I know querying can be a very uncertain time where even being careful can’t guarantee success. Agents can make a lot of promises but only a % actually live up to them. My only promise is the philosophy I live by: I try to be the agent that I wanted as a querying writer
I’m really itching for more diverse takes on dark speculative fiction, there are so many gaps here. Give me Latinx/black girl goth, dark Caribbean lore (POTC Calypso fantasy anyone??) non-western myths, indigenous exorcists, pantheons besides Greek/Norse, diaspora detectives 🙏🏽
Listen I know fantasy loves its mages, assassins, warrior princesses, and knights but please give me more scholars, shamans, mapmakers, artisans, and bards - I would love to see more creatives having adventures in SFF!
#MSWL
Most likely will be asleep when
#MoodPitch
pitches start rolling out tomorrow but if I 💙 your tweet please send your query and three chapter sample to antoinette
@irenegoodman
.com
Some advice I gave to a couple of amazing writers I met last week during a stellar writers retreat: Don't write for publishers, me, or for other agents. Write because you wouldn't be able to live with yourself any other way
Excited to dive into
#QueerPit
today! If I ❤️ your tweet please send your query and 3 page chapter sample to my email (antoinette
@lookingglasslit
.com)
The hardest part about being a writer/agent is rejections. Because I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of endless form rejections, I empathize a lot which makes it harder. I want to stress that a pass from me means that I’M not a right fit for you, not the other way
Calling all writers & industry professionals! Pleased to announce I will be offering a 3 hour lecture on Decolonizing Publishing; culture & writing craft, for UCLA X Open
@WritersProgram
on February 24th
Enrollment opens February 10th!📝
Learn more:
🌟News is out!🌟 Decolonizing Fiction is being brought to the UCLA campus!! I am now an extension instructor for the UCLA Editing & Publishing program & will be developing this initiative into a 10 week course!!
Dear poc editors, agents, educators, published authors, & other industry professionals📣 I'd love to use the Decolonizing Publishing course as a platform to highlight your voice as we discuss needed changes in CW pedagogy/publishing. DM me if you'd like to contribute!📩
My mission is to assemble a client list of badass authors upending Western imperialism/colonization, patriarchy, shamelessly celebrating their culture/mythology/heritage through SFF/historical fic & showing off their flags on Twitter bios like badges of honor — I am your Gojo
#mswl
instead of taking down the evil king, give me a linguistic fantasy where the plot is recovering the indigenous magic of a dead language that colonial powers tried to erase
Hello SFF & GN editors!📣
I officially have a website page just dedicated to client shenanigans. I will be updating any exciting new projects in store through here, including bios & portfolios. I can’t wait to share their talent with you & the world!
Noticing a sudden surge of Romantasy in my inbox and just want to reiterate that I am not the best fit for these projects. There are plenty of agents who would happily consider romantasy but its not the sort of SFF I'm looking for unfortunately
A
#mswl
update since I’m still open to queries! Looking for martial arts fantasies with strong female leads that celebrate EA/culture. Non-western SFF inspired by mythologies. Dark fantasies with complex lore & unhinged characters. Colonizer bashing dark academia & historical fic
I think someday I'd love to teach a Submission Package Bootcamp for writers preparing for the query trenches. Opening pages + Query + Synopsis + Industry advice.
#WritingCommunity
would love to know if that's something anyone's interested in.
Introducing our 1st Contributor for the Decolonizing Publishing Course,
@KeirAlekseii
!
Keir is a writer, gamer, lover of folklore, former research scientist, educator, and anti-GBV activist born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago. Welcome Keir!
Enroll at:
An unhinged female archivist, morbid book binding lore, hot dead Gods, & polyamory romance in a queer gothic fantasy. Spoopy month is not ready for this absolute gem in my inbox✨
Introducing our 2nd Contributor for the Decolonizing Publishing Course,
@jenissamichelle
!
Jenissa is an Associate Agent at Bookends Literary agency who is passionate about increasing the BIPOC space in Publishing! Welcome Jenissa!
