Adult Fiction
Steinbeck fellow and University of Miami MFA graduate Bobuq Sayed’s NO GOD BUT US, following two gay Afghan men from wildly different walks of life whose paths converge in Istanbul; grappling with themes of queerness, faith, imperialism, authoritarianism, and the sacrifices we make for our families, both born and chosen, to Ezra Kupor at Harper, at auction, by Maria Cardona at Aevitas Creative Management UK (NA).
‘s TONI AND ADDIE GO VIRAL, about a bestselling debut author and the irresistible woman from her past who is cast as lead actor in the TV adaptation of her novel, to Monique Patterson at Bramble, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2025, by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House (NA).
Author of YES, DADDY ‘s IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, part climate thriller, part family drama, part vicious takedown of the uber-rich, set in Los Angeles in 2044 as a wealthy gay couple refuses to cancel their baby shower even as a potentially apocalyptic event rocks the city, to Mo Crist at Norton, by PJ Mark at Janklow & Nesbit (NA).
World War II historian and author of BORN SURVIVORS and ONE HUNDRED MIRACLES Wendy Holden’s FOR FREDY: THE TEACHER OF AUSCHWITZ, about a gay prisoner who became the improbable and beloved teacher of children in Auschwitz, to Sara Nelson at Harper Perennial, for publication in 2025, by Ruth Logan at Bonnier Zaffre (NA).
Executive editor of SPASM Magazine Sul Mousavi’s LOVE STORY, following a young trans woman’s seduction by New York nightlife, detailing her obsessive parasocial relationship with a renowned DJ and the dovetailing of transition, fantasies of upward mobility, and cultural capital it elicits, to Naomi Falk at Archway Editions, for publication in fall 2024 (world).
Author of THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE and THE LUMINOUS DEAD Caitlin Starling’s THE STARVING SAINTS, a medieval fantasy pitched as American Horror Story in Westeros, following three women in a besieged castle that spirals into cannibalism and chaos while under the spell of mysterious visitors, to Nate Lanman at Voyager, for publication in summer 2025, by Cameron McClure at Donald Maass Literary Agency, on behalf of Caitlin McDonald (world English).
Editors of PEACH PIT Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley, eds.’s BE GAY, DO CRIME, an anthology of stories exploring chaotic queer characters engaging in hacking, trespassing, hoax threats, scams, and other lies in their journeys to justice, revenge. and just getting by, featuring stories by Emily Austin, Myriam Gurba, Francesca Ekwuyasi, Alissa Nutting, and more, to Michelle Dotter at Dzanc Books, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2025, by Serene Hakim at Ayesha Pande Literary (NA).
Author of LIFE SUPPORT and NEXT OF KIN Elton Skelter’s FATALLY YOURS, a queer, erotic horror set in a world where killing is legal, and every good citizen gets one chance to snuff out a life, thereby pushing the boundaries of the laws of humanity, to David-Jack Fletcher at Slashic Horror Press, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in August 2024 (world English).
Rachel Reid’s THE SHOTS YOU TAKE, in which two former pro hockey teammates and ex-best friends with benefits reunite twelve years later in a small town in Nova Scotia and must decide if what they had in the past is worth fighting for in the present, to Stephanie Doig at Carina Adores, for publication in March 2025, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency.
‘s THE TWICE-SOLD SOUL, a contemporary LGBTQ romantic fantasy, to Stephanie Clark at Orbit Works, for publication in fall 2024, by Brenna English-Loeb at Transatlantic Literary Agency (world).
Managing editor of fiction for Foglifter Journal and creative writing teacher ‘s THE LILAC PEOPLE, in which a trans man must give up the freedoms of early 1930s Berlin to live a life in hiding—first from the Nazis, and then from the Allied forces—all while staying true to his identity, protecting the people he loves, and planning their escape, to Dan Lopez at Counterpoint, in a nice deal, by Mike Nardullo while at Levine Greenberg Rostan (NA).
‘s ALL THINGS SEEN AND UNSEEN, a reflection on identity and wealth, and a racial queer story of survival, in which a woman must try to survive as an outsider in a remote, insular community; to navigate the awkward, unexpected beginnings of a possible new romance; and to live through the trauma she has repressed to survive, to Hillary Doyle at Audible, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2024, on behalf of ECW Press (world English).
Authors of THE VIEW WAS EXHAUSTING and ‘s FEAST WHILE YOU CAN, an unsettling and sexy queer love story set against a small, remote town, exploring what happens when a monster comes to threaten you, your desires, and your future, to Seema Mahanian while at Grand Central, with Jacqueline Young editing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in October 2024, by Andrianna deLone at CAA (NA).
and ‘s TASTE THE LOVE, about two women—a five-star eco-chef and a foodie influencer—who must enter a marriage of convenience to stop a fast-food corporate giant from securing a land deal, only to find themselves falling for each other, to Madeleine Colavita at Forever Yours, by Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (NA).
‘s SPEAK EZ, about the ghost of a 1920s lesbian bartender trapped in a hidden speakeasy and the canine spirit that brings her together with the woman who discovers them, to Salem West at Bywater Books, for publication in December 2024, by Naomi Davis at BookEnds (world English).
Children’s/MG Fiction
Author of the YA novel Empress of the World Sara Ryan’s middle grade debut MOUNTAIN UPSIDE DOWN, about 13-year-old Alex, who’s finally worked up the courage to ask her best friend PJ if they could be girlfriends, only to have a series of unexpected disasters and discoveries throwing everything—from Alex’s new relationship status to the shape of her family—into turmoil, to Andrew Karre at Dutton, for publication in spring 2025, by Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).
