Flo Sandelson

I love reading SFF that blurs the line between the real and the imagined - stories with a strong emotional heart that pulls one lever to cause havoc within an otherwise familiar world. I'm especially drawn to writing that feels fresh and emotionally rich, whether for adults or young adults, that communicates something urgent about the psychological and political state of affairs.

I am and have always been an avid fantasy reader and would love to find a grounded urban adult fantasy in the vein of Ben Aaronovitch or Susanna Clarke. I also love meticulously plotted high fantasy (e.g. Shadow and Bone) when the world building is exquisite. I’m drawn to hidden magic in unexpected settings, ghosts with grudges, stories of corrupt magical bureaucracies and rebellion, so if your book has any of these aspects, please do send to me!

In speculative fiction, I’m drawn to books that start in the familiar and tilt subtly into the surreal. Think the slippery reality of Emily St. John Mandel, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, or stories with the prophetic edge of Naomi Alderman's The Power. I'm particularly keen on speculative fiction that explores technology, the environment, identity and memory in intimate and character driven ways.

I also love literary leaning speculative and would love to read stories that are bold, idiosyncratic and playful with form. Think Scott Alexander Howard and Olga Ravn with work that feels spaceless but emotionally resonant.

I have a soft spot for YA fantasy and dystopian fiction that combines emotional depth and convincing worldbuilding. If your book has the addictive tension of The Hunger Games or Legend by Marie Lu, or the boarding-school magic of Nevermoor or The Magicians, please send to me! I would particularly love to read stories in this space that centre queer and underrepresented voices.

One of my all time favourite YA series is Night School so please don't think the magical or speculative elements have to be dramatic. Anything that looks at our world and thinks: but what if this one thing was different?

I'm drawn to morally complicated young adult protagonists, romantic and crucially also non-romantic stakes (stories of found families are my kryptonite e.g. The Darkest Minds), quiet rebellion and magical systems that feel plausible.

I also love and am always on the hunt for books that speak to:

• Mythology, especially non-Western myths reworked and revitalised
• Anything that smuggles real world commentary into a fantastical or dystopian frame
• Emotionally intelligent horror or speculative suspense

I am not averse to less familiar worlds, e.g. militaristic sci-fi and adult romantasy, but the world building needs to be accomplished and well thought through.