Digital Program - Writer`s Digest Annual Conference

Transcription

P R O G R A M
A
C
This is your time.
Write Better.
Get Published.
Build Your Network.
#WDC16
For all your book consulting needs! www.YourBookIsYourHook.com
Do you and your book have what it takes to be a bestseller?
Are you missing that one piece that could put you over the top
with literary agents, publishers, Hollywood and Broadway producers?
What You Get – As a writer, you will work with industry pros to be equipped to pitch your
book or project to get published, turn it into a film or TV series, or Broadway show, and be able
to talk about it confidently with the media, during a sudden meeting with an agent, publisher or
producer, or in any conversation with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
The Next Bestseller™ Workshop
November 4-6, 2016
New York City
Seats are limited to 12 writers.
www.TheNextBestseller.com
WELCOME and CONTENTS
Welcome to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference!
It’s a big show, so let’s get started.
The 2016 Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is, in fact, bigger than ever, with more sessions, more speakers,
more exhibitors, and more opportunities to connect with industry pros and your fellow writers. That being the
case, take a deep breath and prepare yourself for three action-packed days of high energy, camaraderie, learning, inspiration and fun. And if you’re a returning attendee, welcome back! We hope you have an even more
rewarding experience this year.
The conference includes five distinctive tracks that run all weekend. Sessions this year are longer, allowing for
more instruction and more time for questions. Similarly, breaks between sessions have also been extended. And
unlike last year, all sessions are on the same floor. These changes will help to ensure that you have plenty of time
to move from room to room, get a book signed by an instructor, or simply network with other attendees.
Tracks include Getting Published (both traditional and indie), Platform & Promotion, The Business of Being an
Author, Craft, and Genre Studies. Sessions cover a wide range of topics, including crafting proposals and query
letters, generating publicity with little to no expense, positioning your novel for maximum agent, editor, and
reader interest, maximizing the global reach of your work, and much more.
You’ll also rub elbows with numerous award-winning writers and New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon.com
bestselling authors. Maybe you’ll take part in our signature pitch slam, or reserve time for a literary agent consultation. The possibilities are endless!
But that’s not all. You’ll mingle and make connections during Saturday night’s cocktail party, meet-up with online
friends in our WD Facebook lounge, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll be selected for WD’s official mentorship
program for the 2016-2017 season. Be sure to catch my introductory remarks before the opening and
central keynotes on Friday and Saturday night for more on that exciting announcement!
The next few days are going to be packed with inspiration
and education. It can be overwhelming at times,
so remember to slow down, take a breath,
network with your fellow writers, and—
most of all—enjoy the ride!
Keep writing,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . 1
Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Session Descriptions . . . . . 8
Agents & Editors . . . . . . 17
Phil Sexton • Publisher
Writer’s Digest • @psexton1
Exhibitors . . . . . . . . . 23
Floorplan . . . . . . . . . 25
1
AGENDA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11
General Programing
Storytelling Superpower Master Class: DIY MFA Insiders Program with Gabriela Pereira
3:00 –
5:50 pm
* space is limited, available at an additional cost
4:00 –
4:50 pm
Love Between the Covers—Documentary Film Screening Laurie Kahn
6:00 –
6:15 pm
Orientation and Networking Tips Phil Sexton
6:15 –
7:15 pm
Publishing 101: Understanding Deals and Contract Terms Marisa A. Corvisiero
Nassau
Sutton Complex
Sutton Complex
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
Getting
Published
8:00 am –
6:00 pm
Registration
8:00 am –
8:00 pm
Exhibits
Platform
& Promotion
Craft
Genre Studies
Promenade
Promenade
Pitch Perfect Chuck Sambuchino
9:00 –
10:00 am
The Business of
Being an Author
* Pitch Slam attendees only
Sutton Complex
10:00 am –
8:00 pm
Conference Bookstore provided by Greenlight Bookstore
10:15 –
