TOR PUBLISHING GROUP

A Division of Macmillan Publishers

Bramble

From science fiction and fantasy to contemporary and family saga, romance belongs in every genre and every genre belongs in Bramble. Whether the last page holds happily ever after, to be continued, or an ending that isn’t so simple, Bramble books will take you on an extraordinary journey of love. With spice levels to suit all readers, with familiar tropes and uncharted territory, Bramble books will explore a love that's tangled up, covered in thorns, and oh so sweet. Bramble is for everyone and everyone deserves a good love story.

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Monique Patterson, Vice President, Editorial Director, Bramble

(she/her)

Monique Patterson is vice president and editorial director of Bramble. The quote “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town,” by Leo Tolstoy is one of her favorites, because it immediately sets to mind all the possibilities of a fantastic story. Finding books and authors that reach across the breadth of our experiences as humans is important to her. Publishing a wide array of romance, commercial women’s fiction, and nonfiction allows Monique to explore all of those experiences.

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Sanaa Ali-Virani, Assistant Editor, Tor, Tordotcom Publishing, Bramble

(she/her)

I have been with TPG since 2019 and am excited to be building my list. I am seeking science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, at novel- and novella-length, with a preference for character-driven stories.

Across sub-genre, I tend to be drawn to books that are ultimately hopeful, and that carry a sense of adventure and exploration—whether that means setting off on a quest, delving into secrets of the past, or uncovering new corners in one’s own home.

Some of my particular interests include:

Deep dives into religion. Hook me with an interesting take on the god-king, immortals, false idols, reluctant deities, dead gods, or another angle. I am especially interested in set-ups that are not a direct analog to an extant religion or to the Greco-Roman pantheon [Brandon Sanderson’s work, Kushiel’s Dart].

Myths, folktales, legends, and epics. A good retelling will absolutely catch my attention, but I am even more excited about fiction that feels like myth or folklore without necessarily being based on a specific tale [The Tiger’s Daughter], as well as fiction that draws on a body of lore and makes it its own [The Bird King, On Fragile Waves].

I love an ensemble cast that makes me change my mind about my favorite character depending on who’s currently on the page; stories centering families, born or made; a diversified group with niche roles that comes together to make a united whole (think heist team, D&D party, spaceship crew, sports team) [Leverage, Haikyu, Sufficiently Advanced Magic].

I also love to see BIPOC and/or LBGTQIA+ characters as well as fiction that looks beyond Western norms. I am eager for all sorts of these stories, but those with South Asian, East African, or Japanese touchstones; immigrant and refugee narratives; and frameworks that defy or subvert gender and gendered societal roles will hit personal notes for me.

I have a weakness for books that can’t decide if they’re fantasy or science fiction [Light From Uncommon Stars], and also enjoy stubbornly SFF stories that nevertheless stretch into adjacent genres, particularly romance or historical fiction [This Is How You Lose the Time War, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street].

I am actively seeking submissions from authors of underrepresented backgrounds. Above all I am looking for stories that push the borders of genre from within. And I am always open to falling in love with something I didn’t even know I wanted!

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Ali Fisher, Executive Editor, Tor, Nightfire, Forge, Tor Teen, Starscape, Bramble

(she/her)

Since 2013, I’ve been HEA with Tor Publishing Group where I’m actively acquiring speculative fiction for adults, teens, and middle-grade readers, as well as humorous nonfiction for adults. 

I’m a big fan of comedy in all genres so please send me the manuscripts that make you laugh and I love to see submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ writers. 

FOR TOR, NIGHTFIRE, BRAMBLE, TOR TEEN, AND STARSCAPE: I’m interested in diverse and inclusive commercial speculative fiction with off-the-charts character chemistry, truly original world-building, and strong opinionated voices. 

I’ve been a Tor fangirl since high school when I read Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart and Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest. Iconic. These days my manuscript wish list includes new and original takes on folklore, possession, rivals-to-lovers, fake dating, witches, magic that requires tangible spellcraft, classic little guy aliens, and more. I’m into romance of all spice levels—from zero to four chili-pepper emojis—and I’m eager to see more gender and body diversity. Historical and dystopian settings generally don’t hit for me.

On the adult side, I acquired, edited, and debuted work from TJ Klune (The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, In the Lives of Puppets, and repackages of the previously published Green Creek Series), Everina Maxwell (Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo), and Ananda Lima (Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil). I manage Ursula K. Le Guin’s backlist with Tor and I’m working with Jennifer L. Armentrout on Fall of Ruin and Wrath, the first-ever book to be published under Bramble!

On the kids’ side, I’m currently working with Terry J. Benton-Walker (Blood Debts, The White Guy Dies First), P. Djèlí Clark (Abeni’s Song), Amanda Foody and C. L. Herman (All of Us Villains, A Fate So Cold), TJ Klune (The Extraordinaries Series), Kristen Simmons (Find Him Where You Left Him Dead), and more to be announced! 

FOR FORGE: I’m interested in feel-good, humorous nonfiction. I love niche cultural explorations with vulnerability and heart. 

I acquired and edited #1 New York Times bestseller Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, co-hosts of My Favorite Murder, as well as A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape by comedian Joe Pera and illustrator Joe Bennett, I Will Not Die Alone by Dera White and illustrator Joe Bennett, and Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by comedian and podcaster Jamie Loftus.

I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.

 

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Miriam Weinberg, Senior Editor, Tor, Starscape/Tor Teen, Nightfire, Bramble

(she/her)

Having been in publishing since 2008, and at Tor for over a decade, I’ve been lucky to work with a wide-range of wonderful authors and phenomenal colleagues.

I’m currently acquiring adult and YA books, with a strong emphasis on the former. Many of the authors on my own list cross between markets, genres, and formats, like V.E. Schwab, Mark Oshiro, Sarah Gailey, Charlie Jane Anders, Alix Harrow, Madeline Ashby, and Alaya Dawn Johnson. 

While I tend to immediately look for evocative world-building, distinctive style, and strong writing–I am always delighted to be entirely surprised by voices and narratives that don’t match anything that I’ve previously known.  

I love to see anything that feels “too much”—maybe with twisty unreliable chaos like Knives Out, or the lush, goth-adjacent frenzies of Angela Carter. I’m also a long-time anime/manga nerd, raised on Ikuhara, CLAMP, and Cowboy Bebop–if your project would fit in on noitaminA (Psycho-pass, Tsuritama, Mononoke, Katanagatari),  or at Bones studio (FMA:B, Darker than Black, Noragami, MHA, Star-Driver), it would likely fit on my list!  

Give me your genre mash-ups, your high-brow-low-brow speculative-inflected narratives, and strongly rendered characters and relationships that evoke intense reactions and emotions from readers. I am always on board for a ghost story, witches,  found families, genre mash-ups, and beloved tropes being subverted OR remarkably rendered—but again, I love being surprised by pitches I wouldn’t have even anticipated.

I’m particularly interested in making space for authors with a novel approach to storytelling, and in encouraging a more inclusive readership (and supporting authors) that better represents the plethora of human experiences and joys. 

I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.