V. Ruiz is a lesbian, Mexican-American literary and career agent at D4EO Literary Agency whose deep editorial background and passion for underrepresented voices drive a list anchored in fantasy, horror, thriller, romance, and women's fiction for adults and teens.
In brief
V. Ruiz arrives at agenting with nearly a decade of hands-on editing — including three-plus years as an acquisitions editor at Row House Publishing (distributed by Simon & Schuster) — giving them an unusually granular understanding of the full production and publishing pipeline, which they treat as a direct service to clients.
Their stated priorities (fantasy, horror, thriller, romance, women's fiction) align closely with their background ghostwriting commercial fiction, suggesting a strong orientation toward genre-forward adult and teen work with emotional depth and cultural specificity.
Representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodiverse voices is a structural commitment, not a talking point — V. navigates neurodiversity personally and centers it in what they seek.
Picture books are genuinely open for queries, but with clear gates: human protagonists strongly preferred, rhyming is a hard sell, and a speculative or folkloric angle raises your odds significantly.
Query status is cyclical and time-windowed — V. publicly opens and closes in brief bursts (one recent window was a single week). Their form was confirmed closed on 2026-04-23; they indicated a hope to reopen in early May 2026. Verify the live form before submitting.
Lately
I’m opening to queries tomorrow for one week and then closing again for a while. I’ve updated my MSWL to be a bit more specific. 🥰
I haven’t talked about this much on here but astrology is a special interest of mine. I’m actually ISAR certified 🥰 so if you have astrology-related stuff (fiction or nonfic) - we may vibe 💕 #mswl manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/v-...
Nonfic: I really want to work with someone writing about cultural spiritual practices. Like from a grounded, researched approach that is not aiming to make it necessarily more accessible but aiming to capture the roots and history of the practice. #mswl manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/v-...
I would love to see something more upmarket that plays around with media and time the way Daisy Jones’s and the Six does. #mswl manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/v-...
Super eager to see some folk horror. Especially if it toes the line of speculative without going full paranormal. A kind of “am I imagining it or is that deer kind of fucked up?” vibe 😉 #mswl manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/v-...
V. announced a brief one-week query window opening the following day, noting they had updated their wishlist to be more specific before closing again for an extended period.
What V is looking for
Fantasy sits at the top of V.'s stated priorities for adult fiction. They are drawn to stories with diverse and queer protagonists, cultural specificity, and emotional stakes — folkloric, mythological, or speculative frameworks aligned with their picture book taste would likely resonate here too. Work from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors is especially welcome.
Horror and thrillers are explicitly named as a core focus. V.'s background in commercial editing suggests a preference for propulsive, marketable work that still carries meaningful character and cultural interiority. Neurodiverse characters and BIPOC or LGBTQ+ perspectives in dark, tension-driven narratives are a strong fit.
Women's fiction is a named priority, consistent with V.'s ghostwriting background in commercial fiction. Stories centered on complex women — especially from underrepresented backgrounds — and that balance emotional resonance with commercial accessibility are what they're after.
Romance is one of V.'s explicitly flagged focuses. Their ghostwriting history includes small-town romance, indicating comfort with genre conventions, but their agenting wishlist suggests they're most energized by romance with diverse, queer, or culturally rich casts rather than default-mainstream stories.
V. represents adult and teen fiction with equal emphasis. The same genre priorities — fantasy, horror, thriller, romance, women's fiction — apply at the YA level. Queer and BIPOC teen protagonists, neurodiverse representation, and emotionally grounded genre storytelling are especially sought.
V. is genuinely open to picture books and has detailed, specific tastes here. They want human protagonists (non-human MCs are a hard pass), a whimsical or magical-realist/speculative quality, multilingual or multicultural storytelling, folklore or myth retellings, and stories that help young children process big emotional concepts with bold, witty characters. Rhyming is a tough sell. US historical themes are generally not wanted unless the focus is on suppressed or underrepresented history. Note: the wishlist materials suggest V. is open to picture book authors (not just author-illustrators), but writers should confirm current guidelines before submitting.
Nonfiction is a narrow lane for V.: they are interested specifically in spiritual or esoteric nonfiction (astrology is a personal passion), cookbook proposals, and very selectively in memoir. A full proposal is required for all nonfiction. This is not a general nonfiction list — writers with prescriptive, business, or political nonfiction should look elsewhere.
Not the right fit
Taste fingerprint
How to query V
Submissions go through V.'s designated online query platform — check their website (vruiz.me) for the current link and status before doing anything else, as query windows open and close in short, unpredictable bursts.
For fiction (YA and adult), submit a query letter plus the first twenty pages as an attachment. Earlier wishlist materials specified ten pages; the agency page says twenty — defer to the agency page.
For nonfiction, submit a complete book proposal — no query-only pitches.
For picture books, submit a query letter, a one-paragraph pitch, and the full manuscript.
Use the query form's content-warning field to flag any depictions of violence against women or children — V. explicitly requests this.
You are invited (not required) to share information about your identity. V. actively prioritizes BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodiverse voices, so disclosing relevant identity context can work in your favor if you choose.
Lead your pitch with a specific hook: name your genre, state your protagonist's identity markers if they align with V.'s stated priorities (queer, BIPOC, neurodiverse), and get to the emotional or thematic core fast. V. is an editorial agent — show that your manuscript has both marketable shape and thematic depth.
Astrology, travel, music (concert-going), video games, and cooking are genuine personal passions — not shallow comp fodder, but authentic resonance points if they're organically relevant to your story's world or themes.
V. wants career-minded authors building a body of work, not one-book wonders. Briefly mentioning what you're working on next signals you're the kind of multi-project partner they're looking for.
Do not query with poetry collections, middle grade, general nonfiction, or graphic novels — these are outside V.'s current scope.
If your picture book rhymes, reconsider before querying; V. lists it as a hard sell.