I joined Ladderbird Literary Agency in April 2021 after spending my early career advocating for marginalized folks in publishing as a technical editor at a national laboratory, senior editor at the literary journal F(r)iction, and book coach and editor for women of color. I am one-half Mexican, one-quarter Japanese, and one-quarter Irish. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, both from the University of California at Davis. Aside from reading, I enjoy hiking, swimming, baking strange new things, and playing the piano. My favorite place in the world is Yosemite National Park. You can find me on Twitter @agentstefanie, on Instagram @agent.stefanie, or on BlueSky @agentstefanie.bsky.social.
MSWL
I’m open to PB, MG, YA and Adult and am primarily seeking work from BIPOC authors. I am exclusively taking on clients who are underrepresented in publishing. In PB, MG, and YA I love gutsy, messy main characters exploring confusing feelings, navigating complex relationships, playing sports, having unique hobbies, and saving the world. I’m open to all genres in these age groups and love a story that makes me laugh, cry and sigh with happiness. In Adult, I’m specifically seeking cozy mysteries, grounded fantasy, and romantic suspense helmed by BIPOC protagonists. Across the board I appreciate anticolonialism and decolonization; non-Western-centric perspectives (and folklore); and protagonists that disrupt the status quo.
In all genres, I adore stories that incorporate food, animals, the outdoors, and intergenerational relationships. I also love when stories explore “messy” feelings like rage, fear, guilt, grief, etc. in empowering ways.
Right now, I’m especially looking to fill out my MG, YA and Adult lists.
Children’s
Picture Books:
My picture book list is perpetually at capacity, and I’m being extremely picky with what I take on. It’s especially nice if an author is also interested in expanding into early readers, chapter books, MG or YA, although this is not a must. I’m open to both fiction and nonfiction, but there’s more room for nonfiction on my list right now. Here’s what I’m looking for:
Fiction:
I love heartfelt stories about family, facing your fears, and/or finding your place in the world. I especially love brave, quirky heroines. I’m interested in humor that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults, with plenty of wittiness, wordplay, and silliness. And ANYTHING outdoorsy and/or sporty could be a fit for me especially if it features BIPOC protagonists and families. I also note a lack of PBs exploring positive relationships between boys and their fathers or other male role models, and would love to see more of these.
I’d also love retellings of traditional folktales from all cultures, including stories that somehow reflect the oral storytelling tradition.
Nonfiction:
Anything having to do with nature or the environment, or anything that provides a new perspective on a historical or current event. Unsung heroes, women and nonbinary folk doing incredible things, BIPOC achievements, activism-these are all my jam! I love titles that take on STEM in various ways, but my heart belongs to music and the arts.
Not for me:
I’m not typically a fit for rhyme off the bat, although I have enjoyed working on rhyme with established clients. I lean toward lyrical, poetic work, or commercial work with a strong command of voice. I love universally-relatable but culturally-specific hooks.
I’m not typically a fit for animal protagonists, but I will give them a try! I generally prefer animals to feature in relationship to child MCs. I’m also being extremely choosy with food-centric PBs at the moment.
MG and YA:
I like contemporary fantasy, adventure, coming-of-age, mystery, and thriller. I am tentatively open to horror. Also, if you think it could be a fit for Rick Riordan Presents, try me!
Much of my PB wishlist applies here: I love heartfelt stories about family, facing your fears, and/or finding your place in the world. I especially love brave, quirky, imperfect heroines. ANYTHING outdoorsy and/or sporty could be a fit for me especially if it features BIPOC protagonists and families. Add in a nerdy hyperfixation, and I’m sold.
I’m generally not a fit for stories that center around illness or death of a family member, although these are not hard no’s. Instead (or in addition), try me with complex and difficult family dynamics, including tough sibling relationships.
A note about YA: I find an angsty voice difficult to get through. For this reason, I gravitate toward younger YA. In older YA, I need something strong and hooky to pull me through the angst; or a really unique voice that leans more rage/power and less angst (or is somehow cheerful/upbeat while still maintaining that authentic teen voice).
Three pitches I still think about:
- MG about a girl in a mariachi band
- YA about a girl who wants to hike the PCT
- YA about a female athlete in a male-dominated sport (it’s so specific I don’t want to share)
Adult:
I’m specifically seeking cozy mysteries, mysteries, grounded fantasy, and romantic suspense/thrillers helmed by BIPOC protagonists. In general, bonus points for a steamy love story, either front and center or as a subplot. I love Mia Manansala, Vivien Chien, and Peggy Ehrhart. I would love a cozy mystery or mystery series featuring a Latine central character, especially.
In fantasy, I look for strong voice and characterization, and I’m likely to get bogged down in heavy world building. I want to be able to see clearly through to the characters and relationships at the heart of these stories. If you query me with fantasy, I LOVE to know more about those dynamics than about the world, which I will inevitably learn about if I read on 🙂
In romantic suspense/thrillers, I love an emotionally intelligent protagonist. I want my main character to be a badass who cries sometimes. I’m not interested in emotionally-constipated MCs or love interests (although I’ve enjoyed my fair share as a reader!). Give me pining, banter, and romantic tension alongside heart-pounding stakes and stunts. Bonus points for antagonists-to-lovers or friends-to-lovers. Zutara stan here!
