julia hafsa derbal
BIO
Julie Hafsa Derbal (she/her) is French-Algerian YA writer living in France. She's been reading and writing for as long as she's been able to, and she learned English as a child only so she could keep reading Warrior Cats beyond the translated books that had come out at the time. She spends her free time taking care of her cat and rabbit, crocheting, and playing video games. During the day, she works as a technical writer.
Julie is represented by Rebecca Eskildsen at Writers House. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @juliehdwriting.
MSWL
I'm open to mentoring grounded speculative YA novels (contemporary fantasy, grounded sci-fi, horror...). I'm not the best fit for high fantasy with elaborate world building, or space operas/hard sci-fi. But if your book is weird and hard to categorize beyond 'speculative', we might be a fit!
Please note that I'm however probably not the best fit for historical fiction set before the 90s.
- My tastes generally go from cozy and whimsical to dark and horrific. Bonus points if your book dips into both like in The Raven Cycle
- I'm open to books where there might be magic, but it’s never fully confirmed, like in The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin
- I love weird grounded sci-fi/speculative like Leah Thomas or Shaun David Hutchinson
- Horror of all kinds is my sweet spot. I especially love horror that deal with bigger issues in a nuanced way, with characters who maybe aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. Give me all the unlikeable characters!
- I love post-apo books, or books dealing with the end of the world (like in I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi). This can go from light and cozy to something a lot more intense!
- If you can comp to any Andrew Joseph White book, any Patrick Ness book, any K. Ancrum book, or any Jamison Shea book, I would like to see it!
- Similarly, if you can comp The Summer Hikaru Died, I'm probably interested!