Viengsamai Fetters

Erewhon Books

My Manuscript Wish List®

I am an assistant editor at Erewhon Books acquiring novel-length (50k-120k) standalones and series in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative literary fiction in adult and, selectively, upper YA.

Send me stories that’ll grow me extra teeth; that’ll linger and haunt and ache; that’ll remind me of my humanity when it’s all said and done. I love thoughtful, accessible books on the literary side with a splash of speculative, and upmarket genre fiction with a flair.

At Erewhon, we want innovative stories that tug on your heartstrings and explore meaningful sociopolitical questions. I’m particularly looking for books that bring to the page people who are usually relegated to the margins – including, but not limited to: racial/ethnic minorities, queer & trans people, fat people, disabled people, working-class and poor people, religious minorities, and combinations of the above. I’m especially interested in supporting marginalized writers.

 

I’m always excited by…

Craft:

  • wondrous, compact stories
  • an electric, propulsive voice
  • distinctive line-level prose, particularly if it’s sensory and/or lyrical
  • a strong emotional core
  • a transportative sense of place
  • symbiosis of form/structure and content

Content:

  • unique magic enhancing the themes of the story
  • smart, high-concept soft sci-fi
  • fresh, genre-bending horror
  • critiques of power and the systems that create & perpetuate it
  • damaged, messy characters to go feral over
  • offbeat humor and clever narration

 

Right now, I am hungry for: stories across genres that deal with monstrosity & embodiment, the archive & cultural memory, language, necropolitics, social ecology & climate, diaspora & displacement, restorative justice, bittersweet complicated family dynamics, and unorthodox explorations and/or deconstructions of faith.

 

Some specific niches I’d be especially delighted to see:

  • authentic, high-octane queer relationships (romance, polycules, friendship, queerplatonic relationships, family, enemies, a messy mix…)
  • queer and trans characters, themes, and sensibilities (with special love towards trans people, butches & femmes, and stone characters.)
  • Midwestern settings, especially in horror
  • Southeast Asian-inspired SFF (Lao-inspired especially!)
  • Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism
  • heartwarming science fantasies
  • community organizing, collective action, and coalition-building

 

Hard sells for me include:

  • doorstopper epic fantasies
  • D&D-style “races”
  • hard SF
  • space opera
  • self-referential/“meta” horror
  • excessive gore

I am not interested in/am not acquiring: stories that glorify empire/the military/copaganda, graphic sexual violence, SF comedy, superheroes, erotica, graphic novels, kidlit, non-speculative work, or nonfiction.

Fun facts about me:

  • I live and work in Ohio, but I love meeting new people! If you work in publishing, let’s get a virtual coffee!
  • Instead of picking up sourdough in 2020, I picked up Star Trek for the first time. I’m watching it in chronological order of release and am currently halfway through Voyager. Wish me luck in ever catching up.
  • My cats all have Halloween names! The chances of seeing one or more in a video call are about 72.4%.

Guidelines & Details

Vital Info

Website

Assistant Editor, Editor

Fiction:

BIPOC Literature, Bookclub, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ, Literary, Science Fiction, Speculative

I’d like the next…

  • This is How You Lose the Time War
  • Ring Shout
  • The Locked Tomb
  • Chain-Gang All-Stars
  • The Murderbot Diaries
  • The Spear Cuts Through Water
  • The Prey of Gods
  • Iron Widow

My favorites include…

Fiction:

Psalm for the Wild-Built; Patricia Wants to Cuddle; How Much of These Hills Is Gold;  Lilith’s Brood; The Midnight Bargain; If on a winter’s night a traveler; The Echo Wife; The Office of Historical Corrections; Sister, Maiden, Monster; The Book of Phoenix; Paul Takes The Form of a Mortal Girl; My Favorite Thing Is Monsters; The Magic Fish; Flyaway; The Lies of the Ajungo

 

TV:

Star Trek; Avatar: The Last Airbender; Heartstopper; Our Flag Means Death; What We Do In The Shadows; The Good Place; Over the Garden Wall; a basic assortment of reality shows

 

Movies:

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once; Moonlight; Sorry to Bother You; Spirited Away; Nimona; The Shape of Water; Get Out; Clue; Pride & Prejudice (2005); Knives Out

 

Games:

Disco Elysium; Hades; Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla; Baldur’s Gate III; Stray; The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Oxenfree; What Remains of Edith Finch; The Outer Worlds; Inside; Spiritfarer