11:15 am
Secrets to Getting
Published in
Magazines That
Editors Won’t Tell
You (But We Will)
Zachary Petit, Jennifer
Keishin Armstrong
Murray Hill
How to be Your
Own Best Publicist
Emily Liebert
Sutton Complex
You Spin Me
Right Round:
New Opportunities
for Writers
Richard Nash
Gramercy East
Nailing the Spike:
Creating a
Compelling
Short Story
April Eberhardt
Gramercy West
Sexy, Savvy,
Sensational Romance:
How to Break into
the World’s Most
Popular Genre
Isabo Kelly, Nicki Night,
Lena Hart, Hope Tarr,
Addison Fox, Laurie
Kahn (Moderator)
Nassau West
11:30 am –
12:30 pm
The Changing Face
of Publishing: New
Models All Authors
Need to Know
April Eberhardt
Murray Hill
Writing the Hook
for Your Book
Jennifer Wilkov
Gramercy West
Hot Sheet Live:
Which Industry
Issues Are Your
Business
Porter Anderson
Gramercy East
Creating Suspense:
13 Techniques
to Make Your
Readers Sweat
Jane K. Cleland
Sutton Complex
Panel: Horror—
It’s Alive
Matthew Quinn Martin,
Grady Hendrix, Phil
Sexton (Moderator)
Nassau West
12:30 –
1:45 pm
Lunch on Your Own
See the WDC Program Ebook for the most up-to-date listings at WRITERSDIGESTCONFERENCE.COM
2
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Join the conversation on twitter @writersdigest • #WDC16
AGENDA
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
Getting
Published
1:45 –
2:45 pm
Go Hybrid or Perish:
How One Author
Learned (the Hard Way)
about the New
Necessity of Being
a Hybrid Author
Vincent Zandri
Gramercy East
Platform
& Promotion
The Business of
Being an Author
Craft
Genre Studies
Panel: Take Your
Book Publicity to
the Next Level
Susan Shapiro, Ryan
Harbage, Victoria Chow,
Renee Watson, Naomi
Rosenblatt, Joseph
Alexiou, Jill Bialosky
Gramercy West
The Writing Life:
How to Survive and
Succeed Without
Breaking Your Heart
or Losing Your Mind
Gabriela Pereira
Murrary Hill
Story Trumps
Structure: How to
Write Unforgett able
Fiction by Breaking
the Rules
Steven James
Sutton Complex
Panel: The Craft
and Business of
Women’s Fiction
Jessica Strawser, Brenda
Janowitz, Emily Liebert,
Sarah Domet, Catherine
McKenzie, Kimiko
Nakamura (Moderator)
Nassau West
Maximizing Your
Business as an
Author on Amazon
Jason Kuykendall
Murrary Hill
Panel: How to
Turn Writing
Career Tragedies
into Triumphs
Susan Shapiro, Renee
Zuckerbrot, Rakia
Clark, Wayne Hoffman,
Angie Chen, Kate Walter,
Sherry Amatenstein
Gramercy East
The First Ten Pages:
How to Craft a
Beginning That Hooks
Agents, Editors, and
Readers
Paula Munier
Sutton Complex
Panel: Crafting a
Standout Thriller
that Really Thrills
Vincent Zandri, Ben
Sobieck, Steven James,
CJ Lyons
Nassau West
3:00 –
4:00 pm
The Effective Query
Letter Workshop
Janet Reid
Gramercy West
4:15 –
5:15 pm
Opening Keynote: Saying Yes to the Writerly Life Kwame Alexander
5:30 –
6:30 pm
Book Signing with Kwame Alexander
6:30 –
8:00 pm
DIY MFA Book Launch Party
Sutton Complex
Promenade
Promenade
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
Getting
Published
Platform
& Promotion
The Business of
Being an Author
8:00 am –
6:00 pm
Registration
8:00 am –
8:00 pm
Exhibits
9:00 –
10:00 am
Panel: Cooperative
Publishing: The
New Wave
Jordan Rosenfeld,
C. P. Lesley, April
Eberhardt (Moderator)
Gramercy East
10:00 am –
8:00 pm
Craft
Genre Studies
Promenade
Promenade
Three Ways to
Build a Successful
Author Platform
Fauzia Burke
Murray Hill
Getting Blood on
the Page: From
Truman Capote
to Diane Sawyer
Kim Powers
Gramercy West
You Haven’t Scene
This Before:
Creating Unique &
Compelling Settings
Heather Webb
Sutton Complex
Writing Your Life
Story—A New
Approach
Richard Campbell
Nassau West
3
AGENDA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
Getting
Published
Platform
& Promotion
Lessons Learned:
Four Things I Wish I’d
Known at the Start of
My Writing Career
Jane K. Cleland
Gramercy East
10:15 –
11:15 am
How to Write
an Irresistible
Nonfiction Book
Proposal
Phil Sexton
Gramercy West
10:15 –
11:15 am
Pitch Slam
11:30 am –
12:30 pm
Self-Editing for
Nonfiction Writers:
How to Revise Your
Way to Publication
Rachel Randall
Gramercy West
11:30 am –
12:30 pm
Pitch Slam
12:30 –
1:45 pm
Lunch on Your Own
1:45 –
2:45 pm
An Insider’s Guide
to the Editing Process
for Novels
Catherine McKenzie
Gramercy West
1:45 –
2:45 pm
Pitch Slam
The Business of
Being an Author
10 Things No One
Told You about
Writing Weapons
in Fiction
Ben Sobieck
Nassau West
Craft
Getting Intimate with
Your Characters:
Learn to Master
Point of View for
Dazzling Character
Development
Jordan Rosenfeld
Sutton Complex
