Adult Fiction and Poetry
‘s OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY, pitched as a queer take on the Mary Shelley classic, in which an aspiring paleontologist and great-niece of Victor Frankenstein attempts to make her name in the patriarchal world of Victorian science by creating her own monster, only to reevaluate what monstrous truly means, to Wendy Wong at Harper, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2023, by Tamara Kawar at ICM, on behalf of Sue Armstrong at C+W (NA).
Author-illustrator of TURNING JAPANESE ‘s I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME, a mixed media forensic journey into false memory and lost queer friendship, pitched as invoking Michelle Tea and Lauren Redniss, to Michael Nava at Amble, for publication in November 2022, by Gordon Warnock at Fuse Literary (world English).
Stonewall Award winner and Lambda Literary Award finalist ‘s TELL THE REST, about the friendship between a women’s basketball coach and a poet, who are deeply connected by a church-supported conversion therapy camp for teens where they survived and their other friend disappeared, whose missions to understand the events of that summer have landed them both back in Oregon—their paths hurtling toward each other once again, to Johnny Temple at Akashic, for publication in spring 2023, by Reiko Davis at DeFiore and Company (world).
‘s EXIT ARIAS, a story collection spanning past, present, and parallel lives, using space opera, quantum physics, calculus, and ecology to explore themes of queer difference in a monstrous world, pitched as Garth Greenwell meets Ted Chiang, and a follow-up novel expanding on one of the stories, to Deborah Ghim at Astra House, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Kirby Kim at Janklow & Nesbit (world).
CCA professor, editor of NO STRAIGHT LINES, and cartoonist Justin Hall’s untitled graphic novel, mixing memoir and historical narratives to weave together San Francisco’s queer history with the author’s own journey as a gay man, to Charlotte Greenbaum at Abrams ComicArts, for publication in spring 2024, by Anjali Singh at Ayesha Pande Literary (world).
Jane Kindred’s KING OF THIEVES, the second in her queer Demons Of Elysium series set in a Russian-inspired heaven, to Rachel Haimowitz at Riptide Publishing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in April 2022, by Sara Megibow at kt literary.
Scholar, critic, and poet Stephanie Burt’s 30 SUPER GAY POEMS, an anthology of LGBTQ+ poetry celebrating queer love, sex, visibility, and joy, alongside expository essays, to Sharmila Sen at Harvard University Press, by Matt McGowan at Frances Goldin Literary Agency (world).
Lambda Literary and Columbia MFA teaching fellow Javier Fuentes’s COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN, a queer, international, cross-class romance centered on a young, undocumented New York pastry chef forced to return to Spain, where he struggles to adapt to his new home and finds shelter with a wealthy, charming, and troubled man, who suffers major shocks of his own, to Shelley Wanger at Pantheon, for publication in 2023, by Maria Cardona at Pontas Literary & Film Agency (world English).
NEA, Stegner, and Fulbright fellow, Lambda Literary Award finalist, and author of INTO EACH ROOM WE ENTER WITHOUT KNOWING Charif Shanahan’s TRACE EVIDENCE, a poetry collection that explores the liminality of mixed-race identity, the tension of queer longing and desire, the difficulty of being present in a divided social world, and the violent legacy of anti-Blackness in the contemporary U.S. and abroad, to Alyssa Ogi at Tin House Books, for publication in winter 2023, by Annie Hwang at Ayesha Pande Literary (NA).
Author, screenwriter and playwright Paul Rudnick’s FARRELL COVINGTON AND THE LIMITS OF STYLE, the story of an absurdly handsome, fabulously wealthy young man from one of America’s most powerful, arch-conservative families and the middle-class New Jersey drama student he falls in love with at Yale, and how their tumultuous, 50-year relationship triumphs against the forces of homophobia, the Hollywood closet, AIDS, and the wrong shoes, to Peter Borland at Atria, in a pre-empt, by Esmond Harmsworth at Aevitas Creative Management (NA).