Author of SKATING ON MARS and the forthcoming LINUS AND ETTA COULD USE A WIN ‘s PIPER GOES OVERBOARD, following an 11-year-old as ze teams up with zir least favorite classmate to break up their single parents’ new relationship during a joint family cruise, pitched as a reverse Parent Trap story, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, by Jessica Mileo at Inkwell Management (world).
Newbery Award Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and two-time Stonewall Award-winning author Kyle Lukoff’s MY LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK ABOUT PRIDE, which invites readers to explore the history and traditions of Pride Day, how and why people celebrate, and the rights of all people to love whomever they choose to and to be accepted just as they are, illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan, to Andrea Posner-Sanchez at Golden Books, for publication in spring 2025, by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services for the author, and by Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).
‘s POPPY’S QUESTION, in which a girl’s teacher shares a spelling lesson about Mr. Q marrying Ms. U, and the girl wonders why the letters have to be a boy and a girl, illustrated by , to Krestyna Lypen at Algonquin Young Readers, for publication in fall 2025, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for the author, and by Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).
Young Adult Fiction
Miriam Zoila Perez’s CAMILA NUNEZ’S YEAR OF DISASTERS, a queer contemporary romance about a teen who is forced to confront her fears about the future when a birthday tarot reading ominously predicts events that challenge her relationships and innermost worries, to Tamara Grasty at Page Street, by Elizabeth Copps at Copps Literary Services (world English).
Author-illustrator Adeline Kon’s graphic novel JUST BETWEEN US, the author’s YA debut, in which a star figure skater who is losing her passion for the sport finds herself unexpectedly drawn to her rival on the ice in the high-pressure year leading up to the Olympics, pitched as LAURA DEAN meets CHECK, PLEASE, about queer first love, talent, and the golden dream, to Michelle Lee at Dial, at auction, for publication in fall 2025, by Tamara Kawar at DeFiore and Company (world).
T.A. Chan’s THE CELESTIAL SEAS, pitched as a queer space opera homage to MOBY-DICK, about a girl who assembles a team of misfits to hunt down an autonomous spacecraft who murdered her former crew, all while torn between the attentions of a mysterious boy and the girl who’s always been by her side, to Maggie Rosenthal at Viking Children’s, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2026, by Karly Dizon at Fuse Literary (world).
Non-Fiction
Author of THE GROVES and LUSH LIVES, art historian, and MacDowell James Baldwin Fellow ‘s BLACKNESS THIRTEEN WAYS, a memoir-in-essays using images, moving and still, to interrogate growing up legally Black and lesbian in post-Civil Rights America and challenging cultural representations of race mixing and passing, to Lisa Lucas at Pantheon, with Deborah Garrison editing, in a very nice deal, in an exclusive submission, by Madison Smartt Bell at Ayesha Pande Literary (world English).
Creator of the are u coming? column for The Cut Brock Colyar’s GENDER BENDER, a reported and personal portrait of the messy contradictions that constitute queerness today, from pronouns to nightlife to TERFs to chasers, examining what’s been lost and what’s been gained in the quest for acceptance, to Caitlin McKenna at Random House, in a pre-empt, by Julie Flanagan and Mollie Glick at CAA (NA).
Poet and essayist jade vine’s HOLD ME, an essay collection celebrating and investigating the interplay of language, sorrow, and hope while exploring queer and agender identity alongside the complicated backdrop of family relationships, to Kristine Langley Mahler at Split/Lip Press, for publication in November 2024 (world English).
New Scientist writer and physics PhD ‘s ENTANGLED STATES: A LIFE ACCORDING TO PHYSICS, a series of accumulating chapters that illuminate exotic physics concepts while also relating them to the author’s life as a queer immigrant scientist and writer living and working in New York, pitched as for fans of Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Sabrina Imbler, to Catherine Tung at Beacon Press, by William Callahan at Inkwell Management (world English).
Co-editor of NOTHING TO HIDE: VOICES OF TRANS AND GENDER DIVERSE AUSTRALIA ‘s DETACHABLE PENIS: A QUEER LEGAL SAGA, pitched as an honest, unflinching account of chest surgery, phalloplasty, the emotional impact of cross-sex hormones and the perils of airport body scanners; exploring the author’s ambivalence about aspects of his own transition, masculinity and fears of lesbian erasure as he encounters a new world of gender-affirming psychologists, surgeons and speech pathologists, to Clare Hitchens at Wilfrid Laurier University Press, in a nice deal (NA).
Author of IC and Kundiman, Fulbright, and MacDowell Fellow ‘s DAYAWATI, OF MERCY, a collection of poems that traces intergenerational domestic violence at the intersections of mental illness, immigration, racism, and queerness as the author, a mixed-race Punjabi-American queer woman growing up in the suburbanizing Great Plains, phrases the relationship between mercy and violence through the brutalization of the prairie and confronts her own experience with domestic violence alongside the abuse her grandmother also endured, to Carmen Gimenez at Graywolf, for publication in fall 2026 (world).
Professor of biology at Allegheny College ‘s UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE, a collection of essays written against secrets and silence, as the author examines how fascism, genocide, and the bombs of World War II shaped three generations of women in her Catholic German family, and her life as a queer, first-generation immigrant determined to examine her family’s past, to Ilan Stavans at Restless Books, by Mariah Stovall at Trellis Literary Management (world).
