Jamie Vankirk is the founder of Rainbow Nerds Literary and a champion of inclusive fiction, hunting especially for Middle Grade, YA, and select adult genre work steeped in dark academia atmosphere, non-western mythology, and joyfully nerdy sensibilities.
In brief
Vankirk founded Rainbow Nerds Literary specifically to widen publishing's doors for marginalized authors — inclusivity isn't a talking point here, it's the agency's founding mission.
Her wishlist skews heavily toward dark, atmospheric YA and MG, but she is actively expanding into adult fantasy, horror, romance, and cross-genre fiction — a genuine growth area worth targeting.
Her taste is deeply personal and unusually specific: she names favorite video games, TV shows, and a beloved teen series (the Gemma Doyle Trilogy) as direct taste signals, giving querying writers unusually concrete comp guidance.
She got her editorial grounding at Liza Dawson Associates before going independent, suggesting a hands-on editorial partnership style rather than a hands-off sales-only approach.
She participated in DVPit in late 2025, signaling an active interest in pitches from diverse and underrepresented writers — a strong affirmative signal for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and own-voices authors specifically.
Lately
Vankirk joined DVPit late in the pitch event but confirmed her participation, instructing interested writers who received a like to follow her standard email submission process and note DVPit in the subject line — a clear, public signal of enthusiasm for pitches from diverse and underrepresented authors.
What Jamie is looking for
This is Vankirk's stated core focus. She welcomes the full genre spectrum for MG and YA, with a particular pull toward Gothic and dark-academia atmospheres, witches, vampires, werewolves, and other classic monsters. Non-western folklore and mythology are especially sought after. YA contemporary is welcome as long as it resists the familiar college-application plot engine. She loved the Gemma Doyle Trilogy as a teen and considers comps to that series a strong signal of alignment.
An active expansion area for her list. She wants cozy fantasy with warmth and low stakes as well as darker romantasy. Fantasy structured like a tabletop RPG campaign — world-building, ensemble party dynamics, escalating stakes — is explicitly on her radar, as are genre-blended works (horror-romance, fantasy-mystery, etc.).
Horror is a clear passion area. She's drawn to psychological horror, sapphic horror, and horror-comedy. Stories set entirely within a single night are a specific structural interest. Atmospheric dread and compelling, layered villains consistently show up in her stated preferences.
She is looking for adult and new adult romance with sharp, funny voices. A WNBA-set queer romance or romcom is a highly specific, named want — she cited Cleat Cute as a comp for tone and structure, but wants basketball rather than soccer. Drag queens as central characters are also explicitly welcomed.
Stories that weave video games into the narrative in a meaningful way are a named interest — not just casual references but actual integration of gaming culture, mechanics, or worlds. Her own gaming taste runs from narrative RPGs to cozy farming sims, which gives writers strong signal about tonal range. Nerdy culture broadly (tabletop, fandom, D&D) is warmly welcomed.
Inclusivity is the agency's founding mandate, not an afterthought. Marginalized creators are explicitly and repeatedly encouraged to submit. AAPI fantasy and horror, Latinx stories, neurodivergent characters, and queer narratives all appear as named priorities across every genre she represents.
Not the right fit
On Jamie's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Jamie
Email your query letter and the first three chapters of your completed manuscript directly in the body of the email — no attachments of any kind.
Put the manuscript's title and genre in the subject line; if submitting during a pitch event she has participated in, add the relevant hashtag (e.g. #DVPit) to the subject line per her instructions.
Do not paste in a separate cover page or bio header — she asks for the query and chapters inline, nothing more.
Lead your query with a clear comp to an existing work she has named (the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Cleat Cute) if applicable — she is unusually specific about her taste anchors and a direct comp signals you've done your homework.
Lean into your own identity and voice if you are a marginalized or own-voices author — her agency was founded explicitly to support underrepresented creators and she states this welcome prominently and repeatedly.
If your story involves video games, D&D-style world-building, or geek culture, name it clearly and specifically in the query — this is a personal passion, not a generic trend interest, and specificity will resonate.
Avoid any manuscript that touches her explicit exclusions: AI-generated content, graphic novels, nonfiction, novels in verse, picture books, plots centered on cancer/dementia, sexual assault, school shootings, or the death of a dog.
Confirm the submission email address and current open/closed status on the Rainbow Nerds Literary website before sending — cached status was last verified April 2026.