Tori Anne Martin’s THIS SPELLS DISASTER, pitched as a queer take on How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days; in which a scatterbrained witch fears she must have accidentally given her famous crush a love potion when she starts to flirt with her, and to break the spell, she must prove how wrong they are for each other, all while falling harder herself, to Sarah Blumenstock at Berkley, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2023, by Rebecca Strauss at DeFiore and Company (world).
K.D. Casey’s FIRE SEASON, a contemporary m/m romance in which a newly sober Jewish pitcher befriends-with-benefits his team’s recently divorced, definitely straight star player; and DIAMOND RING, in which estranged former teammates reunite for one last run at a championship, fanning old resentments and old sparks between them, again to Stephanie Doig at Carina Press, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world English).
Children’s and Middle Grade Fiction
Author of HOW TO BECOME A PLANET ‘s SAM I AM and MARINA IN THE MIDDLE, the first two books in THE HOUSE ON SUNRISE LAGOON series, about a blended family with two moms, five daughters, and one giant dog crammed into a ramshackle seaside home in coastal New Jersey; pitched as in the spirit of The Vanderbeekers, to Krestyna Lypen at Algonquin Young Readers, in a three-book deal, for publication in summer 2023, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).
Kate Fussner’s O&E, pitched as a queer in-verse retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, in which two middle school girls learn to love each other and themselves as they fight not to lose one another, to Sara Schonfeld at Katherine Tegen Books, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2023, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world English).
‘s FIRSTS AND LASTS, an anthology including multiple genres from classic contemporary to suspense to fantasy that celebrates all of the thrilling first experiences and momentous last experiences of your teenage years, with contributions by Adi Alsaid, Keah Brown, Monica Gomez-Hira, Kika Hatzopoulou, Shaun David Hutchinson, Amanda Joy, Loan Le, Joy McCullough, Yamile Saied Mendez, Anna Meriano, Nina Moreno, Tess Sharpe, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Diana Urban, and Julian Winters, to Anuoluwapo Ohioma at Penguin Workshop, for publication in fall 2023, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).
Shelley Rotner and Gwen Agna’s TRUE YOU, a picture book about trans and gender nonconforming kids that leads with inclusivity, love, and empathy, accentuating trans and genderfluid joy, with photography by Rotner, to Chris Krones at Clarion, at auction, for publication in fall 2022, by Liz Nealon at Great Dog Literary (world).
Rebecca Mix’s THE MOSSHEART’S PROMISE, when a 12-year-old sets out in search of a cure for the mold that’s eating her mother alive, she makes a horrifying discovery: her entire world is actually trapped inside of a giant, rotting terrarium they were meant to leave 100 years ago; now she has only five days to find the exit—or they’ll be trapped for good, to Kristin Daly Rens at Balzer & Bray, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world English).
Non-Fiction
Video essayist and activist ‘s debut HERE & QUEER, an inclusive guide for all queer girls packed with advice and info about LGBTQ+ culture, relationships, history, and pride, illustrated by , to Lucy Menzies at Quarto Books, for publication in May 2022, by Tamara Kawar at ICM (world).
Contributor to The New Yorker and The Atlantic and New York Public Library fellow ‘s THE OTHER OLYMPIANS, uncovering the stories of several European athletes who publicly transitioned gender in the 1930s and who were widely embraced by society until the intervention of the International Olympic Committee; a largely forgotten history that provides new context to the experiences of trans and intersex athletes, and uncanny parallels to the ways we police gender today, to Jackson Howard at Farrar, Straus, in an exclusive submission, by Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).
Comedians and Very Gay Paint founders Nic Scheppard and Jenson Titus’s A VERY GAY BOOK, a parody textbook about how everything in history, science and the arts—from sports to statistics to soup—is gay, to Allison Adler at Andrews McMeel, for publication in spring 2023, by Adriana Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio (world).