Monica Odom
Liza Dawson Associates
My Manuscript Wish List®
Monica is seeking: Nonfiction by authors with demonstrable platforms in the areas of: pop culture, illustrated/graphic design, food and cooking, humor, history and social issues. She is also looking for narrative nonfiction in these areas, and some memoir. She loves to see a personal project turn into something original and surprising.
Fiction in the areas of: literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, compelling speculative fiction and magic realism, historical fiction, alternative histories, dark and edgy fiction, literary psychological thrillers, and illustrated/picture books.
Monica is most actively seeking adult projects, but is open to some YA and MG (especially if it is NF or illustrated). She holds the same criteria no matter the age group: original storytelling, incredible voice, compelling characters, and vivid, detailed setting. She also likes to see a strong sense of narrative tension.
Monica is serious about the fact that We Need Diverse Books and is looking for authentic representation of all characters, diverse or otherwise. She enjoys working closely with her clients on the editorial and developmental level to fine-tune manuscripts and proposals, and loves the process of managing a writer or artist’s career.
Some things Monica is especially interested in right now:
– Bold, fresh, fun, fearless female voices (one or all of these qualities)
– Unreliable narrators
– 1990’s nostalgia (culture and/or setting)
– Clever juxtaposition of high-brow and low-brow culture
– Stories and projects about families, siblings, coming-of-age, race, feminism, socioeconomics and inequality, memory, language, domestic themes, and environmental change
– Character or characters traveling, on the road, nomads with or without a destination
– A subtle but effective debunking of stereotypes and convention.
Monica is not looking for genre romance, erotica, military, poetry, or inspirational/spiritual works.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to monica@bradfordlit.com
Please email your query to: monica@bradfordlit.com
To avoid falling into spam, the subject line must begin as follows: QUERY: (The title of the manuscript and any SHORT message you would like us to see should follow).
Fiction:
Please email a query letter along with the first chapter of your manuscript and a synopsis. Please be sure to include the genre and word count in your cover letter. Picture book submissions: short query along with entire manuscript in body of email.
Non-fiction:
Please email your full non-fiction proposal including a query letter and a sample chapter.
Consultations
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Business, Domestic Suspense, Feminism, Illustrated, Magical Realism, Narrative Nonfiction, Pop Psychology, Psychological Thrillers, Self-Reflection, Social Issues, Speculative Fiction
I’d like the next…
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
My favorites include…
Recent Books: Mislaid, American Housewife, Honor Girl, Americanah, Boy Snow Bird, Station 11, The Beautiful Bureaucrat, Eileen, The Book of Speculation, Euphoria, The End of Days, The First Bad Man, A Tale for the Time Being, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., Sweet Tooth, The Age of Miracles
Backlist Books: Harry Potter 1-7, She’s Come Undone, Mrs. Dalloway, The Great Gatsby, McTeague, Geek Love, Wicked, Lucky Jim, Cold Comfort Farm
TV: The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Broad City, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Office, Inside Amy Schumer, Orange is the New Black, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Fresh Off the Boat
Podcasts: Death, Sex & Money, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Welcome to Nightvale, Note to Self, Minorities in Publishing, The Sporkful, Another Round, Dear Sugar, Invisibilia, This American Life, Serial, Call Your Girlfriend, Stuff Mom Never Told You, Freakonomics, Planet Money, Fresh Air, The Moth
Publications: New York Magazine, National Geographic, Bitch, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Got a Girl Crush
