Shania Soler is a literary agent at Metamorphosis Literary Agency who specializes in atmospheric horror and diverse fantasy, with a particular appetite for slow-burn dread, psychologically destabilizing narratives, and stories centering BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent characters.
In brief
Soler's wishlist is unusually specific about horror: she wants tension and psychological unraveling, not gore — Cassandra Khaw's work is her named north star, so writers should study that aesthetic before pitching.
Her interest spans adult horror and fantasy but her agency page also flags YA with crossover potential and NA in both horror and fantasy — a detail easy to miss in her shorter public posts.
Fantasy is welcome but conditional: she wants compelling magical or political systems and is drawn to fairytale/myth retellings from African, Norse, and Asian traditions — generic romantasy without a hook is unlikely to excite her.
She is an editorial journal editor (fiction editor at MASKS Literary Magazine, associate editor at Allium Literary Journal), signaling she will engage deeply with manuscript craft — a strong fit for writers who want hands-on feedback.
Her query status was confirmed open as of May 2026; always verify the live form before submitting, as status can change.
Lately
Hi everyone! Thank you to everyone who sent a query my way. I'm going to close my queries for now so I can officially catch up. I look forward to reading your work. :)
My queries are open! I'm searching for horror and/or fantasy or romance with horror elements. I'm also searching for books that feature BIPOC characters and those from underrepresented or marginalized communities. #horror #Writersky #WritingCommunity #QueerPit #DVPit querytracker.net/query/3493
Soler posted publicly that her query inbox is open and that she is actively hunting for horror, fantasy, and romance with horror elements, with a particular call for manuscripts featuring BIPOC characters and voices from underrepresented or marginalized communities.
What Shania is looking for
This is Soler's clearest priority. She wants horror that unsettles through atmosphere and psychological tension rather than graphic violence. Slow, deliberate dread — the kind that accumulates quietly and refuses to let go — is exactly what she is after. Body horror is welcome when it feels intimate and destabilizing rather than gratuitous. Settings that seem to breathe, watch, and warp the characters who move through them are a particular draw, as are claustrophobic environments and stories where a character's mental unraveling is rendered with psychological complexity. Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth and The Library at Hellebore are her named touchstones, so writers should calibrate tone against those benchmarks. She is also open to horror comedy, feminist horror, gothic horror, and paranormal horror.
Soler wants fantasy with substance — compelling magical systems, intricate political structures, and genuine subversion of high-fantasy and romantasy conventions. Fairytale and mythological retellings are a specific enthusiasm, particularly those drawing from African, Norse, or Asian traditions, or reimagining figures like Rumplestiltskin or King Midas. Horror elements woven into fantasy earn bonus consideration. She is open to both low and high fantasy. Her agency page explicitly names YA with crossover potential and NA manuscripts in fantasy, so those age categories are in scope alongside adult. Romance and spice are welcome within fantasy, but she wants the genre to stand on its own beyond the romantic arc.
Across every category she pursues, Soler consistently foregrounds stories centered on BIPOC protagonists, LGBTQ+ characters and relationships, neurodivergent and disabled characters, and voices from communities historically underrepresented in speculative fiction. This is not a secondary preference — it is woven into her core editorial identity. She specifically calls out African diaspora, West African, East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Latinx literature as areas of focus. Ownvoices narratives carry particular weight.
Soler is open to romance, including steamy romcoms and LGBTQ+ romance, particularly when the work brings a fresh angle to familiar conventions. She references the Butcher & Blackbird style of subverting genre clichés as a marker of what excites her. Strong, uplifting friendships — including dark female friendships — and witty, dynamic dialogue are consistent draws regardless of category. Pure contemporary romance without a speculative or horror thread is likely a lower priority than fantasy romance or romantic horror.
She lists psychological thriller and literary thriller as categories she represents, and her appetite for psychological unraveling in horror maps naturally onto this space. However, she explicitly rules out thrillers focused on law enforcement, government agencies, or procedural crime in contemporary settings — see Not Seeking. The best fit here is thriller work with a literary or speculative bent rather than a conventional crime structure.
Not the right fit
On Shania's list
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How to query Shania
Upload your first ten pages as a Microsoft Word document only — any other file format results in automatic rejection, so do not send a PDF or paste into the body of a message.
Her primary email is listed publicly (ssoler@metamorphosisliteraryagency.com), but her wishlist directs submissions through her designated online query form — use the form, not a cold email.
Anchor your pitch in atmosphere and psychological tension rather than plot mechanics; she wants to feel the dread before she hears the story summary.
If your horror or fantasy manuscript centers BIPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, or disabled characters — especially in ownvoices work — say so clearly and early in your query letter.
Name the myth, folktale, or cultural tradition your retelling draws from; she has a specific appetite for African, Norse, and Asian mythologies, and vague 'fairytale retelling' framing undersells that hook.
If you are querying fantasy with romantic elements, distinguish what makes your magic system or political world genuinely novel — she is interested in fantasy that earns its romantasy label through structural originality, not trope reliance.
For YA or NA manuscripts in horror or fantasy, note the age category explicitly; her agency page confirms she is open to these alongside adult, but it is easy to assume she only takes adult work from her public posts.
Avoid pitching anything that centers law enforcement or government institutions in a contemporary thriller framing — this is her most clearly stated exclusion.