This directory lists Black editors seeking YA literature.

If there is a Black editor seeking YA literature that is missing from the directory below or you are on this list and there is missing information/information that needs to be updated, please email info@melanininya.com with details.

NOTES: Submissions should go through a literary agent. Do NOT email editors directly.

Publishers Marketplace is an industry database behind a paywall.

Foyinsi Adegbonmire

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Associate Editor at Imprint/Feiwel and Friends
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • YA Books: Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide, Study Break by Aashna Avachat, Sisi Americanah by Jane Igharo, Donut Fall in Love by Adiba Jaigirdar, Model Minority by Louisa Onome, And Other Mistakes by Erika Turner, Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

Kwame Alexander

Stacey Barney 

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Associate Publisher at Penguin Random House/Nancy Paulsen Books for Young Readers
  • Publishers Marketplace: Profile / Dealmaker Profile
  • YA Books: Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi, The Beautiful and Flame in the Mist and The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh, City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson, The Right and the Real and Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony, Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker, White Lines by Jennifer Banash, A Psalm for Lost Girls by Katie Bayerl, Ask Elizabeth by Elizabeth Berkley, Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon, So Not The Drama and Don’t Get It Twisted by Paula Chase, The Reader by Traci Chee, Wicked Fox by Kat Cho, Drama High series by L. Divine, Original Fake by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Deadly Design by Debra Dockter, The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass, Scan and Burn Walter Jury and S.E. Fine, Gamma Glamma by Kim Flores, Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein, Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray, The Corpse Queen by Heather Herrman, Last Chance by Ellen Hopkins, A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy, Sea by Heidi R. Kling, Ripple by Heather Smith Meloche, Surf Mules by Greg Neri, When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn, Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up by Sonia Patel, Black City trilogy by Elizabeth Richards, Free Radicals by Lila Riesen, Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte, Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher, Rosie Girl by Julie Shepard, We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim, The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan, House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland, The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland, Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson, African Town by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, The Waiting Sky and Donut Days by Lara Zielin

Alex Brown

Cassandra Pelham Fulton

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editorial Director at Graphix
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @SeaEileen
  • YA Books: Since You Asked by Maurene Goo, The Darkest Path and The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Jess Harold

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @jessharold
  • YA Books: A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui, Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

Alexandra Hightower

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Associate Editor at Little Brown BFYR/Hachette
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @lxhightower
  • YA Books: Love Times Infinity by Lane Clarke, The Truth About White Lies by Olivia Cole, We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson, Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis, Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald, Like Home by Louisa Onomé, Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker, The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk

Maya Marlette

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at Scholastic
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @yourfriendmaya
  • YA Books: Rise to the Sun and You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang, Why Would I Lie? by Adi Rule
  • Interview: Minorities in Publishing (2016)

Denene Millner

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editorial Director at Imprint: Denene Millner Books
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @MyBrownBaby
  • YA Books: Other Side of the Tracks by Charity Alyse, Wings of Ebony by J. Elle, Turning by Joy L Smith.
  • Interviews: Publisher’s Weekly (2020)

Sydnee Monday

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Associate Editor at Penguin Young Readers/ Kokila
  • MSWL: #MSWL / Instagram Story Highlights
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @sydneemonday
  • Looking For:
    • Black metropolitan aesthetics from the past, present, & future
    • Black immortality
    • Poetry collections, particularly by black and brown and queer creators
    • Black cheer story
    • Nuanced sports stories about weight, wrestling, winning, white spaces, etc…

Anuoluwapo “Anu” Ohioma

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Associate Editor at Penguin Workshop/PRH
  • MSWL: #MSWL
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @aohioma
  • YA Books: Firsts and Lasts anthology edited by Laura Silverman, Flyy Girls series by Ashley Woodfolk
  • Interview: POC in Publishing (2020)

Monique Patterson

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: VP, Editorial Director of Acquisition Outreach at St. Martin’s Press
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @MoniPatt1
  • YA Books: Sisters of Salem Series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation: Young Reader’s Edition by Jeff Chang, Chronicles of Nick Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon, The League Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Bria Ragin

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at Joy Revolution / Random House Children’s Books
  • MSWL: Profile
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @BriARag
  • YA Books: Highly Suspicious, Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, Queen Bee by Amalie Howard, Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Leem, Sinner’s Isle by Angela Montoya, You Bet Your Heart by Danielle Parker, The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars, House Party edited by Justin A. Reynolds, Caught in a Bad Fauxmance by Elle Gonzalez Rose, There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer

Tiffany Shelton

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor and Manager, Acquisitions Outreach at St. Martin’s Publishing Group
  • MSWL: Profile / #MSWL
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @tiffanydiahann
  • YA Books: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood, Somebody That I Used to Know by Dana L. Davis, The Karma Map by Nisha Sharma, Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz
  • Looking For:
    • Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, Thriller
    • Historical fiction that doesn’t erase POC
    • Joyful Black teens (falling in love, figuring out who they are, having great friendships, etc…)
    • Voice-driven narratives with dynamic storytelling, immersive worlds, and characters to love (or love to hate)
    • Stories featuring ​ retellings of ancient legends, myths, and fairy tales
    • Stories about female friendships (with the ups and downs that go along with it), friendship breakup stories
    • Sibling stories
    • Road trips
    • Senior year hijinks
    • Self-discovery
    • A revenge story a la the movie, John Tucker Must Die
    • The next Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon
    • A modern, POC, queer Bewitched rom-com
    • Contemporary witches
  • Interviews: Pub Crawl (2018)

