Carlisle Webber refused to major in English in college because she didn’t think there was anything fun to read on the required lists. No Stephen King? No R.L. Stine? No thanks!
After college, she took her love of commercial, YA, and middle grade fiction to the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, where she earned a Master of Library and Information Sciences. She worked as a public librarian for years before deciding to move to the business side of publishing. She attended the Columbia Publishing Course and holds a Professional Certificate in Editing from UC-Berkeley.
Carlisle is looking for high-concept commercial fiction in middle grade, young adult, and adult. If your book is fresh and exciting, tackles difficult topics, reads like a Shonda Rhimes show, or makes readers stay up late turning pages, she’s the agent for you.
Diverse authors are encouraged to submit their fiction. Within the genres she represents, Carlisle is especially interested in stories by and about people of color; with both visible and invisible disabilities and illnesses; who are economically disadvantaged; who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer; or who are members of religious minorities.
Take a look at her manuscript wish list. But if you don’t write exactly what’s on her list, don’t worry! She’s happy to look at any work that falls into the categories she represents.
Submission Guidelines:
You can submit your work to Carlisle via her QueryManager form: https://querymanager.com/query/QueryCarlisle
She wants:
- Middle grade (any genre)
- Young adult (any genre)
- Thriller
- Mystery
- Suspense
- Horror
- Women’s fiction
- Pop/mainstream fiction
- Magical realism
She does NOT want:
- Picture books
- Early chapter books
- Graphic novels
- Science fiction for adults
- Fantasy for adults
- Literary fiction (unless it has a strong commercial hook)
- Romance
- Historical fiction
- Memoir
- Nonfiction
- Any work that has been previously published, including self-published
If for any reason you are unable to use the form here: https://querymanager.com/query/QueryCarlisle you may submit a query letter, one- to two-page synopsis, and the first ten pages of your work in the body of an email to querycarlisle@fuseliterary.com.
Unsolicited queries sent to her non-query email address or through social media will be deleted unread.
