Ciara Smith is a disability-, neurodivergent-, and LGBTQIA+-identifying associate agent at Spencerhill Associates who champions underrepresented voices across YA and adult fantasy, science fiction, romance, and horror — with a particular hunger for character-driven speculative fiction she says she never sees enough of.
In brief
Ciara's wishlist is unusually specific about tropes she will and won't take — she names the miscommunication trope as a near-automatic pass in romance, while fake dating and forced proximity are active favorites. Writers should be explicit about which tropes they're deploying.
Science fiction is her stated gap: she says she doesn't receive nearly enough of it and wants more across all age categories, making this a genuine opportunity for SF writers who might otherwise overlook a romance- or fantasy-identified agent.
Her identity as a disabled, ND, and LGBTQIA+ person is not performative background — it directly shapes what she seeks. Marginalized perspectives are not a bonus checkbox for Ciara; they are a core acquisition criterion across every category she lists.
She is currently re-open to adult romantasy after a period of selectivity, but with a clear and unusual condition: the fantasy plot must carry equal narrative weight to the romance plot, not serve as mere backdrop. Writers whose fantasy world is thin scaffolding for the love story should not query.
Her submission window runs the first week of every month, excluding December and January — timing your query to land in that window is a concrete, actionable edge.
Lately
Ciara has re-opened her list to adult romantasy after a period of selectivity, with the explicit caveat that the fantasy and romance plots must carry equal narrative weight — the fantasy cannot be mere backdrop. She is simultaneously emphasizing that she wants morally grey characters in the structural sense (reader assumptions shift across the book), not as cover for harmful male-lead behavior.
What Ciara is looking for
This is Ciara's stated gap — she actively wants more SF and will consider it across YA, New Adult, and Adult. Space opera, alien romance, space horror, far-future worlds, and space heists all appeal to her. She's also open to any -punk subgenre (cyberpunk, solarpunk, steampunk, biopunk, and beyond). The throughline she wants is character-driven storytelling: messy emotions, political stakes, or genuinely terrifying encounters with the unknown. Surprising her with something fresh is explicitly welcomed.
Ciara wants romance across the age spectrum and across speculative and contemporary settings. Her current favorite tropes include fake dating or engagement, forced proximity, holiday romance (especially featuring underrepresented holidays), workplace or professional rivals-to-lovers, ulterior-motives-to-love, and alien/human pairings. She is a hard pass on the miscommunication trope unless the miscommunication is intentional and earns real consequences on the page. She is especially excited by LGBTQIA+, POC, disabled, and/or neurodivergent leads; cross-cultural relationships; and joyful representation woven into darker speculative genres like sci-fi, horror, or thrillers.
YA speculative fiction is Ciara's self-described favorite category. She wants heart, risk, wonder, and growth — and she loves genre-blending, new mythologies, and stories that leave a lasting emotional impression. Currently most excited about cozy fantasy, portal fantasy, alternate world settings, romantasy, heists, big adventure, and friendship-centered plots. She's particularly drawn to paranormal stories told through underrepresented voices, magical realism, fairy tales, and folk magic rooted in specific cultures and communities. Speculative quests — whether internal or external — that reshape the protagonist are a strong fit.
After a period of being closed, Ciara is now re-open to romantasy and romantic fantasy for adults — but with a firm condition: the fantasy plot and the romance plot must carry equal weight. She will not consider books where the fantastical world functions only as set dressing for the love story. She is open to fae/fairy stories if they bring a genuinely fresh angle she hasn't seen before, though she is self-described as picky on this. She wants morally grey characters in the truest sense — where the reader's understanding of who is good and who is bad shifts across the narrative — and explicitly distinguishes this from stories where a male lead's bad behavior is excused by his love for the female lead. Above all, she's hunting for something new in this space that still delivers heat and is clearly distinguishable from what's already on the market.
Ciara loves the cozy fantasy genre but is specifically looking to add something that pushes the form forward rather than replicating what already exists. She wants a darker or creepier edge — 'creepy cute' is her framing — with intimate, small-scale settings and personal stakes. She cites Legends & Lattes as a benchmark she admires but does not want to replicate.
Ciara wants paranormal fiction but is specifically seeking what she hasn't seen before. Fresh takes on werewolves or other classic creatures are welcome if the approach is genuinely new. She's particularly hungry for paranormal rooted in underrepresented cultural myths, local legends, or regional superstitions that haven't been widely explored.
This is a narrow, carefully gated category. Ciara wants ancient historical fiction with the cinematic, emotionally intense energy of films like The Eagle, Centurion, Gladiator, or Clash of the Titans — but emphatically not set in Rome or Greece. She is seeking non-Western empires and underrepresented ancient cultures with that same mythic weight and epic scope. A speculative or myth-infused layer is a strong bonus, as are themes of duty, betrayal, survival, and transformation. Queer, POC, disabled, and/or neurodivergent characters woven naturally into the world are actively wanted. She does not want historical fiction that reads like a textbook; she wants the feeling of a sword's edge and forgotten-god energy.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query Ciara
Time your submission carefully: Ciara only opens her form during the first week of each calendar month, and she is entirely closed in December and January. Missing the window means waiting another month.
Lead with your trope stack in the query letter — she is unusually trope-literate and specific about what she wants (fake dating, forced proximity, rivals-to-lovers) and what she will pass on (miscommunication). Naming your tropes upfront lets her immediately assess fit.
If you're writing science fiction, say so loudly in your opening line. She has explicitly flagged this as a gap on her list where she's actively seeking more submissions — SF writers have a genuine advantage here relative to her inbox.
For adult romantasy, directly address the balance of fantasy and romance in your pitch. She needs to know the fantasy world has independent stakes and plot architecture — don't let her wonder whether your worldbuilding is structural or decorative.
Centering a marginalized protagonist is not just encouraged — it's a core acquisition priority for Ciara. If your lead is LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, and/or a person of color, name it in the query. This is an agent for whom representation is a foundational criterion, not an add-on.
For historical fiction, preemptively clarify your setting is not Rome or Greece. Given how much ancient historical fiction defaults to those settings, reassuring her immediately removes a likely concern.
Avoid leaning into miscommunication as your primary romantic tension driver unless you can articulate in the query exactly how the miscommunication is deliberate and what consequences it produces on the page.
Her biography and wishlist both foreground her own identity as disabled, ND, and LGBTQIA+. She represents the books she wished had existed for her. Pitches that speak to that mission — especially own-voices projects — are likely to resonate deeply.