Mekisha Telfer

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan
  • MSWL: Profile / #MSWL
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @MekishaTelfer
  • YA Books: Becoming a Queen by Dan Clay, May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor, I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest, We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds, The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan, Dangerous Play by Emma Kress, Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil, Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen
  • Looking For:
    • Genres: Contemporary, Speculative, Psychological Thrillers, Fantasy, Mystery, Nonfiction
    • Stories featuring and written by underrepresented and marginalized voices, Own voices with intersectionality, Own voices stories from black trans women
    • Stories featuring brown kids in America: Carefree stories, protest stories, queer stories, monster stories, magic stories
    • Black boys as the heroes. Black Boy Joy and Black Girl Magic
    • LBGTQ+ coming of age stories (not necessarily about coming out)
    • d/Deaf and HoH #ownvoices stories
    • Funny, sex-positive, sex-informative
    • Manuscript sounds like it could be a John Hughes movie
    • A story featuring the adoption of an older kid. Like Finding Forrester, only funnier and with fewer dudes.
    • A story about a sexual late bloomer, prude shaming, femininity and that awful feeling when everyone in the room knows something you don’t
    • Strong and nuanced sibling relationships: Good siblings, bad siblings, murderous siblings, magic siblings, etc…
    • Awkward first relationships
    • Timely “5 minutes into the future” sci-fi
    • Dark magical realism, anything supernatural
    • Fantasy with rich non-eurocentric/pseudo-European world building)
    • Folktale/Fairytale retellings from underrepresented cultures and communities
    • Heartbreaking YA with a happy ending
    • Mysteries, Monsters, and Natural Disasters
    • Funny and irreverent historical fiction
    • True love, Soulmates, and Soulmarks
    • Quirky plots (MG + YA) that explore heavier topics like grief, adoption/foster care, sexuality, disability, abuse, poverty, prejudice, etc…
    • Contemporary stories featuring POC characters that are not centered around race or racial violence
    • Graphic novels
    • Non-fiction (narrative and pop culture based) from a POC/queer perspective
    • Upmarket fiction (well-crafted stories that appeal to a wide audience and straddle the line between commercial and literary fiction)
    • Emotionally compelling and voice-driven, authentic stories
  • Interviews: SCBWI (2019)

Erika Turner

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at Versify/HMH
  • MSWL: Profile
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • YA Books: The Invention of E.J. Whitaker by Shawnee Gibbs & Shawnelle Gibbs, Illustrated by Mark Hernandez, Brownstone by Samuel Teer, Illustrated by Mar Julia
  • Looking For:
    • Genres: Romcom, Dark Historical Romance, Mystery, or Fantasy, Contemporary Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels with Magic
    • A moody romantic comedy that feels like it should be set in the 80s/90s  (think My Best Friend’s Wedding)
    • Thoughtful, emotionally engaging books with strong world-building and dynamic characters, sometimes with a moral element to the narrative
    • Books that deal with religion or history in a unique or unexpected way
    • Projects by marginalized creators, and stories that center marginalized voices especially related to queer women and femmes
    • Stories that play with time, history, and science
    • Queer friendship stories
    • Characters who fight to be kind even in the darkness
    • Complicated family relationships
    • Weird ambitions
  • Interviews: SCBWI (Undated)

Weslie Turner

  • Pronoun: She/Her
  • Publisher: Senior Editor at Versify
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @WeslieTurner
  • YA Books: How Maya Got Fierce by Sona Charaipotra, Vampires Never Get Old Edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie Parker, A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney, A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney, Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance Edited by Bethany C. Morrow
  • Looking For:
    • Creators from underrepresented backgrounds and identities telling revolutionary stories with an identity‐specific perspective on the world, especially (but not exclusively) if they are in the science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction genres
    • Sci-fi-and Speculative Fiction with strong immersive world building

Kiara Valdez

  • Pronouns: She/Her
  • Publisher: Editor at First Second Books/Macmillan
  • MSWL: #MSWL
  • Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker Profile
  • Twitter: @dezinpub
  • YA Books: Himawari Share by Harmony Becker, Full-Court Crush by Hannah Blumereich, Volta by Dorian Christo & Andy Robles-Valdez, Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea & Yana Bogatch, Anamnesis by JCJB, Scholar’s Mate by Chris Kindred, Illustrated by Coleman Engle
  • Looking For:
    • Category: Graphic Novels
    • Stories bout a kid juggling two environments, “code switching”, and seeing their beloved neighborhood changing because of gentrification
    • More Latinx voices
  • Interviews: Childrens Illustrators (Undated), Creator Resource (2019)