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 you would consider me for representation. Before submitting your project, please read the information below. I am currently open to adult fiction.

MSWL (Adult Fiction – Commercial & Upmarket)

I’m seeking high-concept, voice-driven adult fiction with strong emotional stakes, a clear hook, and broad commercial appeal. I’m especially drawn to diverse and underrepresented voices, as well as stories that feel fresh, strange, or genre-bending while remaining highly readable.

Across all categories, I’m looking for:

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

Romance

  • High-concept or instantly pitchable premise that is wildly unique
  • Speculative elements and light paranormal
  • Rare or subversive takes on familiar tropes
  • Strong voice with emotional intensity and chemistry
  • Bingeable pacing with breakout or series potential

Fantasy

Romantasy

  • Romance-forward fantasy with a clear central relationship
  • Accessible worldbuilding and strong pacing
  • High-stakes emotional arcs and tension
  • Morally gray love interests or power dynamics
  • Series potential with a strong hook

Cozy Fantasy

  • Warm, character-driven stories
  • Found family, community, or healing-centered arcs
  • Light magic or whimsical world elements
  • Strong voice with charm and humor
  • Escapist, comforting tone with a clear hook

Dark Fantasy

  • Gritty, immersive worlds with high stakes
  • Flawed, morally gray, or unlikeable protagonists
  • Genre-blending (fantasy + horror, thriller, or literary elements)
  • Dark, atmospheric tone with strong narrative drive
  • Weird, edgy, or high-concept hooks

Mystery / Thriller

  • Psychological or domestic suspense with a strong hook
  • High-stakes premise that escalates quickly
  • Unreliable narrators or morally complex characters
  • Bingeable pacing with sharp twists
  • Cozy mysteries with a unique setting, voice, or hook

Horror / Gothic / Paranormal

  • Commercial or elevated horror, gothic, or paranormal stories with a clear, compelling hook
  • Atmospheric, eerie, or unsettling storytelling—hauntings, decay, isolation, or a lingering sense that something isn’t right
  • Psychological or social tension grounded in real fears, often intersecting with the uncanny or supernatural
  • Voice-driven narratives with strong character perspective and emotional depth
  • Stories that blend horror, gothic elements, or the paranormal with identity, relationships, grief, or memory

Women’s Fiction / Book Club Fiction

  • High-concept emotional premise (clear, pitchable hook)
  • Relationship-driven stories with strong character arcs
  • Family, identity, and reinvention at the center
  • Secrets, moral dilemmas, or layered interpersonal tension
  • Diverse perspectives and culturally specific storytelling

Historical Fiction

  • Fresh angle or underexplored historical moment
  • Strong emotional throughline and character focus
  • Dual timelines or narrative reveals that drive momentum
  • Hidden histories or marginalized perspectives
  • Book club appeal with a compelling central hook

Specific MSWL

  • The gritty, power-driven storytelling and morally gray characters of Peaky Blinders and Sons of Anarchy, particularly in settings where loyalty, violence, and ambition collide
  • The sharp social dynamics and slow-burning unraveling of privilege seen in The White Lotus—ensemble casts, contained settings, and tension that simmers beneath the surface
  • Dark, gothic storytelling that interrogates monstrosity and creation
  • Women who push too far, want too much, and refuse to be contained. Give me women who are messy, unlikable, impulsive, and unapologetically complex.
  • Subversive myth retellings—especially Persephone—that lean dark, romantic, and emotionally charged
  • Historical or historical-inspired settings used as a backdrop for high-stakes conflict, violence, and power—not quiet or nostalgic, but immersive and propulsive. I’d love something set during the Civil Rights Era.
  • Layered, mystery-driven narratives with buried secrets and generational consequences, structurally tight and reveal-driven
  • Isolated or insular settings (compounds, estates, retreats, small towns) where secrets fester, and tensions turn volatile
  • Ghosts, hauntings, spirits, and eerie, unexplained elements with strong atmosphere and emotional stakes. I’m especially drawn to stories where the supernatural intersects with grief, memory, or buried secrets.
  • Bubblegum horror! Bright, glossy, hyper-stylized horror with sharp edges—playful on the surface but dark underneath. I’m drawn to bold aesthetics and stories that balance fun, femininity, and danger.
  • Campy horror that’s bold and self-aware with a sense of fun—over-the-top concepts, big characters, and a willingness to lean into the chaos while still delivering real stakes
  • Power structures and hierarchy-driven worlds (crime families, cults, elite circles) where characters must navigate loyalty, betrayal, and survival

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