Enroll via:
I want to thank everyone who participated in the Decolonizing Publishing lecture! Your support is essential. The official class will ft insights from other industry professionals & more. Now more than ever we need to do the work to change publishing & ourselves
Enrollment open!
We are thrilled to announce the official launch of Looking Glass Literary & Media ()! Founded by Natalie Lakosil & run by a full-service team of fierce advocates whose priority is championing authors & books that reflect the diverse world around us🪞📚
I thought this might be helpful to querying authors so today I’m going to give my Anti-mswl.
Not the best fit for: Elves/fae, demons, angels, vampires, elemental powers, concubine narratives, road-trips, witches, military fic, zombies, secret agents, GOT fantasy, or AI dystopia
Shay’s queer gothic fantasy is everything!
Morbid bookbinding magic system, pantheon of dead gods, polyamorous & queer rep, unhinged female mc, book thieves & archivists, all set in a chilling grimdark world. I adore the Bloodborne vibes of this story!👀✨
Thrilled to announce that I am now represented by
@VS_Antoinette
at IGLA!!
I couldn’t be more excited to work with Antoinette, who saw straight through to the heart of my gothic fantasy full of dead gods, unhinged girls, and morbid magic 👁️✨🥂
I asked for creatives having adventures and
@S_R_Spieler
delivered! A broody sculptress, a panromantic cult heiress, a volcano goddess, women artists, Gods demanding art sacrifices to satiate their wrath, HOT male muses - Editors this is an epic femme fantasy to kneel for!✨🧎🏽♀️
I’m delighted to announce that I’ve signed with Antoinette Van Sluytman
@VS_Antoinette
of
@LookingGlassLit
to rep my book about BAMF artists - and she is an artist herself! Check out the concept pieces she made for my epic fantasy Catalog of the Gods (!!!):
Also want to add that I know what it’s like worrying about if my book may not be commercial enough for traditional publishing — but all it took was that one risk taker. I want to help make changes as an agent because I’ve felt the weight of these issues as a writer
This story stole my heart! The Ozarks meet Native Hawaii - a biracial mc reuniting with his ohana of mediums, Ozark Matriarchs, dark family spirits, spooky small towns, Hawaiian spirituality, the sanctity of native land & ancestral grave sites. I'm so excited for this!✨👀
My
@PitDark_
pitch got an agent's attention: the first signal from the publishing industry that my writing might travel beyond my own desk. One year later, I'm thrilled to announce that I've signed with her:
@VS_Antoinette
of
@LookingGlassLit
! Cheers to the next chapter. 🍾🥂
Anyone else noticed that anti-colonial/decolonial themes in books are now being slowly phased out in publishing, as though they were merely a passing trend? 🧍🏻♀️
Thrilled to add the amazing
@kieltokki
to my list of wonderful clients! They're such an incredible talent and I couldn't be more excited to work with them and their lovely whimsical & dreamy artwork ✨
hi
i just want to announce that I am now being represented by the amazing
@VS_Antoinette
at Looking Glass Literary and Media!
this is new experience to me, but i am so thrilled and excited to see my direction as an artist with this one <3
A reminder for anyone interested I will be teaching Decolonizing Fiction again next week for the Loft and I offer all students free query critiques! Excited to meet some writers.
More information about enrollment here
Happy pride month to my amazing clients & their amazingly queer books🌈✨ This year I've signed two new incredible writers,
@writerknell
&
@SoumiRoy1
. I'm so excited for Shay's queer normative goth romantasy and Soumi's stunning sapphic anticolonial Phantom of opera set in India!
Even though I've changed agencies from IGLA anyone who's queried me before will still receive an answer, so don't worry about having to requery a new inbox. I'm currently working my way through queries so everyone should receive an answer within time.
