8 Agents Who Want Weird Girl Lit
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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The Yellow Wallpaper
12 min read
Directly referenced in the article as a foundational text for weird girl lit. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 short story about a woman's descent into psychosis while confined to a room is the literary ancestor of the genre being discussed. Understanding its historical context, feminist interpretation, and influence on literature would deeply enrich the reader's appreciation of modern weird girl lit.
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Magical realism
13 min read
The article explicitly mentions magical realism as a key element of weird girl lit, describing stories that 'blur the line between the magical and the mundane.' Understanding the literary movement's origins in Latin American literature, its key practitioners like Gabriel García Márquez, and its techniques would provide essential context for the genre.
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Female hysteria
13 min read
The article discusses women 'unraveling' and 'identity crises' as central themes, which connects to the historical diagnosis of female hysteria that confined and pathologized women's emotions and bodies. This medical history directly informed works like The Yellow Wallpaper and contextualizes why 'weird girl lit' featuring chaotic, unhinged female protagonists feels transgressive and liberating.
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I was not expecting the frenzy that occurred last time we posted a list about weird girl lit. Sure, it’s one of my favorite genres, but I was pleasantly surprised to see just how important it is to everyone else, too.
The comments on our accompanying Instagram post (you know, the one that was viewed over 1 million times!!) were full of writers practically jumping for joy at the acknowledgment that this genre not only exists, but that agents are actively looking for it.
It was like a weird girls unite moment, which felt really special.
In my original post, I defined the genre as stories that “blur the line between the magical and the mundane, mixing body horror, magical realism, dark humor, identity crises, rage, desire, and transformation.” These novels are often about women unraveling, or the chaoticness of their lives. And while this isn’t exactly new (I mean, hello, The Yellow Wallpaper), it’s clearly making a renewed impression on us as writers.
In the ever-changing, unpredictable literary landscape, agents and publishers are seeing that these are the kinds of books people want to read. And for us as writers, weird girl lit is also permission to let go of restraints. You might think you’re getting a little too unhinged on the page or that your protagonist is too weird, but having a whole genre named after it can let our stuffy writer selves relax a bit more into the process.
So in the spirit of being united in our weirdness, here is another list of agents who want your vulnerable, pulsing, chaotic novels.
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