Send a Query to Ashlee MacCallum at Howland Literary

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Hello!

Thank you so much for trusting me with your work. I am truly honored that you would consider me for representation. Before submitting your project, please read the information below. I am currently open to young adult fiction.

MSWL

Across all categories, I’m looking for:

  • Strong, distinctive voice
  • Diverse and underrepresented perspectives
  • A touch of the unexpected, offbeat, or strange
  • Stories that balance emotional depth with commercial appeal

YOUNG ADULT (HORROR, MYSTERY/THRILLER, PARANORMAL, COZY FANTASY)

Horror: Twisted tales with layered storytelling

  • Southern Gothic
  • Occult
  • Paranormal
  • Bubble Gum
  • Psychological
  • Found Footage
  • Monsters
  • Dark Academia
  • Small-Town Secrets
  • Femgore
  • Generational Curses
  • Cults & Secret Societies
  • Twisted Fairy Tale
  • Ghost Stories with a Twist

Mystery/Thriller: Fast-paced stories that blend danger and emotional depth

  • High Stakes
  • Emotionally Driven
  • Danger and Secrets
  • Dark Challenges
  • Reluctant Detectives
  • Race-against-time
  • Revenge
  • Unreliable Narrator
  • Deadly Games & Competitions
  • Literary & Classic Retellings (think Beth Is Dead)
  • True Crime Obsessions
  • Cold Cases & Disappearances
  • Unconventional Storytelling (podcasts, mixed media, transcripts)
  • Morally Gray Characters
  • Locked-Room & Closed-Circle Mysteries

Paranormal: Supernatural forces lurking just beyond the veil of reality

  • Ghost stories/hauntings
  • Vampires
  • Werewolves
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Curses
  • Shapeshifters
  • Dual Worlds
  • Dark Rituals
  • Forest Spirits
  • Reimagined Supernatural Lore
  • Mediums & Spirit Communication
  • Unlikely Human-Monster Alliances
  • Supernatural Time Loops
  • Reincarnation & Past Lives

Cozy Fantasy: Whimsical worlds, peculiar magic, and unconventional adventures with heart

  • Found Family
  • Gothic Whimsy (haunted mansions, eccentric ghosts, peculiar magic, mysterious family secrets, and charmingly macabre settings
  • Magical Oddities
  • Cursed Small Towns
  • Eccentric Witches & Witchcraft
  • Misunderstood Monsters
  • Whimsical Mysteries
  • Haunted Bookshops & Curious Shops
  • Charming Curses
  • Folklore Reimagined
  • Unconventional Magic Systems

Specific Wishlist

  • BIPOC Narratives
  • Queer Stories
  • Greek Mythology
  • Asian Folklore
  • Indigenous Voices
  • Cottagegore
  • Antiheroes
  • New Orleans
  • Vodou
  • Disability Rep
  • Scottish & Celtic folklore
  • Appalachian Folklore
  • Witch Trials
  • Victorian Spiritualism
  • Traveling Circuses
  • Southern Folklore
  • Unusual Family Dynamics
  • Forgotten History
  • Macabre Humor

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Step 1: Tell us about the author

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Step 2: Tell us about the book

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