WriteHive Mentorship Program

#HiveMentor

Sunyi Dean
  • AGE/MARKET
  • Adult
  • GENRE WISHLIST
  • Speculative Science Fiction
  • Speculative Fantasy
  • Speculative Horror
  • Speculative Mainstream
  • Crime/Murder
  • OKAY WITH
  • Novels

Sunyi Dean (sun-yee deen) is a multi-award losing author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in North England. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant and her debut novel, THE BOOK EATERS, was an instant #2 Sunday Times Bestseller. Her next novel, THE GIRL WITH A THOUSAND FACES, is due out May 2026.

My goal is to find a mentee who has the drive and dedication to make a trad career work. I will be more than just a one time editor; I will commit to help you and keep working towards publication for as long as you’re still willing to try. I will give you all the industry knowledge I know, help with any manuscript edits or suggestions, and help you pitch/query agents.

The last time I worked with Write Hive, I took on two mentees. One of them is now agented with a Mysterious Announcement coming soon; this process took two years and two attempts at querying. The other is still working away but we keep in touch. There are few guarantees in this industry, but I can at least promise to be present as much as you need me.

I want to see your esoteric, genre-bending speculative fiction with a literary edge. Complex women, unlikeable protagonists, unreliable narrators, unusual structures or POVs, ambitious hard-to-classify projects with soulful writing–send it my way!

Some authors I love: Claire North, Stuart Turton, Nnedi Okorafor, Gene Wolfe, Ray Nayler, Jeff Vandermeer, Yangsze Choo, Ursula Leguin, Alexis Henderson, Hiron Ennes. Among many others!

I lean heavily towards Adult Spec fic, which includes:

  • SF
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Mainstream crossover

Although I read widely in those genres, the sub categories of hard sf, epic fa, and romantasy are a tough one for me; I’m unfamiliar with those spaces. I’m probably the wrong person for books which focus heavily on explicit exploitation or abuse of women, eg Book of the Unnamed Midwife (great novel, very hard for me to read). I do also love crime/murder but have almost no connections with that side of the industry, so will be less useful to you as an advocate.

Sunyi Dean

She/Her

Traditional Publishing

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