All Class Pass + 100 Page Workshop w/ Sophie Sheumaker

Sophie Sheumaker is an agent with Bookends Literary. She is looking for fantasy and speculative fiction for all ages.

The long manuscript workshop offers a unique opportunity to workshop a large chunk (30,000 words) of your workshop with a leading agent or editor over multiple sessions. In the first session in late-November (tentatively Nov. 22) you will get feedback on the overall structure of your novel by workshopping your synopsis with your faculty lead. In the second session (early January) you will receive feedback on your 30,000 word excerpt. Finally, in early February, you’ll receive feedback on your revised first chapter (3,000) words.

More details on Sophie’s wishlist:

Middle Grade

• • Adventure-filled or cozy fantasy. In this space, I really love fantasy that feels like a fairy-tale but isn’t necessarily a Disney-eque retelling (think The Girl Who Drank the Moon/The Phantom Tollbooth/The Princess Bride). I’ve always enjoyed a third person narrator that feels like a character even when they aren’t actually a part of the story and I’m very drawn into any middle grade that highlights friendships and is driven by the wild, ever-changing, ever-learning emotions of early adolescence

  • Quiet magic that’s woven subtly throughout a story 

  • Big families, big communities that feel like characters, and all of the complications that come with that—Encanto, a MG Gilmore Girls, Ponyo

  • Middle grade that can be reread as an adult and still feel relevant and enjoyable. Middle grade that doesn’t speak down to the reader or treat the reader like they’re a child

YA/Adult

• • If you can translate any of the above into a YA/Adult setting, I would love to see it

  • Fantasy, Romance, Light sci-fi, Speculative, Horror

  • Fantasy can run the gamut from cozy with a soft magic system (Maiga Doocy’s Sorcery and Small Magics) to high-fantasy with an intricately woven magic system. For the second, I love a deeply immersive setting with a well thought out world (think Godkiller, The Jasmine Throne). 

  • I am particularly interested in queer romance, especially sapphic romance. Witty dialogue and banter are my go-to (Emily Henry/Talia Hibbert), scenes that make me kick my feet and giggle and have to put my book down to gather my thoughts. A hooky beach read with the melodrama of a K-drama. Contemporary/fantasy/romantasy, tried and true tropes in your typical straight romance done through a queer lens. I also love a surprising magical/speculative twist (One Last Stop). Niche wants: Lesbian vampires, sapphic hockey players, sapphic F1

  • I am not seeking hard sci-fi (no space opera and no apocalyptic or dystopian future). I am seeking genre-bending sci-fi driven by emotions (Ted Chiang) and influenced by our current events and environmental activism (Shaun Tan)

  • Grounded speculative fiction with high-concept plots 

  • Romance in horror (NOT romanticizing abuse,  think more an all-consuming love within a horror setting). Themes of revenge and feminism and female rage. Not opposed to body horror. Dark female friendships definitely welcome here

  • Characters with richly developed relationships that are central to the story, especially female friendships and stories of sisterhood 

  • Quirky, off-beat storytelling that can deliver serious messaging without taking itself too seriously 

This is available for a limited time as an add-on (this is a discounted price $990 long manuscript workshop, $200 for the all class pass). If you already registered for the all-class pass, email taylor to request a discount code.