Adult Fiction
Author of STARS COLLIDE ‘s COVER STORY, a sapphic bodyguard romance featuring an A-list actress in need of extra protection who hires a female bodyguard to pose as her girlfriend in order to keep the real story under wraps, again to Lauren Plude at Montlake, by Sarah Younger at Nancy Yost Literary Agency (world).
‘s THE SINS ON THEIR BONES, pitched as inspired by Jewish mysticism and folklore, in which two estranged husbands on opposite sides of a civil war fight for the same throne, with a daring spymaster caught in the crossfire, set in a fantastical reimagining of 19th century Eastern Europe and pitched for fans of Leigh Bardugo, C.S. Pacat, Ava Reid, and Katherine Arden, to Amanda Ferreira at Random House Canada, in a two-book deal, by Hannah VanVels Ausbury at Belcastro Agency (world).
Author of the forthcoming GLASSWORKS ‘s THE SYNDICATE, set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century, following a lavender marriage between a soap company’s mid-level manager, an eccentric scion of New York’s social royalty, and a lesbian who builds a business empire behind her husband’s names, pitched in the vein of Hernan Diaz’s TRUST and Colm Toibin’s THE MAGICIAN, to Grace McNamee at Bloomsbury, for publication in winter 2025, by Danielle Bukowski at Sterling Lord Literistic (world English).
‘s debut THE PHOENIX KEEPER, a queer fantasy romance set in a magical zoo of mythical creatures, in which a socially anxious phoenix keeper and a hotshot griffin keeper go from academic rivals to lovers while navigating fraught zoo politics, fighting off vicious poacher attacks, and trying to save their critically endangered residents, to Priyanka Krishnan at Orbit and Bethan Morgan at Gollancz, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication in summer 2024, by John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton Agency (world).
NYT bestselling author of THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE ‘s LADY LIKE, a queer regency rom-com pitched as Bridgerton starring Kate McKinnon, in which two very different women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead find themselves falling in love with each other, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in a pre-empt, by Laurie Liss at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).
Author of the forthcoming JUST AS YOU ARE ‘s THE NEXT CHAPTER, pitched as a queer retelling of Notting Hill, in which a butch bookseller has a meet-cute with a famous actor who just so happens to need a starter girlfriend to establish her new branding as a Queer Icon, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in a two-book deal, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds (world English).
NYT bestselling author ‘s REMEDIAL MAGIC, in which a lesbian librarian is taken away to a magical community college within an inclusive magic city where she falls for a secretive Victorian witch – only to discover that her new world is dying and her witch is a liar, to Monique Patterson at Bramble, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2024, by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House (NA).
THE TWO DOCTORS GORSKI author and LAMBDA award winner ‘s AS ABOVE, SO BELOW, the story of a boy and his two adoptive parents, their transitions, their art, and the revolution they sparked in a mystical far-future state, told through the lens of the character’s memoir and autobiography, to Carl Engle-Laird at Tor, by Kate McKean at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
Children’s and Middle Grade Fiction
NYT-bestselling author ‘s SPLINTER & ASH, a debut prose series in which a disabled princess and her nonbinary squire find solace and friendship in each other, only to have their mettle tested when the princess is kidnapped and secrets that could send their kingdom crumbling into war and ruin are revealed, to Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow, in a major deal, at auction, in a three-book deal, for publication in fall 2024, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).
Joelle Retener’s picture book MARLEY’S PRIDE, in which a nonbinary child with big anxieties must overcome their fear of crowds when their zaza is up for an award at Pride, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley, to Lisa Rosinsky at Barefoot Books, for publication in spring 2024, by James McGowan at BookEnds for the author and the illustrator (world).
‘s picture book LOVE OF THE HALF-EATEN PEACH, pitched as an epic take on Yuan (Duke Ling of Wei) and his beloved Mi Zi Xia, who shared a peach circa 500 BCE, inspiring generations of people to use the expression “Love of the Half-Eaten Peach” in Chinese to describe romantic love between men, illustrated by , to Wiley Blevins at Reycraft, for publication in spring 2024, by Marietta Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency for the author, and by Alexandra Gehringer at The Bright Group for the illustrator (world).
Author-illustrator ‘s picture book O.K. IS GAY, which follows a boy who discovers that words cannot express the joy of loving who he loves, to Courtney Code at Abrams Children’s, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2025, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).
