WISHLIST:

Carey is looking for children’s literature and adult fiction across all genres. Her tastes are very broad, but especially loves anything horror or spooky related. She prioritizes queries from writers who identify as belonging to a marginalized or underrepresented community.

Please do NOT send:

• Nonfiction.

• Books where cheating is the main focus or plot point.

• Stories where animals die.

• Historical fiction.

• Books where spies / government espionage / war / soldiers are the main focus or main characters.

• Romance stories when romance is the only focus. I’m not a big romcom reader. BUT if you’ve got more things going on like character growth and big emotional problems, like with LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren, then I’d love it, especially if it’s queer or features BIPOC characters.

Across All Genres:

• Stories from marginalized creators featuring diverse characters.

• Graphic novels from author / illustrators.

• Lyrical writing. I love beautiful metaphors and descriptive language.

• Horror, horror, horror! I love kids getting chased by ghosts / the supernatural or adults having to battle haunted houses. Freak me out without having to be heavy-handed with gore and violence.

• Speculative stories have a special place in my heart. Anything that is set in our world but something is off / different I’m a huge fan of.

• Multimedia story telling. Love books that use things like podcasts, social media posts, texts, etc. to explore themes.

• Main characters that are very driven and headstrong, even to the point of being toxic. Love people that give off Taurus energy.

• If your characters play tennis or video games, I’m interested!

• I’m queer and neurodiverse, so I especially love queer romances and identity searching with ND characters.

PICTURE BOOKS:

• Author / illustrators.

• Stories that teach readers something without being heavy-handed, whether that’s an emotional lesson or something cultural.

• Stories that focus on different cultures and types of families.

• Something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy after reading it.

• A spooky story that explores folklore from other cultures, like THE SKULL by Jon Klassen.

• Not the biggest fan of potty humor or silly stories where the focus is solely on humor.

MIDDLE GRADE:

• Queer first crushes and identity searching where homophobia isn’t the main focus.

• Coming of age novels hold a special place in my heart, especially when they explore darker themes or issues, like with THIS APPEARING HOUSE by Ally Malinenko.

• Really looking for horror in this space especially.

YOUNG ADULT:

• Speculative stories featuring angsty teenagers now having to figure out a supernatural problem, like with IF YOU COULD SEE THE SUN by Ann Liang.

• Cozy fantasy where it’s easy to slip into the pages and forget the real world.

• Contemporary that explores big problems and takes your breath away, like with WE DESERVE MONUMENTS by Jas Hammonds or IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME by Jen St. Jude.

• A tennis focused story, especially if it involves a queer romance.

ADULT:

• A page-turning thriller. Bonus points if it involves the supernatural, like Simone St. James. Or if it uses different mediums, like NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell.

• If you’ve got a weird little book that doesn’t fit neatly into genre boxes, I would love to see it.

• Books that focus on unique lines of work or places where settings are almost like another character, like with ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES by Charlotte McConaghy.