Middle-Grade, Young Adult, or New Adult speculative fiction with emotional/thematic depth, thoughtful worldbuilding, and diverse casts.
- Middle Grade— We want work that recognises that children are capable of complex thought and have vivid lives. We don’t want gruesome violence or adult themes, but we are looking for writers who understand that children don’t need the world sanitised. Think: Suzanne Collins’s Underland Chronicles; Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl; 39 Clues; Kathryn Lasky’s Wolves of the Beyond; Erin Hunter’s Warrior Cats.
- Young Adult and New Adult— Fiction in this age range should feel relevant to the lives of teenagers and college students, but that does not mean it needs to contain themes too “adult” to be in Middle-Grade literature. Show us protagonists struggling to find their place in the world, questions and problems that feel real but have a fantastical or futuristic element to them. Think: The Summoner Series by Taran Matharu; The Ascendance Series by Jennifer A. Nielsen; Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas; Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston; Seafire by Natalie C. Parker.
General interests— Make us laugh, make us cry, be gay, show us disabilities and diversity. Go stupid, go ham, create a vivid world and a resonant story.
WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED TO PICTURE BOOK SUBMISSIONS

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT TO US:
- Trans rights are human rights. Queer people exist and that’s awesome. People don't deserve to be in cages. Free Palestine. Food and shelter should not cost money. Generative A.I. doesn't belong in creative spaces. If any of this upsets you, don’t submit to us.
Manuscripts must be completed before you submit.
Please make sure that your font is easily readable (the person who will read your manuscript is dyslexic, so sans-serif fonts like Arial or Cambria are helpful, and simple serif fonts like Georgia are acceptable) and at least size twelve. No strange colours or highlighting that will be visually confusing.
Make sure your manuscript has been read for typos. If we receive a submission with the occasional typo, we will work with that, but if spelling/grammar/punctuation is a consistent problem, it will result in a rejection.
We are ONLY open to electronic submissions, and will only respond to queries made through our email.
If you use generative A.I. in any way during your process, we are not the agency for you.

Send an email to orangedoorbooks(at)gmail(dot)com
Title the subject QUERY: AUTHOR LAST NAME - GENRE
- Be specific about your genre; don't just tell us it's a fantasy. What age range is it for? Is it romantasy, epic, dark, cottagecore? Tell us what we're about to read.
Direct the query to founder/editor Parker
Include:
- Brief cover letter (writing experience, genre, inspiration, word count)
- If you are a marginalised writer, tell us a bit about yourself. What struggles have you had when it comes to writing? What do you want to get out of writing? Is there diversity in your book (we hope so)?
- A one-sentence summary of your book.
- A synopsis of your book (a few paragraphs)
- Comparable books
- Social media profiles (optional, recommended if you have started marketing or building a following)
- First 30-50 pages of your manuscript (there's some wiggle room in the hopes that you can find a good cutoff point in there) pasted into the body of the email. WE WILL NOT OPEN ATTACHED FILES OR FOLLOW LINKS.

We are a small agency, and we endeavor to respond to every query in some way. Our goal is that you will receive a response within six to eight weeks of submission. If we are enthusiastic about your work, you may hear from us more quickly. We will do our best to offer editorial feedback for submissions. If you have an offer of representation within the eight weeks, please reach out to update us.
We will work with you on editing, proofreading, finding beta readers, marketing, publishing, and sending out ARC copies.
This process can take up to two years; do not be discouraged. This is to give your book its best chance of success.