Young Adult Fiction
Author of ANYTHING BUT FINE and TAKE A BOW, NOAH MITCHELL Tobias Madden’s WRONG ANSWERS ONLY, about a queer teen overachiever whose life takes an unexpected turn when he’s sent to live on a cruise ship with his estranged uncle following a series of panic attacks, to Tamara Grasty at Page Street, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2024, by Claire Friedman at Inkwell Management (NA).
Author of JADE FIRE GOLD ‘s DARKER BY FOUR, pitched as The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, where an exorcist-in-training makes a deal with a trickster death god to regain the magic she lost—and save the life of the boy who stole it, to Alice Jerman at Harper Teen, in a significant deal, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2024, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world English).
Author of IN THE RAVENOUS DARK and the forthcoming COURT OF THE UNDYING SEASONS ‘s LADY DRAGON, a sapphic romantasy where two new leaders coming of age in war-torn lands—a reluctant human princess and the favored contender for the draconic queenship—must grapple with betraying their clashing nations or their unexpected feelings for each other, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, for publication in spring 2025, by Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates (world).
Author of forthcoming THE ALCHEMY OF MOONLIGHT ‘s A VILE SEASON, pitched as Bridgerton meets Interview with a Vampire, in which a jaded vampire who has lost his immortality is tasked with wooing the young heir to a dukedom in order to regain his eternal life, but the secrets and scandals of British high society and an intriguing surprise suitor provide obstacles that force him to reevaluate his quest and his heart, to Tamara Grasty at Page Street, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2024, by Eva Scalzo at Speilburg Literary Agency (world English).
Author of I’LL BE THE ONE and FLIP THE SCRIPT ‘s THE CUFFING GAME, pitched as a K-drama take on Pride and Prejudice, but if Elizabeth and Darcy were forced to work together on a LGBTQ-friendly Love Island-esque reality TV show, the story follows a bisexual film student, who needs a star to help generate interest for her show, so she enlists the campus heartthrob, and while whirlwind dates are happening on camera, the director and contestant realize they might be falling for one another behind the scenes, to Mabel Hsu at Katherine Tegen Books, in an exclusive submission, for publication in winter 2025, by Penny Moore at Aevitas Creative Management (NA).
Non-Fiction and Poetry
‘s THE PRICE OF A SMALL HOT FIRE, a debut poetry collection that is a study on estrangement and loss, excavating the archetypal horrors of monstrous motherhood, from abandonment and unsteady reconciliation to the grave, giving voice to a semi-autobiographical examination of a griefscape from a queer lens, to Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming Press, with Stephanie Wytovich editing, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in July 2023 (world English).
Managing editor of Brevity and coeditor of THE LYRIC ESSAY AS RESISTANCE ‘s memoir CACTUS COUNTRY, about growing up genderfluid in a trailer park outside of Tucson, Arizona, capturing the violence and poignancy of trans boyhood set against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, and the fraught and tender beginnings of life as a queer adult and writer, to Abby Muller at Abrams Press, at auction, by Maggie Cooper at Aevitas Creative Management (NA).
James Beard Award–winning author of THE MAN WHO ATE TOO MUCH ‘s WHAT IS QUEER FOOD?, a historical excavation of the queer voice in food, arguing that food became a language of queer identity in post-war America, and the queer embrace of sensuality in food changed the way we cook, eat and gather around the table, to Melanie Tortoroli at Norton, by Dado Derviskadic and Steve Troha at Folio Literary Management (world English).
Western Washington University professor ‘s INFODEMIC, focusing on contemporary queer life during the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of Trump’s presidency; beginning with the memory of a thwarted kidnapping attempt and ending with musings on life after death, the author engages philosophical questions about spirituality, ethics, and politics, incorporating prose narratives with lineated poems, and capturing the humor and interconnectedness of the author’s queer chosen family, to Diane Goettel at Black Lawrence Press, for publication in July 2024.
Queer somatic therapist, known as @somaticwitch who specializes in treating trauma and PTSD specifically with the LGBTQ+ community LCSW’s RADICAL TRAUMA HEALING: A TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY AND BEYOND, addressing the specific trauma that affects the queer, trans, POC communities and all those at the margins so they can finally see themselves in the healing process, recognizing that trauma can be more than personal, it can be rooted in systemic oppression and the recovery process might be radical, loud and angry and ultimately a political act, to Meg Leder at Penguin Life, by Laura Nolan at Aevitas Creative Management (world).
Amanda DeWitt
Sierra Isley is a young adult author originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but currently based in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Florida State University in 2021 with a degree in Editing, Writing and Media. Outside of writing, her passions include filmmaking, social media communications and drinking chai lattes. IN THE RING is her debut novel. You can visit her website: 
Caroline Murphy is a Hurricane Child.