Now Seeking Adult Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror

Dear Friends,

I am so excited to announce that as of January 2020, I am now representing adult and crossover science-fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction. I will continue to represent and sign new authors of middle-grade and young adult fiction, which will remain a large part of my list, and in addition will now be actively pursuing and selling genre projects in the adult space as well.

What I’m seeking:

I want explosive, colorful, funny, bizarre, exciting stories that examine technology, identity, and human relationships of all kinds. As in kidlit, I’m eager for stories that connect like an emotional gut-punch: vital, personal, and poignant stories, featuring unforgettable characters. I’m particularly eager to find voices from historically underrepresented perspectives in SF/F and horror, and as a queer man, I am especially drawn to LGBTQIA+ and feminist perspectives.

Some recent projects I adored, and which evoke the kinds of stories I’m seeking, are:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

Speak by Louisa Hall

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

 

So John, you may be asking, why the change?

In part, I’m expanding into this space because I love to explore speculative and fantastical worlds, and adore reading these genres. Additionally, and no less importantly, many of my clients who have historically written for kids and teens are now writing for the adult market as well. Laura Sebastian’s HALF SICK OF SHADOWS is the first of these titles I look forward to announcing in the coming year and beyond. Finally, I’ve read so many amazing genre projects in my query inbox that weren’t quite right for the YA market, because of the subject matter, tone, age of the main characters, or a number of other factors, and I don’t want age classifications to limit the kind of amazing stories I represent.

So, if you are an author of quirky, adventurous, challenging and bold sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, be in touch, and if you are an author who isn’t quite sure whether your work is for the YA or adult market, query me and we’ll figure it out together. Speaking of, here are my submission guidelines:

Please email john @ foliolit.com with the word “Query” in the subject line, with your query letter and the first 2500 words of your manuscript pasted into the body of your message.

I can’t wait to read your work and take this journey together!

The ASH PRINCESS Book Trailer is Here!

For fans of Victoria Aveyard’s RED QUEEN and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, ASH PRINCESS is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

Pre-order/Order your copy today: http://bit.ly/2J7nkb4

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess—a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner. For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside. Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield. For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

What folks are saying:

“Tense and imaginative, this story of a diminished yet vengeful princess inciting a rebellion to recapture her rightful place of power strikes a timely chord. Ash Princess is a smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down.” —Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series

“The story leaps and twists like a swordswoman, and its blade carves the characters anew and divides them against themselves. This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance.”—Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night

“Laura Sebastian has created a dark and spellbinding epic in Ash Princess. Brace yourself, because Theodosia Houzzara—wounded, driven, and deadly—is going to carve out a place for herself in your heart.” —Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

“An emotionally complex, breathtakingly suspenseful series starter.”-Booklist

“For fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy strong female protagonists, this book will be an easy sell. Theo is tough, honorable, and relatable in her emotions [and] Sebastian has built a beautiful and complex world.”-VOYA

“Delivering a narrative that crackles with political intrigue, powerful and debilitating magic, and the violent mechanisms of colonization…[Ash Princess will] submerge readers in a turbulent and enthralling plot.”-Kirkus Reviews

 

Congrats to Hafsah Faizal on Her Debut Deal!

A huge congrats to Hafsah Faizal, on her amazing debut young adult, WE HUNT THE FLAME!

Hafsah’s #ownvoices fantasy just sold to Farrar, Straus, Giroux in a four-imprint auction, in a two-book deal, for six figures a book. Check out the announcement in Publisher’s Weekly:

Hafsah was already well known to the Kid Lit community as the designer behind Icey Designs. Her evocative work has graced the sites of authors across the YA/MG community, such as New York Times bestseller V.E. Schwab, Angie Thomas, and Traci Chee. It has also been featured in BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Brit+Co, and BookRiot

You can add WE HUNT THE FLAME on Goodreads, follow Hafsah on Insta and Twitter, and read about her #DVPit success story in her own words!

I am so excited and honored to be working with this incredibly talented woman, and I can’t wait for you all to read WE HUNT THE FLAME! Some folks got an early look, and this is what they’re saying:

“With fierce characters, deathly challenges, and world-building both lyrical and spellbinding, WE HUNT THE FLAME is unputdownable.” – Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

“Hafsah Faizal’s voice is not one that simply speaks, but sings across the page. WE HUNT THE FLAME is a spellbinding tale filled with deception, political intrigue, and atmosphere that lives and breathes—I am obsessed with this story.” – Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

“Fresh, bold storytelling populated with vibrant characters marks Hafsah Faizal as an explosive new voice in fantasy. Charged with adrenaline and romance, WE HUNT THE FLAME held me enthralled and desperate for more!” – Jessica Khoury, Author of the Corpus Trilogy and THE FORBIDDEN WISH.

“I adore Hafsah’s writing; she has such a beautiful way with words.” – Beth Revis, New York Times Bestselling Author of A WORLD WITHOUT YOU

“This promises to be a very successful debut and an authentic #ownvoices book we really need in the world. Hafsah Faizal has a strong, clear, original voice. Authentic use of Arabic phrases and the pitch perfect prose style matches the terse, action-packed narrative. This is an assured debut that will stand alongside the best YA fantasy adventure novels.” – Ashok Banker, international bestselling fantasy author.

Congrats Hafsah!

 

 

Congrats to Joan He on her Debut Deal!

A huge congrats to Joan He, whose debut young adult deal was announced on her twenty-first birthday!

From Publishers Weekly:

CRANE is such a gorgeous, detailed, intricately-plotted fantasy mystery, and I can’t wait for you guys to read it! Way to go Joan!

Welcome Laura Sebastian!

Guys I’ve got some wonderful news– I am now representing the brilliant Laura Sebastian!

