Amanda Meadows is an Eisner-nominated editor at Andrews McMeel Publishing who acquires adult-focused comics, illustrated humor, and activity/gift books — with a strong editorial eye shaped by her roots in indie publishing, queer nonfiction, and licensed entertainment.
In brief
Meadows is an EDITOR, not a literary agent — she cannot offer representation. Writers must be agented (or directly solicited by her) to submit.
Her list skews heavily adult, with only 1–3 YA acquisitions per year; middle grade is off the table entirely.
Her background running Limerence Press (queer romance/nonfiction) and working with licensed IP for Disney, A24, Jim Henson, and Hasbro signals deep fluency in both representation-forward storytelling and commercially packaged illustrated content.
She is one of the few Black queer editors working in trade publishing, and she explicitly invites agents to prioritize routing BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators her way — this is not a token note; it reflects the editorial identity of her list.
Her humor publishing roots (co-founder of indie humor house The Devastator, author of two humor books herself) mean she brings practitioner-level taste to comedy and satire — not just acquisitions instinct.
Lately
Meadows flagged that her Andrews McMeel list is actively evolving and that writers should watch for updates targeting her 2027–2028 acquisitions slate — signaling she is in an active growth phase and open to fresh material in her stated categories.
What Amanda is looking for
This is the core of her list and her strongest editorial identity. She wants aesthetic slice-of-life and cozy stories, romance infused with humor, atmospheric or metaphorical horror, mystery and procedural titles with a fresh angle, and casual sci-fi/fantasy with genuinely immersive worldbuilding. She has particular enthusiasm for manga, manhwa, and other East Asian sequential art forms, as well as French bandes dessinées and Euro comics — a direct legacy of her Oni Press/Lion Forge years acquiring award-winning French titles. Characters handling weighty subjects with a deft, light touch are a recurring theme. BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ representation is a meaningful priority, not a checkbox.
As a published humor author and co-founder of an indie humor press, Meadows brings an unusually practitioner-level lens here. She wants work that is visually driven or illustrated, culturally fluent, and built around a distinct voice with bold takes on mainstream subjects. Social satire, theme-based self-help or relationship advice with a comedic spine, and whimsical 'silly goose' character energy are all welcome. She is especially drawn to under-explored BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ perspectives. She is NOT seeking long-form narrative humor — think punchy, high-concept, voice-forward projects over sprawling comedic prose.
Gift-forward, visually distinctive illustrated books with strong packaging instincts. She welcomes work built around IP, hobbies, niches, and fandoms — her entertainment licensing background (Disney, Hasbro, Jim Henson, Wondery, A24) makes her a natural fit for this. Lifestyle and pop culture trends, novel or emerging artists, and theme-based humor approaches are all in scope.
Highly stylized sticker books, accessible coloring and painting books, crafts using everyday materials (yarn, clay, etc.), and beginner-to-intermediate art instruction with a strong visual identity. Activity or how-to books centered on beloved IP and licenses are also welcome. Note: crosswords, word searches, tarot, and card games are explicitly excluded.
Meadows acquires YA only 1–3 times per year and describes it as irregular — this is not a consistent pillar of her list. Writers with YA projects should treat this as a long-shot category and confirm current appetite before submitting. Middle grade is not on the table at all.
Not the right fit
On Amanda's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Amanda
Meadows is an editor, not a literary agent — you must have representation (or a direct solicitation from her) before submitting. Cold unagented queries will not be considered.
If you are an agent, her own public note asks you to actively consider routing BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clients her way — this is an explicit editorial priority, not a vague preference.
Lead with visual identity and packaging concept. Her background in licensed IP, gift books, and illustrated humor means she thinks about how a book looks and sells on a shelf from day one — make that clear in your pitch.
For comics and graphic novels, genre hybridity is a plus: comedy-horror, cozy-mystery, romance-with-laughs. Avoid pitching a single-note project.
Her deep roots in French and Euro comics mean that if you represent creators working in bandes dessinées or East Asian sequential forms, you have a rare and genuine champion here — lead with that context.
Don't pitch YA as your primary angle unless it's exceptional and you've confirmed she has capacity — her YA slots are genuinely limited (1–3 per year). Do not pitch middle grade at all.
Her humor sensibility is practitioner-level. Vague 'funny' pitches won't land — be specific about the comedic voice, the satirical angle, or the cultural perspective driving the work.
Her email is publicly listed as ameadows@amuniversal.com — confirm current submission preferences on her live guidelines before reaching out, as processes may have shifted.