My point here is: If it’s any consolation to the writers querying me, I’ve been in your shoes and you can trust that I’m on your side as both a writer and an agent (and this is your reminder to always research agents)
When I sign a contract I do so knowing what it’s like highlighting every clause because I don’t want to give up certain rights to my work. When I write an edit letter I do so knowing what it’s like having my own book red-lined and bracing for inevitable revisions
When I make an offer I do so knowing what it’s like being on the other end of an offer call, going through questions to help spot red flags early. When I respond to a client email I do so knowing what it’s like refreshing my emails everyday anxiously waiting to hear back
Thought I'd add a few specific notes about my
#mswl
after going through QM. Not really big on queens, monster slayers, concubines, and assassins. Give me shady shamans, sassy cartographers, magic gravediggers, salty artisans, grumpy baristas, and celestial grocery baggers (🧵)
I think someday I'd love to teach a Submission Package Bootcamp for writers preparing for the query trenches. Opening pages + Query + Synopsis + Industry advice.
#WritingCommunity
would love to know if that's something anyone's interested in.
Congratulations
#RevPit
winners & runner-ups!🎉 To everyone who didn't make it in, we still have spots left for the query submission package bootcamp where you can get mentored on the industry + critiques on your first chapter + query + synopsis!❤️
#WritingCommunity
Check out this amazing article featuring
@samohsai
and how her incredible art is contributing to the Amazigh cultural scene!
I truly can't wait for her mythologically inspired Amazigh graphic novel to grace the industry✨
This is what motivated me to develop the Decolonizing Publishing initiative. Would love to see more non-western storytelling structures in books normalized
Words cannot even begin to describe how excited I am for Soumi’s work. Amazing Indian mythology inspired settings, sapphic rep, and badass female protagonists! Editors prepare for an anticolonial sapphic Indian Phantom of the Opera fantasy to kneel for👀✨
My vague tweet era is over! Thrilled to announce that I'm now represented by the amazing
@Natalie_Lakosil
&
@VS_Antoinette
at
@IGLAbooks
So grateful to have found the best champions for my books, including Sapphic Phantom, & Eagle & Viper. Super excited to be working with them.
Thought I'd add a few specific notes about my
#mswl
after going through QM. Not really big on queens, monster slayers, concubines, and assassins. Give me shady shamans, sassy cartographers, magic gravediggers, salty artisans, grumpy baristas, and celestial grocery baggers (🧵)
Give me tortured artists cursed by magical paintings - Grumpy architects tasked with illustrating evil fortresses - Language as a magic system - Magical toy makers! I eat this up
Wow the discussions going on in the Decolonizing Publishing course are so critically essential, introspective, and much needed. So inspired by this class already
It has been a blast at
#PitDark
seeing all your amazing pitches!
We're super excited to see everyone keep up the good energy for
#SEAsianPit
tomorrow (5/25)! Looking forward to celebrating SEAsian writers and their projects 🔥🔥
Check out the thread for more info & guidelines!
Should you write for the market?
@VS_Antoinette
: "It’s always better to write the story that you want and not what you think agents or publishers are looking for. I can often tell when a book is written purely for the joy and love for the craft/genre."
Update: I am officially closing to queries tomorrow and will be closed for the month of June. My query manager will be open until the end of the day for any last minute submissions.
🆕ATTN artist/writers🆕
I am now officially open to queries from now until next Wednesday 18th. Please refer to my MSWL page for specifics of what I’m looking for. I’m excited to dive in the next few days.
🔽Official form🔽
Introducing our 4th Contributor for the Decolonizing Publishing Course,
@witchywonderer
! Welcome Zhui Ning!
Zhui Ning Chang is a Malaysian editor, writer, educator, cultural consultant, and theatre maker based in London, UK.
Enroll in the class via:
Listen I’m in the good book business. The best part of being in the good book business is that I get to read good books. All this to say, I’ve had the pleasure of reading a really freakin good book that I’m terribly excited for…
Listen, what if agents attached memes about the book when submitting to editors. If nothing you’ll at least get a good hardy cackle. Ok I’m on to something
Woohoo we're increasing enrollment capacity so there are more seats available for interested learners! You can claim your spot today by registering via the link below📩🌟
Calling all writers & industry professionals! Pleased to announce I will be offering a 3 hour lecture on Decolonizing Publishing; culture & writing craft, for UCLA X Open
@WritersProgram
on February 24th
Enrollment opens February 10th!📝
Learn more:
If any editors are stalking my page and would like to read a toxic, sapphic retelling of Phantom of The Opera set against the background of India's independence movement, feel free to hit me up or my agent.