As of August 2025, I am currently seeking adult fiction and nonfiction queries as I build my list. I’m primarily looking for science fiction and fantasy at the moment, but I am open to all of the genres and subgenres listed below. While I try to be specific about what I’m looking for, if you believe that your work might be a fit then please do query me. In general, for fiction complex and dynamic character-driven work is a massive draw for me, and for nonfiction I’m always looking for a narrative that balances perfectly between engagement and information.

Fiction

I’m primarily looking for sci-fi/fantasy manuscripts; however, I’m also interested in historical fiction and select literary fiction.

Fantasy

Epic Fantasy:

I’d love to find a great epic fantasy that transports you to a new world, complete with heroes, villains, romance, daring, multiple POVs, and an original magic system. Think of recent titles like Welsey Chu’s The War Arts Saga or Brian McClellan’s In the Shadow of Lightning. While I’m not completely averse to tropes, there should be a unique or interesting spin on them. In the epic fantasy space, I’m looking for stories that transport and inspire.

Grimdark:

On the opposite end of the fantasy spectrum in many ways, send me your best grimdark where hope really isn’t an option. The two authors that come to mind in this space are Joe Abercrombie's The First Law series and R. F. Kuang The Poppy War series—two absolute masters of their craft. These stories aren’t dark for the sake of being dark, but rather use the circumstances of a brutal world to explore characters, decisions, and consequences. As evidenced by the authors selected for this section, the magic can be relatively low (Abercrombie) or a little more present (Kuang).

High Fantasy:

Slightly different from the epic fantasy of above, my delineation here is primarily in the POV characters and the scope. While the magic, stakes, and adventure are all present, the scope here is a little more intimate like James Islington’s The Will of the Many or Anthony Ryan’s The Covenant of Steel series. I'd be very interested if you can combine beautiful prose with thrilling storytelling in the tradition of Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicles or R. R. Virdi’s The First Binding.

Low Fantasy:

This is probably the best category to fit in comparisons to A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (though I strongly suggest not using this series as a comparison unless you’ve read it and cannot think of any more modern comp titles/series). I’m interested in books set in a second world where the magic hums along a bit in the background and the character relationships or intrigue takes center stage.

Military/Naval Fantasy:

Think Django Wexler’s The Shadow Campaigns series. I’m interested in fantasy that has all the elements of epic, high, grimdark, or low fantasy but is centered around the military, navy, a specific campaign, or a specific war. Another good example is Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes.

Crime and Caper Fantasy:

In the vein of Scott Lynch’s the Gentlemen Bastards series or James Logan’s more recent The Silverblood Promise. Give me your best rogues, criminals, and ne’er-do-wells as the protagonists and let the chaos ensue.

Historical Fantasy:

While already mentioned, R. F. Kuang is a great guidepost here both in The Poppy War Series and Babel. There’s also Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons, Kate Heartfield's The Embroidered Book, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, and Joe Abercrombie’s recent The Devils. Broadly, this subgenre represents stories either told in a second world that’s heavily inspired by the history of our world or stories set in an alternate version of our world where some fantastical element is present.

Comedic/Humorous Fantasy:

This is difficult to accomplish, but I’ll never forget reading Nicholas Eames’s The Kings of the Wyld and laughing repeatedly into an empty room. If you have the comedic chops and can nail a distinct voice with compelling characters, then I might be interested in your work. Another good example is Sam Sykes’s The Grave of Empires series.

Steampunk Fantasy:

Unfortunately, I don’t have any good comp titles for this subgenre that I've read. (Though I’m sure there are some great books out there!) But I’d love to represent a fantasy novel or series that is set in a steampunk inspired world. Is that something you’ve read or written?

Finally, Here Be Dragons:

Look, I love dragons, how can I not? There are so many different ways to write dragons into your story, and I’m interested in all of the above subgenres plus dragons. Two of my favorite series that heavily feature dragons are Anthony Ryan’s Draconis Memoria and Evan Winter’s The Burning. More recently, I’m enjoying Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Book of the Holt series. All three of these feature dragons in a unique way.

Science Fiction

Space Opera:

Think The Expanse by James S. A. Corey: sprawling, epic, and magnificent. I’d love a story that combines a wide cast of characters, a sprawling intergalactic setting, and excellent storytelling.

Dystopian Sci-Fi:

There are so many dystopian sci-fi novels that it’s difficult to pick one, but my mind strays to the classics like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or Auldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Give me your best work that shows a perilous future (or near future) for humanity where the characters and their choices are truly explored.

