Manuscript Wish List

With a slush pile as ginormous as mine, I have to have some method of screening beyond judging the author's misspelled homonyms and the occasional cheesy line. I've also had to learn what works and what does not in my little sphere of the publishing world, sometimes to my dismay. (Surprise: I do not hold all the power in getting a book published.)

This, however, has become a pretty good method of screening. Some of this seems like it should be arbitrary in the modern world, but when it comes to my slush pile ... it's not.

(Note that these apply to my Juvenile Fiction genre, which ranges from children's books up to MG)

Plot MSWL
-"Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked..." I love love love A:TLA. But what I want to see is an elemental MG where Fire is not evil, and is not the one to attack first. I want Water to attack first, or Air. Show me that though Fire may be destructive and scary, it stands no chance in the face of drowning hurricanes and earthquakes.
-Dragons.
-Funny, heart-wrenching, issue-based JF and MG. Combine humor and heartache in innovative, age-appropriate ways.
-Risks taken in JF and MG. Put the power in your character's hands, and let them suffer the consequences for it. However, don't try to teach your readers a heavy-handed responsibility moral at the same time. They'll understand just through the story.
-Contemporary JF and MG.
-Classics rewritten for kids (Kidlit) to introduce them to stories like Great Expectations, etc.
-Unusual retellings for MG (retellings of classic literature, often-forgotten mythology, little-used fairy tales)

Character MSWL
-Quirky/funny girl protagonists
-Quirky/funny boy protagonists
-Boys who hang out with girls for reasons other than romance. (Seriously ... romance at 10?)
-Girl side characters who don't always need to be saved.
-Girl side characters who don't end up fridged for tragedy. This is a very damaging concept to teach children ages 6-12. Don't do it. 
-Young characters (4-10) with flaws. (If your six-year-old protagonist is a perfect, hand-clasping, sighing angel, I'm going to have serious doubts. Hang out around some six-year-olds.)
-Young characters who can problem-solve on their own, even if they can't handle every catastrophe alone.
-Diversity in race and ability.