Adult Fiction
Author of YA novels WE USED TO BE FRIENDS and THE SUMMER OF JORDI PEREZ Amy Spalding’s OUTFOXED, a queer f/f romcom about chosen family, honoring your dreams, and falling for the person who sees you as you really are, in which a woman believes that she’s cursed to be alone forever, but when her talent agency job leads her to spend time with an up-and-coming actress and notorious control freak, she reconsiders her exile; can she keep her chosen family, embrace the future she actually wants, and let go of her fears?, to Norma Perez-Hernandez at Kensington, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (world).
Alexis Hall’s SOMETHING FABULOUS, a queer Regency romp, to Lauren Plude at Montlake, in a two-book deal, by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary (world).
Artist, musician, and performer Khan Wong’s THE CIRCUS INFINITE, pitched as a queer space fantasy where the hero finds a new family in an intergalactic circus and comes up against a crime boss who threatens their lives and livelihood, to Gemma Creffield at Angry Robot, in a nice deal, for publication in April 2022, by Amy A. Collins at Talcott Notch Literary Services (world English).
Nghi Vo’s INTO THE RIVERLANDS, in the Singing Hills Cycle series, linked fantasy tales about empire, truth becoming history, and women becoming legend, which follow a wandering cleric as they find both trouble and stories to collect, to Ruoxi Chen at Tor.com, in a three-book deal, for publication beginning in 2022, by Diana Fox at Fox Literary (world English).
Katalina Gamarra‘s BEN & BEATRIZ, pitched as an #OwnVoices, Latinx retelling of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, set in the early days of the Trump presidency, in which a queer, biracial young woman must untangle her complicated relationship with the scion of a wealthy, white dynasty; a rumination on race, colorism, passing, class, wealth, sexuality, and privilege, to Brittany Lavery at Graydon House, at auction, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).
Russian poet, artist, and feminist activist Oksana Vasyakina‘s WOUND, following a queer young woman on a journey across Russia to Siberia, where she has promised to take her mother’s ashes; with memories woven through of a traumatic and impoverished childhood, experiences of the sublime, her sexual and artistic awakening, and the pains and joys of life as a lesbian in Russia, to Kendall Storey at Catapult, for publication in 2023, by Irina Gachechiladze at New Literary Observer (world English).
Young Adult Fiction
James Acker’s THE LONG RUN, an #OwnVoices YA debut pitched as ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE meets FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, following two male track and field athletes as they fall in love during their senior year; their story unpacks themes of identity, independence, and toxic masculinity in South Jersey, to Claire Stetzer at Inkyard Press, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Carlisle Webber at Fuse Literary (NA).
GIRL MANS UP author, Lambda Literary Award winner, and William C. Morris finalist M-E Girard’s THEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS AT ONCE, about an inexperienced girl pulled between an infatuation with a boy and a sweet courtship with a girl, while exploring lust, pleasure, love, internalized fat shaming, and selfishness, to Jill Davis at Harper Children’s, for publication in fall 2022, by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency (NA).
NYT-bestselling author of THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS Marieke Nijkamp‘s WHEN THE NIGHT COMES, pitched as The Society meets Contagion, about a group of teens in a residential facility who celebrate when their guards abandon them, only to discover that a catastrophic event has occurred outside their walls, and they must work together if they want to survive, to Eliza Swift at Sourcebooks Fire, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).
Debut #ownvoices author Mark Kelly’s GEIST, an Urban Paranormal pitched as a gay Romeo and Juliet, set in supernatural overlay of Chicago, wherein the Geist escort souls to the afterlife while battling a cult trying to destroy them, to Craig Gibb at Deep Hearts, for publication in summer 2022, by Amy Brewer at Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
Andrew Joseph White‘s HELL FOLLOWED WITH US, in which a trans boy teams up with an LGBTQ+ youth center to take down the fundamentalist cult who turned him into a monster, to Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen, for publication in June 2022, by Zabe Ellor at Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency (world).
Non-Fiction
Oberlin College professor of sociology Greggor Mattson‘s WHO NEEDS GAY BARS?, a personal and sociological examination of the past, present, and future of gay bars across America and the diverse people of all sexualities, genders, and ethnicities they serve, to Marcela Cristina Maxfield at Stanford University Press, by Brenna English-Loeb at Transatlantic Literary Agency (world English).
Katalina Gamarra earned a BA in English from Drew University, where she received accolades for both creative writing and academic prowess, as well as an award in Shakespeare Study. Before becoming an author, she worked in bookselling and literary scouting. She lives in Boston with her husband, cat, and dog.