SHANNON LECHON
ASSOCIATE AGENT
Shannon is an associate agent with Azantian Literary Agency. She began her career with literary agency internships at P.S. Literary and Cake Creative, as well as an editorial internship with Penguin Random House. She holds dual bachelor's degrees in criminology and English from Florida State University and a master's in publishing from New York University.
Fun Facts About Me
1. I’m a wildly out-of-practice black belt.
2. I have been in an emergency plane landing in a field after mid-flight engine failure.
3. I was briefly a missing person, as I rolled down a mountain into a ditch on a school trip and couldn’t get back out. We were visiting a medieval, gothic castle at the time, and friends tearfully told chaperones that it was the exact kind of place I would’ve wanted to die in. I was fine.
Thrillers with a cop/detective protagonist or love interest, or any kind of police procedural. Private investigators ok!
Reskinned Harry Potter fanfiction
Westerns
Short story collections
Novels-in-verse/poetry
YA or MG contemporary/historical fiction or nonfiction. Adult ok!
Retellings of famous/mythical Greco-Roman women
Epic space operas (character-driven stories within galactic settings, like Winter’s Orbit, are fine!)
Book club/litfic family sagas that take place over 100+ years
Historical fiction about WWI or WWII
Witches and dual timelines are not a hard no, but a hard sell, so unless your story also features a good match to my MSWL, another agent at Azantian will likely be a better fit!
Experimental styles and unreliable narrators (think the narrative gaslighting of Harrow the Ninth).
Excellent prose. I’m a very prose-centric agent and really value lush, beautiful writing on a line level.
Intense platonic interpersonal bonds: give me the physical manifestation of love à la Pacific Rim and I will be very happy.
Underexplored magic systems and fantasy that doesn't care if you understand it or not, like The Starless Sea.
Strange, off-the-wall ideas, and truly original concepts. If you think something is too weird, I probably want it. Really.
Stories that incorporate elements of religion, both fictional faiths, like Seven Faceless Saints, or ones from our world, like Angels Before Man.
Anything swampy, boggy, or tourist-trappy. I grew up in Florida and have a fascination with the bizarre culture down there.
Tone-blends: your tragicomedies, horror-comedies, and black comedies. Your deeply neurotic and unhappy protagonists against a funny backdrop. Think Meddling Kids or Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead.
Please do not send Me:
Please Send Me:
WISHLIST
YOUNG ADULT
In YA, I am looking for fantasy, science fiction, horror, and mystery/thrillers.
In sci-fi/fantasy/horror, I would love…
Dark or gothic fantasy like A Lesson in Vengeance and Immortal Dark
Morally grey or antihero protagonists
Both darker and cozy takes on romantasy, anything from Belladonna to Flowerheart
A fresh take on superheroes, like a YA version of Hench
I’ve been trying to bring back dystopian for years and am so into the renaissance! Please send me anything in that category!
Horror is my bread and butter and I’m happy to see any and all in that genre: speculative or not, grounded or epic, classic or Weird. Please, please, please send me your horror.
For mystery/thrillers, I have a soft spot for…
Setting as character
The ability to juggle large, quirky casts like Truly Devious or Knives Out
High-concept works outside of the high school setting, like Thieves’ Gambit or The Inheritance Games.
ADULT FICTION
In adult, I am looking for fantasy, science fiction, horror, book club/upmarket/literary fiction, and mystery/thrillers.
For fantasy works, I am looking for the whole gamut:
anything from big, epic fantasy to grounded contemporary stories
stories that feel like new worlds exist on the periphery of our vision, like Bestiary and The Tiger's Wife
elements of myth or fairy tales, especially if they are from underrepresented cultures or give voice to figures often forgotten
In romantasy, both cozy and darker stories are welcome, but quality prose and a good balance of both fantasy and romance is vital; think A Marvellous Light.
Along these lines, I’m looking for adult works with speculative touches. Think…
Weird girl (gender neutral) litfic like Chlorineand Rogue. (But make it really weird, please. I love pushing boundaries on how weird we can go.)
Pseudo-sci-fi like Natural Beauty
Strange, speculative happenings that show contemporary, everyday protagonists new perspectives on life, like The Husbands and Water Moon.
For sci-fi,
Again, anything dystopian! Please send me your climate dystopias, your romantic dystopias, your quiet and loud dystopias.
Mind- and reality-bending stories like There is No Anti-Memetics Division
I am looking for science-fantasy manuscripts, whether more grounded stories like Middlegame that blur the line between magic and science, or galaxy-spanning like our favorite lesbian necromancers in space. LitRPGs or powerscaling isekais welcome.
I welcome both speculative and non-speculative horror. As in YA, I enjoy a huge variety of horror, anything from grounded to grindhouse, but have a soft spot for…
Unusual settings, like the movie Underwateror the frozen dystopia of Leech
I am desperate for a nautical or icy horror specifically.
Psychological weirdness like And Then I Woke Up
Doppelgangers
Works that feel like “Internet Horror,” like the SCP Foundation or creepypastas
I’m opening to book club/upmarket and literary fiction! Please send my way…
Historical fiction by and about underrepresented populations
Nostalgic lookbacks to the 90s and early 2000s, especially from a queer or BIPOC perspective
Dysfunctional family stories outside the nuclear, white, suburban family unit
Interpersonal dynamics within unusual or niche groups, like Daisy Jones and the Six and The Favorites
Surreal or unusual voices within the literary space, like Lost Lambs
While romance subplots are welcome in this space, I’m not looking for the romance genre itself.
I am looking for mysteries and thrillers with…
A cinematic, larger-than-life feel, like My Sister, the Serial Killer
Sardonic main characters
Settings outside the typical academia/suburbia/vacations
Speculative or sci-fi elements, such as The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle or My Murder.
While I have an affinity for upmarket and literary works in other adult genres, I am actively seeking commercial, fast-paced, and plot-driven stories in this space. This is also the genre I get the least number of submissions in, so if you have one, I’d love to see it!
GRAPHIC NOVELS
In graphic novels, I am looking for young adult and adult fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. I’m interested in…
Speculative stories grounded in our world like The Backstagers
Found families, platonic relationships, and the power of friendship
Weird, unsettling, creeping horror like A Guest in the House
Both fiction or narrative nonfiction dealing with identity, mental health, or complex family narratives like Bloomand My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
Lush and intricate art like Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me or Are You Listening?
Right now, I am only interested in taking on author/illustrators or author/illustrator duos. Please do not submit graphic novel proposals or scripts without either being an artist or having an artist attached.
NONFICTION
I am looking for select adult nonfiction proposals. Please send me…
Memoirs about specialized careers, like the beekeepers of Honey and Venom
Memoirs or entirely research-centric proposals on health and the medical industry, such as The Sleeping Beauties and What My Bones Know
Mental health, physical illness/injury, and trauma recovery narratives
Readability and accessibility for the average reader is a must, but submissions about medicine/the medical industry must also be backed by scientific research.
