Submissions
Eclectic in tastes but not in standards, the Stimola Literary Studio, highly selective in representation, invites unsolicited queries on picture books, novels, graphic novels, and non-fiction projects, most of the year.
While we have always striven to provide the courtesy of response to all queries, the extraordinarily large number now received makes that no longer possible. We can only respond now to those we wish to pursue further and will not be responsible for manuscripts submitted without regard to this policy, which supersedes any information listed in writers’ guides or on other websites. Queries sent via physical mail will not be reviewed, considered or returned.
See below to select the agent to whom you wish to submit. Please query only one agent at a time. Also, send only one query and manuscript per agent at a time. If your project is better suited to another agent at the Studio, we are happy to share with each other.
Submissions Guidelines
I am not currently accepting new submissions.
I am most interested in author-illustrator picture books, early readers, chapter books, heavily illustrated middle grade and interesting novelty formats. I am looking for a diverse array of voices, perspectives and styles and respond well to zany with heart, a celebration of the wonder of life and complex characters that explore our inner lives. More specifically, I am looking for:
projects that focus on Jewish culture and the modern inclusive experience of being Jewish
author-illustrators who take a creative approach to book making stories that explore cultural practices and beliefs as well as lived experiences of people from diverse backgrounds
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ book makers
clever, interactive and tactile novelty formats
comics
Email submissions to ERICA (at) SLS-SUBMISSIONS (dot) COM. The email address is spelled out to reduce spam.
Send me your adult non-fiction — books that feed mind & body, bring forth previously untold stories, and grow our cultural, social and emotional intelligence. I am interested in:
psychology & psychology meets spirituality
books that highlight mindful & modern approaches to life
cookbooks & stories that celebrate food, food culture & food history
art & design
oracle decks, journals & interactive spiritual practice tools
BIPOC voices & creators
LGBTQ+ voices & creators
select humor
Email submissions to ADRIANA (at) SLS-SUBMISSIONS (dot) COM. The email address is spelled out to reduce spam.
I am not accepting any new submissions or clients at the moment.
I am excited to find author/illustrator picture books—particularly those that take finite childhood experiences and turn them into something that resonates deeply. I’m also interested in non-fiction picture book manuscripts, especially ones about people and moments we should know about, but don’t. (For fiction picture books, I am interested in author/illustrators ONLY, but I am open to those who are only illustrators—especially from diverse or BIPOC backgrounds.) For middle-grade I am looking for a great voice, and a great main character who could potentially carry a series. This could be contemporary, or light fantasy. I like a bit of magic, suspended disbelief, and I do believe in fairies. I love dogs and horses—but not when bad things happen to them! For YA, I love contemporary coming of age, fantasy grounded in reality, near-future dystopia, and high-concept speculative. I love psychological thrillers that push the envelope, truly twisty mysteries, and literary ghost stories. I am not interested in typical paranormal, however. I love Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Virginia Woolf—and anything with a hook like this. I also love The Parent Trap and Jurassic Park. I am looking for both high-concept hooks, and a great voice. Trying something new, I am also open to women’s fiction and memoir. For all of the above, I’d love to see diverse and BIPOC voices.
Submissions Instructions:
Picture book manuscripts attached as a Word doc.
Picture book dummies/art portfolios attached as a PDF.
The first ten pages of middle-grade, YA, and fiction manuscripts pasted in the email. When fulls are requested, please send Word documents, not PDFs.
A synopsis of your manuscript attached as a Word document, sent with a query is welcome.
Email submissions to ALLISON (at) SLS-SUBMISSIONS (dot) COM. The email address is spelled out to reduce spam.
Allison Hellegers will be open to submissions in January and February 2025, and she’ll close again on March 1st to prepare for the book fair season.
Alli loves repping children's books, but in the new year she’s primarily on the lookout for adult fiction and non-fiction. You can still send her YA and middle grade novels, as she’s always looking for a new voice that grabs hold and won’t let go, but please don’t send picture book texts or graphic novels unless they come with industry referrals.
Overall, she loves commercial concepts with literary, evocative writing that makes her feel something. She is especially hoping to find a subversive novel that pushes boundaries and features diverse characters, especially queer, Indigenous, neurodiverse, and differently abled.
She loves a genre mash-up, or something you can’t quite categorize. A Queer Rom Com Heist? A Cozy Feminist Horror? A Dystopian Romance (Dystopasy, if you will, you heard it here first!), or a Speculative Time Travel Psychological Thriller? She's looking for a pitch she's never heard before and a setting that whisks her away. Fantasy and Sci-Fi are ok if they are grounded in a world that readers can imagine, with characters whose internal lives feel complex and familiar. She also loves historical fiction centering diverse stories and/or myths, and all the more fun when they include a bit of magical realism.
For non-fiction, she especially loves memoirs and narrative non-fiction and getting in the weeds with authors to bring out their true voice. But as the personal is often political, Alli would love to work on a memoir that ties one’s narrative to say something bigger about society and humanity. She’s also looking for health, wellness, and pop culture books by those who are writing about changing systems and/or habits to help cultivate living life to the fullest, all the while embracing imperfection.
**Please submit your query to ALLI (at) SLS-SUBMISSIONS (dot) COM.
**For fiction for all ages, please send your query letter + 10 pages cut and pasted into the body of the e-mail.
**For non-fiction for all ages, please send your query letter.