Manuscript Wishlist

Want to work with Naomi? Here are the kinds of projects they are excited to find in their query box!

My reading tastes are always changing, so check out my Twitter feed for updates!

I prioritize stories written by marginalized authors across all spectrums and genres. I love unexpected family, morally complex characters, and powerful platonic connections. I am exceptionally particular in adult SFF, as I represent a lot of authors in this space and am looking to fill gaps on bookshelves with unique perspectives, formats, and settings. Think of me for projects with sharp voice and unreliable narrators. I’m open to considering books in the thriller and women’s fiction space too, with a touch of speculative or gothic, and am eager to build out my illustrator list more, particularly for author-illustrators.

Adult Sci Fi:

I’m looking to be ripped across time & space. I want the unexpected worlds of NOPHEK GLOSS, the intrigue and surprise of ARRIVAL, the heart of THE MIDNIGHT SKY, and the sense of unknown in PLANETFALL. I love wondering what in the world is going on, but I crave this alongside a solid anchor to the character perspective. It should be clear what the character is experiencing, even if the world itself takes some time to materialize. I love the close, intimate arcs of Elle E. Ire's THREADBARE, and the big, global consequences in Nadia Afifi's THE SENTIENT. I also love fantasy stories nestled into sci-fi worlds. I can read hard or soft sci-fi, as long as it drags me in by my spine and makes me forget to exist.

Adult Fantasy:

High/Epic, Low, and select Urban/Contemporary. I want the impossible made believable, like the brilliant NK Jemisin, and sprawling worlds with political tensions like Melissa Caruso’s SWORDS AND FIRE series. Voicey prose in gritty realities like Peter McLean’s PRIEST OF BONES, and urban or contemporary fantasy only if it breaks all the rules, or utilizes unique narrative structures. Sunyi Dean's THE BOOK EATERS pinned me to my seat and ate me from the inside out through every page I read. I am not eager for typical vamps/fae/weres/witches. Shatter my expectations with something very new that interacts with our world in a relevant way. I can’t stress enough that if you’re going to pitch me urban fantasy, it had better be weird. Not weird at the expense of craft, but strange, wild, twisty tales packed with emotion and told with a literary edge. I’m also madly in love with stories that are inspired by real-world mythology, like DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by Sue Lynn Tan, or HALL OF SMOKE by H.M. Longg.

I also can't stress enough that SFF is often used as a landscape for digging through relevant topics and connecting with political issues. I love this. We need this. I also love "fun and explosive" SFF, but be conscious that readers will make connections between your book and their real world experience. That is to say, that your speculative story might just feel like an "exciting romp" to you, but when readers see themselves in your characters, your representation/treatment of them matters. Be conscious of this. It's a responsibility in all genres, and an element of championing underrepresented perspectives I continue to learn more about.

Adult Horror or Thriller:

I’m newly open to adult horror or thriller and looking for crossover with speculative fiction. Basically, I want all of the above, but I also want you to scare my face off and dangle me off a cliff every chapter. I don’t like gratuitous violence for shock value or harm to children/pets, and I tend to veer away from gratuitous scenes that violate any consent boundaries. Frighten me conceptually; bonus points if you can do this with characters that appeal to crossover markets, both in age categories and genres.

YA Contemporary:

I'm looking for stories with or without romance. I love Leah Johnson's development of a fully-realized cast of characters and stakes in YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. It was easy to love and root for the characters and told a high school story I had never read before. I love Kacen Callender's characters-in-growth moments. Stories that ask tough questions and also make me laugh. FELIX EVER AFTER delivered emotional beats I didn’t know I was craving and taught me about world I live in, perspectives I have not lived. I came away from the book changed and that’s what makes a read really memorable for me.

YA SFF:

Bring me everything I’m looking for in adult, but through a YA lens with YA relationships. REFRACTION by Naomi Hughes blew my mind. Dramatically visual worldbuilding, inner conflict as crucial as external. I'm looking for very different plots/structures here, alongside underrepresented perspectives. I'm not looking for more learn-your-powers stories or magic-boarding-school/camp stories. I need to be stunned by originality in YA SFF through a combination of a lens less often seen, and worldbuilding that redefines the genre. Gabi Burton layered together some really important social commentary with an exciting story and world (murder! sirens! royalty!) in SING ME TO SLEEP, and I want worlds to be developed with all the senses so I can immerse myself into the world and just live there for a while.

Picture Books:

I love picture books that blend elements of culture with iconic characters, and small, powerful moments that tell a story we’ve yet to see in the picture book space. Many of my books feature the most precious moments of family (whether biological or found) coming together, and I’m interested in books that initiate important conversations about things like racial microaggressions, gender identity, non-nuclear families, disability, and other intersections of identity. I feel picture books can do more than just tell an engaging story; they give children a chance to see themselves reflected in the pages. I work with authors, author-illustrators, and illustrators around the world. Some specific things I’d love to see: authors who bring lessons from the past into a child’s present like SUGAR IN MILK (author: Thrity Umrigar; illustrator: Khoa Le) and stories that give children language in tough situations, like in WHERE ARE YOU FROM? (author: Yamile Saied Mendez; illustrator: Jaime Kim). I’m also seeking iconic characters like the AMY WU series (author: Kat Zhang; illustrator: Charlene Chua). I love art that brings depth and movement through unique use of texture, as Khoa Le does, and I’m also attracted to playful watercolor palettes like Roz MacLean creates. I absolutely love poetic deliveries like in THE SKIN YOU LIVE IN (author: Michael Tyler; illustrator: David Lee Csicsko). It would be a dream to work with an illustrator who can create the impossible depth of color Chaaya Prabhat delivers, and the ability to infuse each spread with personality like in GOOD NIGHT, OPPY (author: James McGowan; illustrator: Graham Carter). I love space and am interested in working on more books about or set in space, but I’m a better fiction agent than nonfiction, so I love it when new and exciting facts are brought to me through the eyes of a child character with a story to tell of their own.

A Couple Quick FAQ:

• You do NOT have to be US-based to query me. I represent authors on 5 different continents so far!

• Please note I only accept queries through http://querymanager.com/naomidavis and if your query is miscategorized because I'm closed to your genre, it will be rejected. I will also delete all queries received by email.

• I am willing to consider re-submissions of projects that are significantly revised (both the query and the manuscript). Please note this in your your query if so.

• I do not consider previously-published or previously-self-published work at this time.

• I am currently closed to submissions, but I hope to open soon!

• I aim to answer all queries within 8 weeks, and all full manuscripts within 12 weeks, though I do occasionally get behind. I update my Twitter with where I am at periodically.

• I read all queries personally, and though I wish I had time to respond to each with personalized feedback, I do receive hundreds every month so will only provide personal feedback on full manuscript requests.

• As with everything, my opinions are only my own. I am always cheering for you 100%, and if we’re not a match, I know your perfect publishing partner is out there waiting for you!

I am so excited to see your queries! Let's make some magic happen together.