Monica Rodriguez
Context Literary Agency
My Manuscript Wish List®
I got into agenting with a mission to help uplift underrepresented voices in publishing, specifically within the Latinx community. If you identify as (but not limited to) a person of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, or have a disability, please send your query my way!
Across all genres & age groups, I’d love to find:
- Stories about identity, specifically first-gen stories or immigrant experiences.
- Stories about self-love with coming-of-age themes. (I believe we are always coming-of-age, regardless of age!)
- Stories about family relationships, messy/dysfunctional families or found families.
- Stories about sibling relationships or cousin relationships, specifically navigating adult sibling relationships or cousin relationships with cultural differences. (i.e. first-gen themes)
- Stories about travel, where the book is set outside the U.S. or even traveling to the U.S.
- Stories with messy characters who are trying their best.
- Stories with characters who are curious about therapy or where mental health is advocated for.
- Stories about badass women doing badass things.
- Stories about cultures that are rarely explored.
I run the official book club for Find A Lovely Life, our IG is @findalovelybook. You can get a sense of the type of books I like to leisurely read.
I’m a contributing writer at Latina Media Co. where I cover TV Shows and Movies. You can get a sense of what I like to write about.
For more MSWL examples, visit my website.
Fun facts about me:
I am the Director of Brand Management at Context Literary, where I help authors promote their books before and after they’ve hit the shelves. I have a dog named Jude who is best described as Nana from Peter Pan. My first job ever was as a barista at Starbucks. If I had a super power, it would be to understand all languages, including the ability to talk to animals. (I’m currently bilingual, learned Spanish & English at the same time & I’ve been learning French and Portuguese! I also speak Jude.)
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to querymonica@contextlit.com
Please send a short description, short bio, and 5-10 pages of text pasted into the body of the email. I do not open attachments.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
Contemporary Romance, Feminism, Film/TV, Folklore, Gothic Horror, Humor, Magical Realism, Multicultural, Paranormal, Romantic Comedy, Self-help, Social Issues, Study Abroad Stories, Time Travel, Travel, contemporary
I’d like the next…
FICTION: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
YOUNG ADULT: Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch, Loveless by Alice Oseman
MIDDLE GRADE: Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga, The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
GRAPHIC NOVEL: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen, ¡¡MANU!! by Kelly Fernandez
NONFICTION: In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Gurerrero, Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour
My favorites include…
TV: Mr. Robot, On My Block, What We Do In The Shadows, HANNA, Stranger Things, Alice in Borderland, American Horror Story, Harlem, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Station Eleven, With Love, Gentefied, Insecure, Reservation Dogs, Only Murders In The Building, Family Business, Lupin, Los Espookys, Fleabag, The Newsroom, The Crown, The Umbrella Academy, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sex Education, Ms. Marvel, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The White Lotus, Succession, Club de Cuervos
Films: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Holiday, Atomic Blonde, Knives Out, Luca, Mixtape, Inside Out, Parasite, Vampires vs the Bronx, Encanto, Lilo & Stitch, Spider-Man (all of them), The Eternals, If Beale Street Could Talk, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, The Terminal, Inception, Turning Red, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Florida Project, Eighth Grade
Books: Behold The Dreamers, The Nightingale, Atonement, American Spy, Looking For Alaska, The Stars and The Blackness Between Them, The Map of Salt and Stars, The Book Thief, Life of Pi, The Lost Children Archive, Outlander, Finding Audrey, Loveless, Think Like A Monk, My Sister, the Serial Killer
