Brady McReynolds is JABberwocky Literary Agency's COO-turned-agent, a lifelong SFF devotee hunting adult science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction with complex systems, rich secondary worlds, and genuine literary ambition.
In brief
Brady is currently closed to queries as of October 3, 2025 — he closed to catch up on an overwhelming submission backlog and plans to reopen after working through it; check his submissions page before querying.
His wishlist skews toward adult SFF with intellectual heft: space opera, military SF, cozy fantasy, grim-dark, secondary-world epic fantasy, and new weird — he names specific touchstone titles that signal he wants both commercial accessibility and literary depth.
As JABberwocky's COO and a former foreign rights manager, Brady brings unusually strong business and international-rights experience to his clients — a meaningful advantage for authors hoping for global reach.
His agency background (Penguin's Berkley/NAL imprints, Algonquin Books) suggests strong relationships on both the commercial mass-market and independent literary sides of publishing.
He is explicit that he prefers secondary worlds and non-western fairy tale/myth retellings, making this a standout niche where a query with the right cultural specificity could cut through.
Lately
On October 3, 2025, Brady announced he was closing to queries immediately, citing a faster-than-expected volume of incoming submissions. He indicated he plans to spend the coming weeks and months working through his existing pile before reopening.
What Brady is looking for
Brady wants sweeping, idea-driven SF across several modes: grand space opera with civilizational scope, military SF with tactical and moral complexity, near-future speculative thrillers, and the quietly uncanny literary SF that resists easy genre labels. He is drawn to work where big ideas and strong character voice coexist — think AI consciousness, generation ships, and slow-burn societal collapse as narrative engines, not window dressing.
Brady's fantasy taste is wide but purposeful: he welcomes cozy fantasy with warmth and low-stakes charm, grim-dark work with moral ambiguity and brutal consequence, sweeping historical fantasy rooted in real-world cultural and linguistic power structures, and epic fantasy with or without a romantic subplot. He strongly prefers secondary worlds over portal or contemporary fantasy, prizes complex and internally consistent magic systems, and is especially eager for fairy tale and myth retellings drawn from non-western traditions. More literary, language-conscious fantasy is also explicitly welcome.
Brady actively seeks stories that sit at the edges of genre — work with fantastical or far-flung elements that don't fit cleanly into SF or fantasy boxes. This includes full-throated new weird in the VanderMeer tradition (strange ecosystems, unreliable reality, biological unease) as well as speculative novels with satirical or surreal registers. If your book defies easy shelving but feels unmistakably imaginative, this may be the right home for it.
Not the right fit
On Brady's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Brady
Brady is closed as of October 3, 2025 — do not query until his submissions page shows he has reopened; submitting to a closed form is wasted effort and may not be seen.
When he does reopen, use his online submission form exclusively — he does not accept email queries and has been explicit about this.
Lead your query with the secondary world and magic system front and center if you're writing fantasy; he has said repeatedly that these are core requirements, not bonuses.
For SF, signal the tonal register early: is this space opera with civilizational stakes, a locked-room SF thriller, or a near-future extrapolation? He reads across all three but each needs a different pitch emphasis.
If your retelling draws from a non-western mythology or cultural tradition, name the tradition explicitly and early — this is a stated priority and a genuine differentiator in his inbox.
He is UNC Chapel Hill-educated and has a sense of humor about it (no Duke references) — a brief, genuine personal connection note is fine, but keep it one sentence and don't force it.
Avoid pitching work that straddles YA and adult without committing; his wishlist is entirely adult-focused and there is no signal he is seeking crossover or YA at this time.
Speculative fiction that defies easy genre shelving is welcome, but make sure your query still articulates a clear emotional core and narrative hook — 'strange' alone is not a pitch.