Dana Murphy’s Wish List

In fiction, I look for books (and authors!) with a soft heart, a sense of humor, and an earnest affection for their characters and story — which may sound like I’m only looking for sunny light novels, but I believe these elements can be found in the darkest stories as well. I’m most excited by books that surprise me, whether with a well seeded plot twist or an unexpected turn of phrase, and there's nothing I find more transporting than a story rooted in specificity.  As long as the genre boundaries outlined below are observed, I'm willing to follow a high concept, commercial hook, and confident voice just about anywhere.

In fiction, I’m looking for…

  • Big hearted rom-coms and book club fiction that read like the best kind of fan fiction.
    Think: Emily Henry, Casey McQuiston, Ashley Herring Blake

  • Literary novels that play with form or genre elements without sacrificing accessibility.
    Think: Emily St. John Mandel, Tove Ditlevsen, Kazuo Ishiguro

  • Twisty self-aware mysteries, thrillers, and horror — especially with a genre-bent edge.
    Think: Kate Racculia, Grady Hendrix, Megan Abbott, Riley Sagar

  • Novels that celebrate found families and friendships as their own glorious love stories.
    Think: Morgan Roger, Zan Romanoff, Gabrielle Zevin

  • Surprise me! Again, within the genre boundaries outlined below, I never know what I'm going to fall in love with.

I am not considering the following fiction at this time:

  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy

  • Genre Romance (Historical, SFF, etc.)

  • Middle Grade, Chapter, or Picture Books

  • Historical (pre-1950s) or Mythological Fiction

  • Military or Police Procedurals

  • Religious/Spiritual

  • Novellas

  • Short Story Collections

  • Screenplays

My nonfiction taste trends towards narrative projects and essay collections about culture — pop or otherwise. I'll always reach for well-researched criticism that interrogates the power structures shaping our collective understanding of "good" taste or pushes me to question the way we see the world. I do not represent traditional memoir (where the personal story is the driving narrative force) but a personal lens woven into the below genres is always welcome. In all cases, having the expertise, professional authority, and platform to support the book's claim is essential.

In nonfiction, I’m looking for…

  • Deep dives that connect unexpected dots about pop culture, especially film/television history.
    Think: Michael Shulman's OSCAR WARS, Amanda Montell's CULTISH, Jesse David Fox's COMEDY BOOK, Brian Raftery's BEST MOVIE YEAR EVER

  • Object histories and big idea books that use a small lens to tell a rich story.
    Think: Mark Kurlansky's SALT, Merlin Sheldrake's ENTANGLED LIFE, David Graeber's DEBT

  • Thoughtful literary reckonings that unveil more humane ways to think about modern life.
    Think: Hanif Abdurraquib, Jenny Odell, Katherine May

  • Deeply researched and reported cultural histories that reveal either an untold story or a new reading of what we think we already know.
    Think: Mark Kurlansky's 1968, Patrick Radden Keefe's SAY NOTHING, Isabel Wilkerson THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS, David Grann's KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

I am not considering the following nonfiction at this time:

  • Memoir

  • Prescriptive, Business, How-To and any other non-narrative genres

  • Nonfiction for Young Readers, including YA

  • Cookbooks or anything photo-heavy

  • Poetry