Stefanie Molina-Santos
Looking Glass Literary and Media
My Manuscript Wish List®
Hi!! I’m an Associate Agent at Looking Glass Literary Agency. I’ve worked in and around publishing for the past ten years and sit on the board of Literary Agents of Change. I rep kidlit through adult fiction and nonfiction and prioritize underrepresented authors, especially BIPOC authors, across the board. My favorite submissions usually have something to say about the world we live in, whether it’s subtle or in your face. They nearly always center some kind of healing, and often center joy. Happy- or hopeful-ever-afters are a MUST!
I’m currently seeking MG, YA, and Adult fiction and nonfiction. In MG and YA I love gutsy, messy main characters in a layered narrative–bonus if there are sports, unique hobbies, or world-saving involved. I’m open to all genres in MG and YA, but prefer gutsy contemporary and grounded fantasy, social and social-ish horror, and mystery with a strong sense of adventure.
In Adult fiction, I’m specifically seeking all things cozy across genres (including horror and sci-fi), as well as mysteries, thrillers, suspense, grounded fantasy, social/social-ish horror, women’s fiction, and high-concept romance, with a strong preference for BIPOC protagonists overall. As of late, I’m on a romance and cozy fantasy kick! I adore grumpy/sunshine, enemies/frenemies-to-lovers, magical familiars (Shadow the hellhound has my heart) and companion animals in general, bi rep, pining, academics, witches, band geeks, and other lovable nerds.
In Adult nonfiction, I’m hunting for cookbooks and baking books from people of color, including first, second, third (& so on!) -gen immigrants finding their ways back to their roots, as well as health/fitness-centric, body-neutral cookbooks; and nonfiction that sits at the intersection of advocacy and the following: sports and exercise science, health and fitness, nutrition, medicine, and animals; though any nonfiction intersecting with advocacy is welcome in my inbox.
Not For Me:
Please do not send me anything that ends with an animal dying (in fact, no unfixable harm to animals ever, please) or a main character dying. Please do not send things with self-harm, domestic violence, or suicide on the page, although it’s okay if these things are in a character’s past. If your story mentions these topics but does not revolve around them, please include a content warning.
I’m not the best fit for epic fantasy, portal fantasy, hard sci-fi, literary writing, real-world religious journeys, or anything that idealizes weight loss. I’m not currently taking on new picture book clients.
Fun facts about me:
Other things I love:
- running
- hiking
- baking
- volleyball
- swimming
- knitting
- animals (especially dogs, especially curly dogs)
- saxophone and piano
- mariachi
- reading about the outdoors and/or sports (kayaking! mountain climbing! parkour!)
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your query + first 50 pages (or for nonfiction, your full proposal) to https://QueryTracker.net/query/stefaniemolinasantos.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#Dis, #ownvoices, #wndb, AAPI Fantasy, AAPI Horror, AAPI Sci-Fi, Action-Adventure, Activism, Adult, Adult Horror, Adult Rom Com, Adult Romantasy, Adult SFF, Adventure, African Fantasy, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Asian American Literature, Asian Diaspora, Asian Fantasy, Asian Horror, BIPOC, BIPOC Fantasy, BIPOC Horror, BIPOC Mystery, BIPOC Sci-Fi, California, Character-Driven Horror, Character-driven SciFi, Chick Lit, Chicklit, Children's and Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, Classic retellings with BIPOC characters, Cli-Fi, Climate Fiction, Commercial MG, Commercial Women's Fiction, Commercial YA, Commercial adult fiction, Complicated Relationships, Contemporary Culture, Contemporary Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Contemporary Young Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Cozy mysteries, Crime & Thriller, Cross-genre, Dark topics with a light touch, Detective, Disability, Diverse Protagonists, Diversity, Fantasy Grounded in Reality, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy YA, Female Friendships, Feminism, Feminist, Feminist Horror, Fiction Picture Books, Folklore, Food, Food Writing, Found Families, Funny MG, Geek Culture, Grief, Grounded, Grounded fantasy, Health, Health and Wellness, High-concept YA, High-concept YA/MG, Humor YA, Illustrated/Gift, Immigrant Experiences, Immigrant Voices, Intersectional Feminism, Intersectionality, Issue-Driven, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, LGBTQ Romance, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+ rom coms, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAP, Latine Diaspora, Latinx Fantasy, Latinx Horror, Latinx Sci-Fi, Latinx stories, Literary MG, Literary Middle Grade, Literary Thriller, Literary YA, Literary YA & MG, Literary YA/MG, Lyrical picture book, MG, MG Action Adventure, MG Fantasy, MG Horror, MG Nonfiction, MG adventure, MG contemporary, MG mystery, MG/YA, Magic, Magic Realism, Magical Realism, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Mental Health, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Adventure, Middle Grade Contemporary, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Horror, Middle Grade Humor, Middle Grade Mystery, Middle grade magical realism, Minority Voices, Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales, Modernized Mythologies, Mothers and Daughters, Multicultural, Multicultural and Diverse Thriller and Mystery, Muslim, Mysteries, Mystery / Crime, Mythology, Nature, Nature Writing, Neurodiversity, New Adult, Nonfiction Picture Books, Outdoors, Own Voices, POC, Personal Development, Racial Justice, Relic/Artifact Action/Adventure, Retellings, RomCom, Romantic Suspense, Romantic Thriller, STEAM, STEM, Same-Sex Romance, Social Emotional Learning, Social Issues, Social Justice, Soft Fantasy, Speculative, Speculative Fiction, Speculative Middle Grade, Speculative Thriller, Sports, Strong Females, Suspense, Thriller, Thrillers, Underrepresented Voices, Upmarket YA, Whodunit, YA, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA Crossover, YA Fantasy, YA Mystery, YA Romantasy, YA SF/F, YA Thrillers, YA fantasy/light sci-fi, YA horror, YA thriller/mystery, Young Adult, advice, beach reads, book club fiction, children's diversity, coming of age, commercial, commercial middle grade, commerical women's fiction, contemp, contemporary, contemporary MG, contemporary middle grade, contemporary women's fiction, cook book, craft, culinary, diverse, diverse and own voices, diverse heroines, diverse voices, enemies to lovers, fiction and non-fiction picture books, found family, friendship, friendship stories, health and fitness, hopepunk, immigration, inclusive sf/f, invisible disability, just one bed, just... all the tropes, light fantasy, love stories, mental illness, middle grade non-fiction, migration, music, mystery, non-Western fantasy, non-western settings, nonfiction, pining, queer, queer horror, queer narratives, read-alouds, rivals to lovers, romantasy, romantic New Adult, romantic suspense/mystery, slow burn, slow burn romance, spooky mg, sports stories, stories that don't fit neatly into a genre, tropes tropes tropes, two people one bed, visible disability, who did this to you, whodunnit, witchcraft, witches, witty
I’d like the next…
Arsenic and Adobo!! I’m always on the lookout for a mystery or thriller headed by a BIPOC woman, and I’m always wanting more stories about BIPOC in the outdoors.
My favorites include…
Books: The Kiss Quotient series, Automatic Noodle, Finlay Donovan, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
TV shows: Off Campus, Running Point, Nobody Wants This, The Residence
