Jessica Berg

Currently closed to fiction. Actively seeking nonfiction in the following categories: Cookbooks with narrative richness, cultural grounding, or unexpected emotional punch. Cultural & Social Issues that challenge norms and push conversation forward. Current Affairs that make complex systems legible and urgent. Health & Fitness with a fresh voice, grounded data, and an inclusive lens. Intelligence & Military Nonfiction from people who’ve lived it, witnessed it, or can decode it, especially work by women and femme-identifying authors that reframes or complicates the usual narratives. Journalism or reported nonfiction with deep stakes and literary ambition. Memoir, especially those that blend lived experience with broader cultural, psychological, or political resonance. Pop Culture as a lens for deeper insight. Psychology that’s accessible, compassionate, and rooted in both story and science. Self-Help that’s voicey, precise, and emotionally strategic. Spirituality with lyrical intelligence, fresh frameworks, and expansive care. Women’s Issues across any of the above: intersectional, unflinching, and deeply felt. I’m drawn to authors who combine lived experience or subject-matter expertise with strong voice and clarity. Not the right fit for prescriptive business books, true crime, or political commentary without a clear emotional or cultural lens.

At Rosecliff Literary, we’re leaning into the quiet, moody magic of winter. This season, we’re searching for manuscripts that blend warmth with a chill—stories that settle into your bones and won’t let go. Here’s what’s on our radar while the snow falls: Clever Spy Stories: Middle-aged female protagonists unraveling intricate plots in international settings. Bonus points for diverse casts and twists that leave us reeling. Gothic Atmosphere: Haunted houses, eerie villages, long-buried secrets, and creeping shadows. This is your permission slip to scare us—just a little. Historical Fiction (Not WWII): Narratives from untold eras and overlooked perspectives. Transport us to extraordinary places and moments we didn’t know we were missing. Gilded Age Drama: Glittering wealth hiding sharp contrasts and sharper twists. Let us peek behind the velvet curtains for all the intrigue. Character-Driven Literary Suspense: Slow-burn stories with emotionally complex characters navigating high-stakes situations. Make us feel the tension in our teeth. This is winter storytelling at its best: atmospheric, layered, and impossible to put down. Think your manuscript fits the bill? Submit your query, and for a deeper dive into the season’s wishlist vibes, head to our Instagram. We’re breaking it all down over there.

This fall, we’re leaning into the dark, eerie, and twisty. Think dark academia but with mature, complex characters—we’d love to see protagonists over 40 navigating academia’s shadowy halls and personal demons. Got a gothic romance? We’re all about lush settings, twisted love, and secrets buried beneath ivy-covered walls. We’re obsessed with stories set outside the US whether it’s a mysterious mansion in Eastern Europe or a remote desert horror with magical realism. We’re particularly excited about high-stakes plots blending STEMinist heroines with speculative elements. Give us the clever, nuanced women in STEM solving impossible problems, especially when it’s tied to family curses, hidden magic, or generational trauma. Bring on all the twists we want to be shocked, delighted, and left guessing until the very end. Whether it’s vampires in unexpected settings, ghosts with a purpose, or paranormal elements that feel fresh, we’re here for it. For BIPOC/Queer/Disability rep, we’re hungry for stories where the author’s culture is central to the narrative, stories that balance the eerie with emotional depth and intricate relationships. Social commentary that packs a punch is always a win.