Thao represents children’s, YA, Romance, and Sci-fi/Fantasy. She enjoys clever, heartfelt, and commercial middle grade and YA in prose or graphic novel format and across genres. In the Adult SFF realm, she’s a fan of contemporary fantasy, near future science fiction, and romantic fantasy. In romance, her favorite tropes are: hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, forbidden/doomed romance, fake dating/marriage of convenience, grumpy/sunshine, mistaken identities, and she is a sucker for beta second male leads who steal the show (and hopefully the heroine’s heart!). If you can make her think of her favorite Asian Dramas then you’re on the right track!
In general, she’s a fan of high concepts that feel fresh and exciting. She’s especially drawn to character driven stories about family and friendships from the POV of diverse protagonists. She’s a fan of characters who are passionate about the arts, STEM, activism, and geeky fandoms. She’s a big reader of fanfiction and love that style of bingeable writing. She adores stories with a touch of magic and whimsy, and is a lifelong fan of mythology and fairytales. She’s interested in all things gothic, cottagecore, and dark academia.
Though she has represented them in the past, she is currently NOT looking for picture book writers at the moment.
Thao’s clients include New York Times and Indie bestselling authors such as Ali Hazelwood, Thea Guanzon, Sandhya Menon, Evelyn Skye, Jessie Sima, Jessica Kim, and more…
Thao is NOT looking for: non-fiction, adult literary fiction, adult general fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, memoirs, poetry, religious/spiritual books, screenplays, or short stories.