Kade Dishmon

I’m Kade (he/they), an assistant editor at Holiday House. 

I’m seeking MG and YA fiction in the below genres. My tastes tend to skew darker tonally, and while I respond to both literary and commercial writing, I can’t resist gorgeous line-level prose. Immersive settings and messy (even chaotic) characters always manage to win me over. But above all else, I gravitate to stories with deep interiority and thematic heft. I am also seeking solution-oriented PB environmental nonfiction (can be text only) and graphic novels for early readers through YA (author-illustrator only).

• Contemporary 
  • Stories exploring mental health themes that impact young people’s lived realities, including more stigmatized experiences (Note: while portrayals of characters struggling with these issues can be complex, they should also ultimately be sympathetic.)
  • LGBTQIA+ stories of all kinds, especially from trans/nonbinary creators. As much as I love queer joy and the found family of queer friendships, I am also here for stories that reflect the challenges specific to this community.
  • Stories that address the ways in which the political environment impacts young people within their families and communities
  • Queer takes on popular tropes
• Thriller
  • Socially conscious thrillers, especially those that explore the way power structures impact who society believes and whose stories it values
  • Campy slashers with some edge/a thematic undercurrent
  • Thrillers with distinctive, fun settings that heighten the genre elements
• Horror
  • Horror exploring sociopolitical themes
  • Horror that delves into the ways in which we’re haunted by grief, shame, guilt, or destructive societal forces
  • Body horror and/or horror that explores bodily autonomy (told authentically in a non-exploitative way)
  • Note: Ghost and witch books are tough for me at the moment due to recent acquisitions, although I am open to considering them
• Speculative fiction set in our world (Think grounded contemporary fantasy, near-future cli-fi/dystopian still recognizably set in our own world, time loops, magical realism, campy/tropey/queer takes on supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves)
• Historical
  • 90s-2000s historical fiction (What wouldn’t I do for 2000s emo culture historical?)
  • LGBTQIA+ stories
  • Historical fiction exploring activist history or periods of major social change

Across these genres, I am also open to novels in verse, and I prioritize authentically told stories from voices underrepresented in publishing.

Other, more specific wishlist items include:

• Trans/nonbinary takes on iconic tropes and stories (Where is my trans Freaky Friday?)
• Queer, especially trans stories set in single-sex environments
• YA where characters have jobs, particularly if the job becomes relevant to the story in an unexpected or high-stakes way
• Politically-minded road trip narratives that address the ways in which marginalized people explore and experience unfamiliar places
• Stories in which the protagonist is struggling with and/or is in recovery from a substance use disorder, especially if this is not the sole focus of the plot

I am not the best fit for:

• Picture book fiction
• SFF not set in our world
• Books set in outer space
• Superhero stories
• Stories with animal protagonists
• Cis-girl-dresses-as-boy-for-opportunities trope, unless it’s queer (in which case, give it to me!)
• Stories in which a secondary character’s neurodivergence, mental health condition, or physical disability is the primary conflict/obstacle for the protagonist.

Submission Guidelines

I accept agented and unagented submissions. Please email queries to kd******@**********se.com and include #MSWL in the subject line. I prefer to see full manuscripts (fiction) / full proposals (graphic novels).

Please note Holiday House company policy regarding responding to submissions (house rules, not mine): Due to the volume of manuscripts we are receiving, Holiday House does not to respond to materials that we are not interested in publishing, and we are unable to acknowledge receipt of unagented materials. We do, however, make every effort to carefully consider each submission we receive. If we are interested in your manuscript, we will respond within four months of receiving it.