Sophia M. Ramos
New Leaf Literary & Media
My Manuscript Wish List®
Sophia M. Ramos is a queer, Cuban-American literary associate based in South Florida. She represents commercial to upmarket genre-blending fiction for adult, YA and select middle-grade projects. Sophia loves intentional, lush prose combined with propulsive plots and thoughtfully complex family dynamics. She gravitates toward speculative books rooted in history or culture that have elements of romance, mystery, and horror. She strives to build a list that speaks to traditionally underrepresented voices and intersectional identities.
Prior to joining New Leaf, Sophia graduated from New York University with a Masters of Science in Publishing. Her career began in the international sphere, where she worked as a literary scout as well as in foreign rights and international sales. She continues her work at New Leaf with top author brands and has a wide-open list she’s ready to fill.
For 2024, Sophia would specifically love to see more:
- Anticolonial narratives, explorations of the immigrant experience, and disapora authors, writing in any genre.
- Think: Babel by RF Kuang; Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir; Lobizona by Romina Garber
- Unique narrative perspectives in the SFFH.
- Think: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett; A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan; The Empress of Salt & Fortune by Nghi Vo
- Historical SFF with expansive worlds, centuries worth of lore, and main characters I would follow into battle:
- Think: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan; A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross; Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
- Speculative, haunting explorations of the side effects of marriage and motherhood.
- Think: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro; The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill; Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
- Small-town eldritch/cosmic/fantastical horror or mystery with reluctant protagonists.
- Think: Bad Cree by Jessica Johns; Jackal by Erin E. Adams; Small Favors by Erin A. Craig; Lone Women by Victor LaValle
- Propulsive mystery/thrillers with locked rooms, unreliable narrators, and/or flickers of revenge.
- Think: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney; The Guest List by Lucy Foley; We Were Liars by E. Lockhart; A Flicker in the Dark by Stacey Willingham; Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
- Feral main characters whose primary objective is self-preservation, no matter the cost
- Think: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon; The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw; Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor; House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
- Cozy narratives that help readers reckon with or heal from the real world, with a healthy dose of family dynamics.
- For Fantasy, think: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna; Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
- For Mystery, think: Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala; Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
- For Contemporary, think: The Guncle by Steven Rowley; Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
- For YA, I’d love to see more grounded fantasy and horror with high-octane plots and intense character chemistry.
- For fantasy, think: Lore by Alexandra Bracken; Ballad & Dagger by Daniel Jose Older; Legendborn by Tracy Deonn; Godly Heathens by HE Edgmon
- For horror, think: She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran; The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White; House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland; I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea
- Heart-wrenching middle-grade with a deep message, immersive prose, and/or a gentle sense of adventure.
- Think: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat; When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller; Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
MSWL Note: Just because these are what I’m looking for this year doesn’t mean your book might not be a good fit for me! Please feel free to try me if I have commonalities with your book that don’t necessarily appear in my specifics list.
Fun facts about me:
- Diet Coke Enthusiast
- Champion Axe Thrower
- Mother to Sunny, the quietest dachshund that ever lived
- Has listened through every episode of Not Another D&D Podcast—twice
Submissions should be emailed to https://QueryManager.com/sophiamramos
Vital Info
I’d like the next…
My favorites include…
Books: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz-Zafon; The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat; The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater; Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo; Spencer’s New Pet by Jessie Sima
TV: Peaky Blinders, The Bear, Schitt’s Creek, Frontier, Dimension 20, Top Chef, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Tropes/Themes/Elements: Vicious mermaids, rivals-to-lovers, curmudgeonly academics, textile magic, little buddies/familiars, magic waters, women’s wrongs, the moon, the seasons, grandmas with a secret, almost-kisses
