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.

(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!

(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.

As a voracious reader of all things SFF and a lifelong fan of the Tor list, I am thrilled to be joining the crew of the mothership, where I’m looking to build an inclusive list of epic fantasy and science fiction for adult readers.

My favorite reads are stylish, confident, immersive, built on a bleeding cool premise, and savvy about the tropes of the genre they’re in. Across all genres, I’m always on the hunt for work that aims to carve out space in—or argue with—the rest of the canon, especially from LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, neurodiverse, disabled, or other marginalized perspectives.

In fantasy, I’m looking for epic sagas and sword-and-sorcery adventures, emphasis on the and sorcery. Give me hard magic systems heavy on categorization and rules, gods and dragons, mages and mythmaking, all in richly imagined worlds. What do you get the commercial fantasy reader who’s already read everything? I want the next must-read for fans who think they’ve seen it all. I’m a fan of Sanderson, Weeks, Rothfuss, Jemisin, Guy Gavriel Kay, RF Kuang, Fonda Lee, Naomi Novik, and VE Schwab. I’m also interested in the intersection where lush historical fiction crosses fantasy (Susanna Clarke, Circe, Babel).

In SF, take me to space: I’m looking for universes that are teeming with human diasporas and creatively imagined alien life. I love space battles, the Prime Directive, mecha anime, and science that will break my brain and reconfigure it (Arrival, The Future of Another Timeline). Current obsessions include the Imperial Radch, The Expanse, Red Rising, the Wayfarers series, and the Vorkosigan Saga.

I’m also partial to romance/romantasy that uses speculative elements to heighten the emotional stakes. Think immortality, time slips and time loops, cheating death or journeying to the underworld, or soulmate tropes. I will always be looking for queer love stories, and prioritize slow-burning tension. If it reads like fanfic–with emotional immediacy and a clear love for its characters–or if it used to BE a fanfic, I will probably adore it.

A few of my favorite things to see across genres:
• Settings and plotlines that imbue a book with an elevated sense of structure and atmosphere: think magical schools (The Poppy War, The Name of the Wind) or space academies (Red Rising), secret societies, tournaments and competitions, or courts full of fealty and hierarchy and betrayal.
• Writing that plays with language, POV, and/or form to drive its themes (The Fifth Season, the Imperial Radch). Epistolary fiction like The Tiger’s Daughter or This Is How You Lose the Time War, and frame stories fueled by strong narrators’ voices and complex motives.
• Stories from other genres told expansively in SFF settings: retellings, disaster epics, heists, mysteries, mob movies. “X, but in space/but with magic”–yes, please.
• Compelling villains you find yourself rooting for just because you want to see what they’ll do next (think Grand Admiral Thrawn). Send me new Problematic Faves… and set them against hypercompetent protagonists that the plot finds new and exciting ways to challenge (Murderbot, The Witcher).
• I love a strong thread of humor: banter and snark, a sly or wry voice, or meta/self-/genre-aware comedy a la Redshirts, The Princess Bride, or your wisecrackingest friend’s D&D campaign. And if you could somehow find me a successor to Terry Pratchett, I would happily make a deal with any demon you like.

I come to Tor from a decade in middle grade and YA publishing at Harper Children’s, where I had the pleasure of working with acclaimed and bestselling authors like Ava Reid (A Study in Drowning), Andre Norton Award finalist Shveta Thakrar (Star Daughter), and Sarah Underwood (Lies We Sing to the Sea). For the Tor list, I’m still interested in “cross-under” adult fiction with broad appeal to adult and YA readerships. If you’re not sure whether a book would fit best in the adult or YA market, send it to me and I’d love to help you decide!