Jennifer Udden

Laura Dail Literary Agency

My Manuscript Wish List®

I am not seeking children’s’ books at this time (no picture books, no MG, no YA.) I am also less interested in books for adult with child protagonists.

Fantasy: Character-driven fantasy with strong world building is a favorite, from the very literary to the very commercial. I love court intrigue and political or bureaucratic infighting, paired with lush world building.

Past favorites include:

  • The cozy-mystery feel of Robert Jackson Bennett’s THE TAINTED CUP
  • An isekai/transmigration story with an unlikely protagonist in an unusual situation like Sarah Rees Brennan’s LONG LIVE EVIL or Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s THE SCUM VILLAIN’S SELF-SAVING SYSTEM
  • the transactional magic and tense, high stakes of Naomi Novik’s SCHOLOMANCE series (or the lush, romantic world building of SPINNING SILVER,)
  • the magic system and tense family dynamics of Freya Marske’s LAST BINDING trilogy
  • the creepy, gothic flair of Mervyn Peake’s GORMENGHAST books,
  • the oddly domestic political intrigue of Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR and its spinoff series, THE CEMETERIES OF AMALO,
  • Grounded contemporary fantasy like Maurice Broaddus’ BRETON COURT trilogy also welcome (past client,)
  • epic, ambitious fantasy in the vein of N.K. Jemisin’s INHERITANCE trilogy or BROKEN EARTH trilogy, or James Islington’s recent THE WILL OF THE MANY
  • The opposites-attract dynamic in the EMILY WILDE books

With all my fantasy, I want characters I’ll follow to the very end and root for the whole way – in villainy or heroism!

I am less interested in science fiction these days, though I welcome stories with a speculative element. Think MURDERBOT or THE MARTIAN or SIX WAKES (former client.)

Books with cross-genre or crossover potential: Connie Willis’ Oxford Time Travel books are a great example (BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR, TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG; C.S. Pacat’s CAPTIVE PRINCE books; Ben Aaronovitch’s PETER GRANT series; THE CABINET by Un-Su Kim 

Romance: I love romance of all categories! Some favorite authors include Sara Cate, Jeffe Kennedy, Sabrina Bowen, Emily Henry, Beverly Jenkins, Mariana Zapata, Molly O’Keefe, Helen Huang, Ruby Dixon, Courtney Milan, KJ Charles, or Cat Sebastian. I’d love to find strong romantasy with vibrant and compelling worlds like Thea Guanzon’s HURRICANE WARS or Greta Kelly’s FROZEN CROWN (past client), or A FATE INKED IN BLOOD. I love sports romance, particularly hockey, but I’m picky about it! Loved Rachel Reid’s GAME CHANGERS series.

Mystery and Thriller: Anything with a classic British feeling like Dorothy L. Sayers’ PETER WIMSEY books, or Sarah Caudwell’s mysteries set in and around the Temple Bar (THUS WAS ADONIS MURDERED), especially if the tropes are subverted or there is a narrator we don’t normally see in that kind of book. Something like the recent Netflix LUPIN would also be fun to find in my inbox, or the Maureen Johnson TRULY DEVIOUS books. (I know the protagonist starts out 18 in those, but something for adults with a similar feel would be great to find!)

Literary Fiction: I’m seeking limited literary fiction with cross-genre elements, such as Emily St. John Mandel’s SEA OF TRANQUILITY, Ling Ma’s SEVERANCE, Karen Thompson Walker’s THE DREAMERS, NIGHTBITCH by Rachel Yoder, PIRANESI by Susannah Clarke, and BUTTER by Asako Yuzuki

Horror: Recent favorites include MANHUNT and CUCKOO by Gretchen Felker-Martin, AMERICAN RAPTURE by C.J. Leede THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward, the fabulous short stories in the anthology OUT HERE SCREAMING, Classic and more understated horror in the vein of Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson also welcome.

Submission Guidelines

Please only submit queries through Query Manager. Submissions must include: query letter, synopsis, and first ten pages of novel, pasted into the form.

 

Guidelines & Details

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