A.J. & Nicole’s PW Wishlist!

I am a figure skating fiction writer, focused on queer narratives. My debut, ANA ON THE EDGE, released last fall from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. It was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, received a starred review from Booklist, and made numerous “Best of” lists, including Booklist Editors’ Choice for Youth 2020 and the Top 10 for the 2021 ALA Rainbow List for Youth. This year, I have an essay in the YA nonfiction anthology, ALLIES, (9/14/21, Penguin Random House/DK) and a short story in the queer MG anthology, THIS IS OUR RAINBOW (co-edited by none other than Nicole Melleby!). My sophomore novel, ELLEN OUTSIDE THE LINES, releases from Little, Brown on March 22, 2022. Nicole and I also have a co-written MG novel releasing from Algonquin Young Readers in Spring 2023. My writing is represented by Jordan Hamessley at New Leaf Literary.

After graduating from law school and realizing practicing law wasn't as much of a passion as I'd hoped it would be, I worked as a tech journalist and content marketer for a Barcelona-based company, then transitioned into a position as an editor at a legal marketing and web development firm that also focused on making online legal resources freely accessible to the public. I now work as a freelance editor while writing ALL the stories (plus finding time to figure skate whenever possible).

I received mentorship in 2018 via the #WriteMentor program. It not only improved my writing but offered me the support I needed to dive into querying. Without the encouragement and advice of more experienced writers, I would not be as far along in the process as I am today. I also applied for Pitch Wars in 2018, which is when I met Nicole. I signed with my agent prior to mentee announcements, but I still very much feel like a part of the Pitch Wars extended family. Now I want to give back. I first co-mentored with Nicole for Pitch Wars in 2019 and have also been a mentor for the #WriteMentor and Author Mentor Match programs. I’m excited to return to Pitch Wars this year; I can’t wait to fall in love with a story work with another talented writer.

Feel free to direct any questions you might have to me on Twitter.

I write LGBTQ contemporary MG. Two of my middle grade books have been Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, and my second novel, In the Role of Brie Hutchens, was a 2020 Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. My debut novel, Hurricane Season, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist and a Skipping Stones Honor Book. My most recent book, How to Become a Planet, earned multiple starred reviews. I live with my wife and our cat, whose need for attention oddly aligns with my writing schedule. My work is represented by the wonderful Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret.

I teach literature and creative writing at Rowan University, and I received my MFA in Writing for Children from Fairleigh Dickinson University--where I found mentors and a community that I wouldn't trade for the world. Having people by my side throughout the process has made it feel a little less lonely, which is exactly why I decided to apply to be a mentor for Pitchwars in the first place. This is my third year mentoring, and I'd love to help someone the same way my mentors and friends supported me throughout my journey, because I would have been oh so very lost without them.

I'm happy to answer any of your questions on Twitter. 

We text each other. A lot. But we’re also down for having a Twitter group DM, an email chain, and even the occasional phone call or zoom. Whatever works best for you. We’re flexible.

In terms of editorial guidance, we will provide you with an editorial letter that covers any big picture developmental items first (plot, pacing, worldbuilding, etc.). This will likely take up a good portion of your time during the first part of the mentorship, but we’ll be around to clarify or hash out points with you, answer questions, and cheer you on throughout the revision process. Once the structure of your novel seems sound, we can dig deeper into aspects of character development and voice, plus point out inconsistencies or areas in need of clarification, with a more line-level focus.

We’ll get as in-depth with our notes as time permits, helping you polish your story and make it tighter on each editorial pass. Additionally, we’ll help you with your agent showcase pitch, query letter, and a one-page synopsis so you’re prepared to enter the query trenches. Once you get to the querying stage, we can provide thoughts on your agent list and help you navigate through virtually any step of the querying process. 

Our gif game is also strong, so the chances are high that we'll send you tons of them with our reactions to your revision.

The mentorship period spans approximately three months. While this may seem like a good, long stretch of time, it'll go quickly, especially with the winter holidays.

Our ideal mentee is someone who has time to revise their story, and also someone who is willing to change elements of character development, plot, and pacing--sometimes drastically. While this is ultimately your story and you are the decision-maker with respect to changes, an unwillingness to change any aspect of your manuscript may be an indicator that we won’t be the right mentors for you (and that Pitch Wars, a program grounded in both mentorship and manuscript revision, may not be the best program to submit to).

We understand having other obligations. We’re both busy with our own writing, careers, and partners. That’s why open communication is key. Being candid about your availability to revise throughout the mentorship months will allow us to craft a mentorship schedule that works well for everyone involved. 

This probably goes without saying, but our mentee should also be LGBTQIA-friendly!

Character-driven contemporary middle grade stories. I’m drawn to beautiful writing and characters grappling with issues that may not be big in the scope of the world but are huge for the characters themselves. Kids need to see their struggles play out on the page. So long as it’s approached in a nuanced, empathetic way, stories like these have the ability to stay with me long after I’ve finished reading.

