Kiya Evans
Paper Literary
My Manuscript Wish List®
I read very broadly – across fiction, non-fiction, literary, and commercial – but above all I am always looking for books that completely immerse and sweep me away. My favourite books have a huge heart, effortless writing, and a carefully crafted plot.
I am keen to represent books across the spectrum of the literary to the commercial, but am forever drawn to sharply observed interpersonal dynamics, a strong hook (which might lie in the plot, but could just as easily be found in the voice—I’m a big Otessa Moshfegh fan!) and authentic representation of untold perspectives. Above all, I enjoy books that feel singular – like you are the only person who could’ve written it. I have a particular soft spot for LBGTQI+ narratives and stories which grapple with sticky questions of girlhood and growing up.
While I’m largely genre-agnostic, I’m especially excited to see:
- The fantastical and horrifying: I was a teenager in the golden age of YA – the dystopian boom – so I was very much raised on a diet of accessible genre fiction (…and fanfiction!). My taste was definitely shaped by my childhood obsession with THE HUNGER GAMES and A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, so as an adult, anything that marries unforgettable characters, hook, and setting is usually a winner for me. I want to find big novels with a genre edge – be it romance, magic, horror, or the speculative – and ambitious, hooky fantasy/romantasy with strong world-building and centrality of character, for both adult and young adult readers. I am especially interested in SFF, horror, and dystopian stories with a high-concept, one line pitch, but also veer more literary, in the vein of Julia Armfield or BEAUTYLAND – I would love to find a contemporary horror in that space. Like everyone, I’m a sucker for dark academia, so please send me your campus and secret society novels, and would love a horror or mystery steeped in gothic tones – I’d love anything that could be compared to JANE EYRE or WUTHERING HEIGHTS.
- Big-hearted love stories: I’m a big fan of books which centre relationships, whether romantic or otherwise. On the more commercial end, Ali Hazelwood and Casey McQuiston are particular favourites, and classic romance tropes are always a winner for me. I loved LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB, and Emily M Danforth can do no wrong in my eyes. I would also love something that feels slightly more irreverent, exploring different types of love – along the lines of THE WEDDING PEOPLE or GRETA AND VALDIN. I’ve recently become obsessed with the TV show HACKS, so anything with a messy, funny, intergenerational dynamic would be very welcome in my inbox. Big bonus points if your book makes me laugh, cry, or compels me to rewatch You’ve Got Mail or Bridget Jones for the thousandth time. If your book has witty dialogue, a strong sense of place, and a healthy dose of yearning, I’m in.
- Sharp, hooky, thematically ‘meaty’ fiction: As much as I am drawn to escapism, I also love books which make us feel connected to the world, or which force us to think about our everyday in a drastically different way. I’m keen to find something in the book club space with a zeitgeisty, fresh angle, and sharp writing, like YESTERYEAR, BUTTER, or the fictional counterpart to I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED. I am also fervently on the hunt for an upmarket, character-focused historical novel which doesn’t just teach us something new, but shakes our understanding of the world, in the vein of Sarah Waters, Colson Whitehead, THE SAFEKEEP, or THE ARTIST. I’m a big history nerd and am always looking for stories which centre historically underrepresented voices.
A (very broad!) selection of the authors past and present whose work I return to again and again include: Shirley Jackson, Emily M Danforth, Angela Carter, Patricia Highsmith, Gillian Flynn, Julia Armfield, Casey McQuiston, Donna Tartt, Abigail Dean, Rebecca K Reilly, Elif Batuman, the Brontës, Elena Ferrante, Rebeeca F Kuang, Lemony Snicket, Khaled Hosseini, Otessa Moshfegh, and Carmen Maria Machado.
I have always loved theatre, film, and tv, and find that my favourite books often chime with an element of the theatrical or cinematic, displaying an incisiveness of dialogue, setting, or character. I would love to find books which would seamlessly work for screen. If Greta Gerwig or A24 would adapt it, I want to read it. I was a big fan of Disney Channel Original Movies growing up, so if you’ve written a book that fans of Minutemen, Twitches, or Cow Belles (what an era!) would love as adults, please do send it my way.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to submissions@paperliterary.com
We accept all submissions by email. We ask for a query letter, synopsis and the first 10,000 words to su*********@pa***********.com.
Please address your email to the specific agent you are querying. In the subject line, include:
- Your first and last name
- Title of your manuscript
- Name of agent you are querying
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- Include your cover letter in the body of the email.
- Attach a one page synopsis and the first three chapters (approx 10,000 words) of the manuscript. Please attach as Word documents.
- For fiction, please only submit when you have a complete manuscript.
When you submit, you will receive an automated response. Please consider this email as receipt of your work. We read every submission that we receive, and we consider each submission carefully.
We will be in touch as soon as possible if we’d like to read more of your work. As much as we would like to, due to the number of submissions we receive, we are not able to personally respond to every submission.
We encourage you to submit to multiple agencies, and we do not expect to have exclusivity. If you receive a full manuscript request or offer of representation, please do email a follow-up with “Full MS request” or “Offer of Representation” in the subject line.
If you haven’t heard from us within two months, it means that we didn’t feel that we were the right champion for your work.
Vital Info
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