Nonfiction:
I am open to cookbooks and baking books. I prioritize systemically excluded creators and am seeking books that center rich, colorful foodways and cultures by descendants of these cultures. A strong voice is a must. I’m an extremely visual person, and recipes that create blasts of life and color on the page always grab me. I love fusion cuisines and new twists on culinary traditions.
I’m interested in finding a cookbook or baking book framed by an intuitive eating approach to health. I also love books that aim to provide fuel for athletes (COOK FAST. RUN FAST. EAT SLOW. is a favorite). Please do not send me “diet” cookbooks (e.g. keto, whole30, etc.) unless they are somehow framed by a weight-neutral, food-neutral approach.
Recent favorites include MAYUMU (Abi Balingit), COOK REAL HAWAII (Sheldon Simeon), MOONCAKES AND MILK BREAD (Kristina Cho), and FILIPINX: HERITAGE RECIPES FROM THE DIAPSORA (Angela Dimayuga).
Old favorites include FRESH MEXICO and MEXICAN MADE EASY (Marcela Valladolid), CHOCOLATIQUE (Ed Engoron) and CRAVINGS (Chrissy Teigen).
I’m open to nonfiction about the experiences of women athletes such as UP TO SPEED by Christine Yu or GOOD FOR A GIRL by Lauren Fleischman.
Email proposals to [email protected].
Note any fiction queries sent to this email will be deleted without reading.
Not For Me:
- portal fantasy unless it’s a very different take on the genre
- epic fantasy
- books where the protagonist dies at the end
- religious work
- literary fiction
- sci-fi
- military/espionage
- political fiction
- capital R Romance
Please don’t send me books that center abuse, suicide, or self-harm (although they can feature briefly or be in a character’s past, in which case please include a content warning).
Other things I love:
- running
- hiking
- baking
- volleyball
- swimming
- knitting
- animals (especially dogs, especially curly dogs)
- saxophone and piano
- mariachi
- reading about the outdoors and/or sports (kayaking! mountain climbing! parkour!)
Submission Guidelines
Please share your fiction at http://queryme.online/stefaniemolina. PB: full manuscript; novel: first 20 pages.
Email nonfiction proposals to [email protected]. Fiction queries sent to this address will be deleted without reading.
Response times vary, but all queries and fulls will receive a response regardless of how much time has passed. For this reason, I ask that you always let me know if you have an offer.
Here’s my same profile on Manuscript Wishlist !
Submit: queryme.online/stefaniemolina
Follow me on Twitter: @agentstefanie or Instagram: @agent.stefanie or Bluesky: @agentstefanie.bsky.social
Decoding My Form Responses
I use form responses for almost everything. I simply cannot answer queries in a reasonable time frame without them!
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit to me! Unfortunately, this project is not the right fit for me at the moment, so I am not the best agent to represent it. Others may feel differently, and I wish you nothing but the best in all your creative endeavors.
This is the form I use when something about the query wasn’t a fit. Most often, it’s a concept that I know I’m not a fit for or that I’m not passionate about, which is so subjective. Sometimes, there’s so much world in the query that I get a little lost, and I know from that I won’t be able to edit the full work (another personal taste thing). Other times, the query is just poorly written (follow one of the many templates on the internet and you’ll be fine).
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to consider {{title}}. While I adore the premise and found much to like about the work, I didn’t fall in love with the opening pages as much as I had hoped. For this reason, I have decided to pass. {{first_name}}, I am so sorry this wasn’t the right fit. Please know I’m wishing you every success as you continue on your publishing journey. Thank you again for deciding to query me. I appreciate the opportunity very much.
This is the form I use when I’ve read onto the first 20 pages (or the full manuscript, in the case of PB) and got stuck somewhere. Most often, it’s because the writing or the voice didn’t grab me, for no particular reason other than personal taste. Sometimes, it’s because the story’s not getting started fast enough-often I see us getting bogged down in dialogue or in the everyday without stakes. If there’s another specific problem that jumps out at me as an objective editorial thing, I will try to add it to the form.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to consider {{title}}. You’re a wonderful writer and there is so much to love about this work, but unfortunately I am not an exact fit for the story at this time. An agent who feels a special connection with this story will be a better advocate for you. For these reasons, I have decided to pass. {{first_name}}, I am sorry not to offer you representation at this time. I thought long and hard about this decision; it was not an easy one. Please know I am wishing you every success with your work. Thank you for taking the time to query and send your story. I appreciate the opportunity very much.
I do use this form to pass on full manuscripts. This happens when the first 20 pages captured me enough to request, but as I read on I got confused or lost interest and stopped, most often because of pacing or infodumping. A subjective reason I sometimes stop is because the world is too convoluted for me, and again, that’s a personal quirk of mine.
Most often if I read an entire full there’s a good chance I’m offering. If I don’t, I will send at least some feedback about why I passed, anywhere from a couple sentences to a couple paragraphs. I will not typically send more than that, because if I have a vision that goes beyond that-I ask myself-why aren’t I offering on this?! And then I ask to meet 🙂
Stefanie Molina-Santos 