At BookEnds, we respond to every query and requested manuscript, as long as it was sent through QueryManager. You can query me directly at queryme.online/tmarchini and find more general information about the BookEnds submission process through our submissions page and my BookEnds agent page. See QueryManager specific FAQs at the bottom of this page.

To be fair to my current clients and with query response times in mind, I am closed to queries over the holidays (November through January) and the summer (June through August).

Current Wishlist (MSWL)

I represent fiction, non-fiction and illustration for children and teens and am especially interested in:

• author-illustrated picture books in fiction and non-fiction

• children’s illustrators

• middle grade fiction and non-fiction

• young adult fiction

From previous #MSWL tweets, I’m still looking for:

• Hitchcock-inspired pbs and mg

• stories of women in space

• a novel about Julie D’Aubigny, aka La Maupin – the bisexual fencing, opera singing and dueling badass (if someone could figure out how to make this work in mg!)

• a middle grade set amidst the struggle for the passage of the ERA – whether in the 1920’s or 1970’s

• deliciously dark picture books

• a middle grade mystery series featuring a spunky female protagonist

• more baseball, please! (I would love a middle grade about Negro league baseball and/or the AAGPBL – either historical fiction or non-fiction.)

• secular holiday stories (that don’t involve Santa Claus nor focus on material gift-giving)

• middle grade non-fiction about the concept of patient zero, and how that’s traced

• middle grade non-fiction about the importance of the polar ice caps for the trade market. What’s going in Antarctica and why?

• fiction and non-fiction for middle graders navigating climate change

I generally want:

• inclusive stories for children – would love to see more submissions from neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+ (especially ace-spec rep), disabled and/or people (particularly women) of color. Intersectional stories always welcome!

• picture books and middle grade where the child has a non-traditional family structure (preferably where that isn’t the main plot point)

• picture books that are clever, witty and/or hilarious read-alouds!

• contemporary middle grade stories of friendship or family – potentially with a touch of magic

• middle grade non-fiction that doesn’t flinch or whitewash history and/or the subject

• middle grade graphic novels by author-illustrators

• non-fiction picture books and middle grade with a unique structure or clever hook

Some things I’m not a good fit for:

• books for adults

• leprechauns, angels or horses

• how-to potty training books, or stories starring sentient poop and/or boogers

• stockholm syndrome love stories

• YA romance with a huge age gap (e.g. a 400 year old vampire and a teenager – I can’t get past the difference in life experience. It creeps me out.)

• stories about Santa Claus

• picture books about household appliances

• memoirs from adults about their teenage years

• books for the educational market

You can also find more about what I’m looking for and who I represent by browsing my client books and client list, and by checking out the kind of books I write.

QueryManager Specific FAQs:

I’ve updated my sample pages, how do I send you the updates?

If I haven’t already responded to the query, the best way to send an updated pitch or sample pages is to withdraw the old query and resubmit with the updated sample pages.

It’s been X weeks/months, do you still have my query or should I resubmit?

If QueryManager/QueryTracker has it, then I will respond. No need to resubmit unless you’re withdrawing the old and resubmitting a new query.

Last updated May 16, 2024.