Literary Sci-Fi (Speculative Fiction):

This is by far and away one of my favorite areas to read in. Think Andy Weir’s The Martian, Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea, or Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. All of these are set in our world and are extremely thoughtful. For this subgenre I’m keen on excellent prose and a slightly philosophical angle.

Climate/Environmental Sci-Fi:

I’ve always been told that the best novels of a generation are those that concern the existential crisis or societal concern of said generation (think of all of those WWII novels), but I’m struck by the startling lack of climate fiction in the market, and I’d love to help change that. If you have sci-fi that is centered around climate change, I’m hankering for it.

Space Western:

Again, not too many comp titles here that I've read, but I've read a fantasy western and loved it.

Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction:

I’m interested in a variety of historical fiction, from novels like Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad where a historical period is explored through fictional characters, to more epic stories like Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Chronicles where a fictional character is inserted and plays a major impact in major historical events alongside figures from history, and even fictional quasi-biographies like Margaret George’s The Confessions of a Young Nero where a major historical figure’s life is given the novel treatment.

Some Figures/Moments that I’m interested in exploring (this is not a comprehensive list): Yasuke, the first known foreign-born samurai under Oda Nobunaga; Mansa Musa and his infamous pilgrimage to Mecca; Anna Komnene and Byzantine intrigue; anything set during the Opium Wars; Aurelian and Zenobia; or Amanirenas, the Kushite queen who fought the Romans.

Alternate History:

I do enjoy a good alternate history, but only those that are believable and somewhat contained. I really enjoyed Alan Smale’s The Clash of Eagles series. Of course, Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle is a heavyweight in this subgenre. Typically, I’m drawn to alternate history where one pivotal event is altered and the story unfolds from that moment.

Literary Fiction

While my fiction list will primarily focus on science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction, I will consider select literary fiction queries. For literary fiction, I’m seeking manuscripts that are entirely original, have stunning prose, and unforgettable characters. I enjoy family sagas, unreliable narrators, uncanny suspense, and novels that force you to think. Some of my favorites are Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning, Alia Trabucco Zerán’s Clean, Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle, Han Kang’s Greek Lessons, Namwali Serpell’s The Furrows, Vinson Cunningham’s Great Expectations, Vanessa Chan’s The Storm We Made, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Half a Yellow Sun. I’m very selective when it comes to literary fiction, but I am interested if the right novel captures me.

Speculative Fiction

A sometimes nebulous categorization, I consider speculative fiction to be stories that don’t quite fit into the neat lines of sci-fi, fantasy, or literary fiction (including the titles in the Literary Sci-Fi section above). Give me your best stories that veer into the speculative but remain relatively grounded (e.g., a family saga with a groundhog day loop, a neighborhood thriller complete with clones, or a painter with the uncanny ability to depict other peoples’ thoughts).

Nonfiction

I’m interested in representing a few scholars, academics, historians, and journalists writing narrative histories and narrative nonfiction.

Narrative History:

I have a fondness for nearly every era of history, with a particular taste for antiquity. Regardless of the era, I’m on the lookout for histories that are undertold or haven’t been thoroughly explored for a general audience. For context, while I may enjoy narrative histories on the Roman Empire, there are a great deal of histories on the Roman Empire already published. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t consider them, only that they’d have to cover a lesser-known period, figures, or contain an original angle (think Emma Southon). Frankly put, rather than another history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, I’d be more interested in a narrative history surrounding Aurlien and Zenobia in the Crisis of the Third Century.

Topics I’m interested in: Shogunate-era Japan; Mansa Musa and the Malian Empire; Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba; The Maya; The Eastern Roman Empire; and Afrocentric narrative histories.

Narrative Nonfiction:

I’m interested in narrative nonfiction from authors that have a story to tell and a compelling voice. Titles in this space that I’ve enjoyed are Christina Rivera Garza’s Liliana’s Invincible Summer, David Grann’s The Wager, and anything by Patrick Radden Keefe.

Some Additional Books I love But Haven’t Been Mentioned:

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

James by Percival Everett

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Though I love many books in the following genres and subgenres, at this time I am not a good fit for…

Mysteries

Thrillers

Overt Horror

Romance

Romantasy

Sports fiction

Book Club fiction

Poetry Collections

Short Story Collections

Memoir

Erotica

Self-help, business, financial

Middle Grade and YA fiction

Please note that while I am open to all authors and all stories, I’m particularly interested in underrepresented voices. For example, I'd love more fantasy that is not Eurocentric. This does not mean that I will not consider European-inspired fantasy (the list of books above shows that I do enjoy them), it just means that your book should clearly stand out from what’s already published! Or in the sci-fi space, it's likely an immediate pass if you've dreamt up a future devoid of diversity.