LGBTQIA+ stories are something I would absolutely love to see subbed, especially from writers who are queer themselves (but only if the writer feels comfortable self-identifying--I do not expect someone to out themselves or feel like they need to prove any aspect of their marginalized identity). I’d love to see stories centering around queer girls (cis or trans), trans or nonbinary characters, and gender-nonconforming boys.

I have about a billion comps here, but a handful of good ones are HURRICANE SEASON (by my awesome co-mentor, Nicole!), HAZEL BLY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, STAR-CROSSED, and HURRICANE CHILD.

I’d love to see stories focused on characters who are disabled, neurodiverse, mentally ill, experiencing homelessness, or grieving. I’m not opposed to a darker story, since kids grapple with a lot of tough issues. I also think shielding kids from these types of narratives does a disservice both to the kids experiencing them who need to see themselves represented on the page and to those who might be more fortunate but will lose the chance to empathize with someone whose experience differs from theirs. NO FIXED ADDRESS addressed homelessness in a touching, sometimes humorous, way, THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH is a seminal work on how to handle tween grieving, imo, and PLANET EARTH IS BLUE beautifully captures the autistic experience (in a historical setting as a bonus). I'm autistic myself and would love to find a story where neurodiversity, queerness, and even cultural identity intersect.

Historical fiction also rates high on my wishlist. Introduce me to a little-known historical figure or an event in history that’s been glossed over by the standard straight white, cis male colonial narrative. Two of my focuses in undergrad were ancient Near Eastern history and Religious Studies, so I’d love to see queer characters in the context of a historical and religious minority perspective. I'd love to see a queer and/or neurodiverse narrative that can comp to SHOW ME A SIGN or WHEN YOU REACH ME.

Mysteries are my jam. It doesn’t need to be a core part of the plot, but I love a good mystery woven into a MG narrative. Think: the locker letters in IVY ABERDEEN’S LETTER TO THE WORLD.

Invite me into a community that’s closed off from the rest of the world, whether religious, physically remote, or something else. I’m down for ghost stories and other close-knit family lore, or even magical realism/fabulism, so long as it is incorporated into a grounded real-life/contemporary narrative. The MG version of WILD BEAUTY would be A+.  I also loved EVENTOWN.

I’m also not opposed to alternate history or near-future settings, as long as it’s a character-driven story and the focus isn’t on advanced technology. I can’t think of a MG comp for this, but a YA one would be INTERNMENT, and RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE fits into the Adult category with its reimagining of the 2016 presidential election (bonus points for being diverse and queer!).

Finally, the last time I mentored for Pitch Wars, I listed novels-in-verse as a type of story I wouldn't be the right fit for. The pandemic changed a lot for me and one of these changes was my ability to concentrate on stories and enjoy pleasure reading. I happened to read EMMY IN THE KEY OF CODE early on in the pandemic and it changed my life, opening up an entirely new type of way to read a story. I've since taken a verse novel course with the incomparable Joy McCullough and would love to see some of these stories subbed to us. Recent favorites include LAND OF THE CRANES, OTHER WORDS FOR HOME, and THE CANYON'S EDGE. In a similar vein, I'd be very interested in hybrid prose-verse manuscripts, epistolary stories, and those that mix mediums (e.g., a novel told mostly in texts).

What I'm NOT the right fit for

• Sci-fi
• Fantasy
• Paranormal
• Stories told solely from an animal’s POV
• Anything that glorifies white supremacist or nationalistic views

Contemporary Middle Grade with a strong voice, and where the heart of the story lies with the characters. I'm also particularly interested in stories that are on the more quiet/literary side of things. Throughout my journey, I worried a lot that my stories weren't "high concept" enough, but the people who believed in my work and the stories I was trying to tell helped prove to me that this wasn't the case, and these are the types of stories that I would like to champion.

I'm particularly looking for stories about LGBTQ+ characters--particularly queer girls, trans/NB, and/or other marginalized voices. While I would love to champion an LGBTQ+ #ownvoices writer, I want to make it very clear that I would not try and force any of my potential mentees to disclose anything about their identity that they are not yet comfortable with. Throughout my writing journey, I learned to slowly find confidence in my writing as a queer individual, and I know how hard that process can be.

I'm also on the look out for middle grade novels that explore mental illness--such as books like THANKS A LOT, UNIVERSE and FINDING JUNIE KIM. I think that these topics are important--and I don't shy away from darker, more serious themes just because a book is geared towards a younger audience. I firmly believe that kids deal with tough topics in their lives, and that should be reflected in the things they read--regardless if some may think it is "too adult" for them to handle. I don't think there is much out there that kids "can't handle"--especially when they are most likely experiencing these things in real life already.

I love family stories, a la THE PENDERWICKS. I'm also a huge soap opera fan (take from that what you will) and my favorite thing about soaps are the intricate history and woven relationships between family members.

I'm also a huge comic nerd, and while I'm really looking for contemporary middle grade, I'm not one to shy away from something comic related. I'm also interested in graphic novels.

I'm absolutely open to historical fiction--particularly diverse historical stories and LGBTQ+ characters in historical fiction.

What I'm NOT looking for

• Fantasy
• Sci-fi
• Animal POVs
• Paranormal