etc)

Graphic Novels – in both YA and MG I am very excited about finding graphic novels in all genres

Non Fiction: In MG I want interesting biographies and STEM-related topics made fun. YA, I want memoir by young or teen writers, especially if your story relates to girls breaking through barriers, activism and politics. In Adult I want unique cookbooks/cookbook hybrids (recipes interspersed with essays, for example), memoirs by women with unique stories of entrepreneurship, books on pop culture and fandom, true crime, contemporary and historical, and anything with a witchy angle (think astrology or tarot).

A scary YA vampire story! Take note: I do NOT want your run-of-the-mill paranormal romance (see above re: things I don’t want). If your book has more in common with the horror of Lost Boys alongside themes like acceptance, fitting in, or dealing with grief, for example, then it’s for me!

In YA and MG I still love but am being pickier with: 

Horror – I have several fabulous horror novels and writers on my list so while I am still considering and still very much fall for it, I’m being incredibly picky with it. I’d love to find a really spine-tingling but fun MG horror, though!

Fantasy – My YA and MG fantasy list is quite saturated so I’m primarily looking for extremely unique takes on old tropes and worlds.

Sci-Fi – I’m much more on the hunt for grounded YA and MG SF right now (think MORE HAPPY THAN NOT by Adam Silvera) than any other type of SF.

***I am especially focused on finding stories by underrepresented creators! KT Literary as a whole is invested in promoting and supporting underrepresented writers and their stories***

**Please note I like to see the first three pages of your manuscript along with your query! When citing my manuscriptwishlist, please understand the difference between citing what I represent, and what I’m asking for here. If you have a specific project that fits what I’ve mentioned here, then great! If you’re sending me a YA Contemporary or a YA fantasy in general, please don’t cite this wishlist in your query.

**Pronouns are She/They, salutation Mx.

And finally, here are things I’m NOT the right agent for:

Dragons/Faeries/Elves
Arthurian legend adaptations/retellings
Mermaids
Steampunk
Trilogies
Paranormal Romance
Urban Fantasy
Stories about female societies/utopias where the men are dead/subjugated/enslaved/etc
Anything set during World War 2 (a valid topic but not one I want at this time, unless you’re approaching it from a radically different lens than what is already on the market)
Dystopian

A note: If you see something on here that you respond to, that’s great! Please be very specific about what part of my MSWL you identified with when querying me – I’ve made my wishlist specific so that you can be specific too! This will help me get a better sense of you and your book, and the writer you are!

Fun facts about me:

I went to school for TV/Film writing; I have an orange tabby with a Chaplin mustache named Chester; I lived in Toronto for two years as a kid.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to hannahquery@ktliterary.com

The subject line of your email should include the word “Query” along with the title of your manuscript.Please also include the first three pages of your manuscript. No attachments – all queries with attachments will be deleted. I aim to reply to all queries within two weeks of receipt.

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