You may already know about Laura’s ASH PRINCESS. The series follows a girl who learns to survive at court after her country is invaded– but when magically-gifted rebels infiltrate, she bands with them to seduce and murder the prince to save her people (!!!) This is one of my favorite reads this year, and I can’t wait for you all to experience it when Delacorte releases book 1 next spring!

Laura is incredibly gifted, not to mention a delightful human being, and I’m so psyched to be working with her.

You can find Laura on twitter at @sebastian_lk and follow ASH PRINCESS on Goodreads.

Welcome Laura!

 

Congrats to Ashok Banker on Y.A. Deal with Delacorte!

In case you missed it on twitter last week, we are popping all the champagne over here for Ashok Banker and THE RISE TRILOGY.

Check out the announcement from Publishers Weekly:

Krista Marino at Delacorte has acquired, in a seven-figure preempt, author Ashok Banker‘s The Rise Trilogy, pitched as Six of Crows meets An Ember in the Ashes, with a cast featuring LGBTQIA, PoC, and differently abled protagonists. The #ownvoices series follows a young thief and her gang as they battle to overthrow a brutal tyrant and stay a demon invasion. Publication of the first book is planned for fall 2018; John Cusick at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal for North American English rights.

Ashok reached out to me earlier this year, and I was immediately grabbed by this strange and wonderful universe he’d created. I don’t want to give too much away, but right there in the first chapters I found monsters rising up out of the floor to eat someone’s mother, a multi-faceted heist, and a roof top chase involving magic and flying police wagons. It was weird and wonderful and breathtaking, and I can’t wait for you all to read it. We found the perfect editor in Krista, who edits so many star fantasy writers and loved RISE as much as we do.

I knew I wanted to represent this story, but it wasn’t until Ashok and I got on the phone that I discovered what a warm, wise, and engaged person he is. Ashok is also incredibly humble, which is amazing given how much he’s achieved.

Ashok’s 54 books have sold over 3 million copies, been translated in eighteen languages, and sold in fifty-eight countries. If that weren’t enough, he’s also the pioneer of genre fiction in India; his internationally acclaimed Ramayana Series revolutionized Indian publishing, creating a genre called “Mytho”, now the biggest in the country. He is also the creator and screenwriter of the first Indian TV series in English, and co-creator and screenwriter of the first Malaysian TV series in English, the most watched “Mytho” TV series in India.

 

So yeah, the guy basically invented a genre.

You should follow Ashok on twitter for book news, and also his passionate advocacy for social justice and diversity in publishing: https://twitter.com/ashokkbanker

And more RISE news to come! Congrats Ashok!

Congrats to Marina Cohen on her new deal!

A huge congrats to INN BETWEEN and THE DOLL’S EYE author Marina Cohen on her latest deal with Roaring Brook Press!

From Publishers Weekly:

Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook Press has bought world rights to Marina Cohen’s middle-grade fantasy Box of Bones. When 12-year-old Kallie opens a mysterious puzzle box, her life begins to entangle with another world, where Liah, a young bone carver, journeys with her master to sell wares to a Wicked Queen. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; John M. Cusick of Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal.

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Check out Marina Cohen online and on twitter.

Welcome Ashok Banker!

Speeding through my inbox a few weeks ago I read a proposal that stopped me in my tracks– a y.a. fantasy so thoroughly original and unlike anything I’d read in a long time. A temple heist, demons that rise out of manmade surfaces, flying police wagons, a mid-air chase over the rooftops of a lavish city…

It should have been no surprise that this idea sprung from the brain of Ashok Banker, author of bestselling retellings of Indian mythological epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata series. I cannot  WAIT for you all to read his new y.a. trilogy, RISE AS ONE. It’s like Six of Crows meets Ember in the Ashes, meets some other, wild, psychedelic thing you’ve never seen before.

And it doesn’t hurt that he is just the nicest guy you’ll ever meet 🙂

Welcome Ashok!

Congrats to Courtney and Valynne

I’m so excited to finally share this news, and the unique way this novel came to be. Check out Publishers Weekly’s piece on Courtney Alameda and Valynne Maetani tweeting their way to a six-figure deal.

“What began as a casual Twitter conversation between two long-time friends who for years talked about writing a book together – Valynne Maetani and Courtney Alameda – has become a hot property that recently was sold to HarperCollins in a two-book, six-figure deal after an auction earlier this year in which four major publishers participated. The final contract was signed in June.”

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Visit Courtney’s website, follow her on Twitter, and like her on Facebook.

Check out Courtney’s debut SHUTTER on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Goodreads.

Check out Valynne Maetani on her website and twitter.

Check out Valynne’s debut INK AND ASHES on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Amazon.

 

 

Happy Pub Day Michelle Modesto, REVENGE AND THE WILD!

Happy Book Birthday to Michelle Modesto’s totally, mind-blowingly awesome and unique, REVENGE AND THE WILD!

“This strong debut will delight fans of the genre” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Modesto’s genre-bending novel offers full-bodied romance and electrifying twists.” (Publishers Weekly)

“A page-turning, steampunk-esque Wild West adventure crawling with supernatural creatures.” (School Library Journal)

“A good match for reader who like their fights bloody and heroes unapologetically brash (Booklist)

True Grit meets True Blood in this delightfully dark and fantastical Western perfect for fans of Gail Carriger, Cassandra Clare, and Holly Black. This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.

The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it’s just perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler.

Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Seven years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She’s determined to make the killers pay for their crimes—and there’s nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.

But Westie’s search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel’s latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold—which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There’s only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie’s kin. With the help of Nigel’s handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she’s not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.

You can order REVENGE AND THE WILD (Balzer & Bray) at B&N, Amazon, and Indiebound, and review on Goodreads. You can also find Michelle on her website and on twitter.