Check your registration badge for your assigned Pitch Slam Session
Panel: Effective
Marketing Strategies
for Authors
Fauzia Burke, Dan Blank,
Caroline Leavitt, Amy
Quale
Murray Hill
Your Turn to Ask
Anything: A Q&A
Session with
Bestselling Author
CJ Lyons
CJ Lyons, Porter
Anderson
Gramercy East
What the Independent
Bookstore Resurgence
Means for Authors
Dan Cullen, Jessica
Stockton Bagnulo
Gramercy East
10 Essential
Writing Lessons
From 10 Years
of Interviewing
Bestsellers
Jessica Strawser
Murray Hill
3:00 –
4:00 pm
Panel: Getting Real
About Self-Publishing
Ben Sobieck, Josh
Floyd, CJ Lyons, Kerrie
Flanagan
Murray Hill
3:00 –
4:00 pm
Pitch Slam
Panel: The Seven
(or So) Habits of
Highly Effective
Social Media Stars
Jordan Rosenfeld,
Oliver Jeffers, Jessica
Sinsheimer, Dana
Schwartz, Zachary Petit
(Moderator)
Gramercy West
Authors Without
Borders: How Global
Is the Writer’s
Reach Today
Porter Anderson
Gramercy East
Research for the
Historical Novel:
A Journey from
Now to Then
and Back Again
Donna Russo Morin
Nassau West
Rhinelander
Pulling the Rug Out:
How to Craft Twists
Your Readers Will
Never See Coming
Steven James
Sutton Complex
Writing the Killer
Crime Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
Nassau West
Rhinelander
Humor Sells: How
to Add Funny to
Your Writing
Mark Shatz
Sutton Complex
YA Fiction: What
It Is, Why It’s Hot,
and How to Break
Through
Cheryl Klein
Murray Hill
Rhinelander
Creating Dynamic
Characters that
Come to Life: An
Interactive Workshop
Brenda Janowitz
Sutton Complex
Genre Studies
Panel: Writing about
Yesterday, Today:
The Art & Business
of Historical Fiction
Donna Russo Morin,
Heather Webb, Kim
Van Alkemade, Kristen
Harnisch
Nassau West
Rhinelander
4
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
AGENDA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
Getting
Published
Platform
& Promotion
Building Your
Author Platform
with Magazine Articles
Kerrie Flanagan
Murray Hill
The Business of
Being an Author
From Mire to PageTurning Momentum:
Three Common Plotting
Mistakes that Keep
Writers Frustrated,
Unpublished and
at the Bottom of
the Slush Pile
Annalisa Parent
Sutton Complex
Craft
Take Off Your Pants
and Write! The
Benefits and Pitfalls
of Pantsing vs.
Plotting a Novel
Jeff Somers
Gramercy East
4:15 –
5:15 pm
How to Find
Freelance
Writing Success
Robert Lee Brewer
Gramercy West
5:30 –
6:30 pm
Central Keynote: Why I Write: An Evening With David Baldacci
6:30 –
8:00 pm
Cocktail Reception and Book Signing—Sponsored by: Outskirts Press, Inc. Promenade
Genre Studies
Panel: “You Know
My Methods, Watson”
or: Secrets to
Succeeding as a
Mystery Writer
Libby Cudmore,
Reed Farrel Coleman,
Jane K. Cleland,
Evan Marshall, Paula
Munier (Moderator)
Nassau West
Sutton Complex
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14
Getting
Published
Platform
& Promotion
The Business of
Being an Author
8:00 –
11:15 am
Registration & Exhibits
9:00 –
10:00 am
Dirty Little Secrets:
Learn How the
Publishing Industry
Really Works in Order
to Become a More
Successful Author
Phil Sexton
Murray Hill
10:00 am –
1:30 pm
10:15 –
11:15 am
Panel: Breaking In; First
Time Novelists Share
How They Got Their
Book Published
Libby Cudmore, Sarah
Domet, Elizabeth
Crowens, Michael
Ransom, Meg Leder,
Nicole Dennis-Benn,
Rachel Randall
(Moderator)
Murray Hill
11:30 –
12:30 pm
Closing Keynote: On Writing and Publishing Emily St. John Mandel
12:30 –
1:30 pm
Book Signing with Emily St. John Mandel
Craft
Genre Studies
Promenade
Creating Book
Buzz on a
Shoestring Budget
Kristen Harnisch
Gramercy East
How to Build an
Audience and a
Business With
Your Writing
Robert Lee Brewer
Gramercy West
Becoming Persistent:
How to Survive and
Thrive on the Path
to Publication
Jordan Rosenfeld
Gramercy West
Contracts 101 for Book
Authors: A Workshop
Ryan Fox, Michael Gross
Gramercy East
Rework, Rewrite
and Rock Your
Revisions
Gabriela Pereria &
Elisabeth Kauffman
Sutton Complex
The ABC’s
of Writing
for Children
Debbie Dadey
Nassau West
The Well-Sold
Story: An Agent’s
Secrets to Writing
Stories That Sell
Paula Munier
Sutton Complex
Panel: The Art
(and Science) of
Worldbuilding in
Science Fiction
and Fantasy
Jeff Somers, Debbie
Dadey, Matthew Kressel,
David Mack, Diana Gill
(Moderator)
Nassau
Sutton Complex
Promenade
5
Over 50% of people have
“BECOME AN
AUTHOR”on their
bucket list, but so few put
aside the time to make their
dream come true.
It’s time for your book.
It’s time for a
Date With The Muse.
Date With The Muse can and will help you:
• Get clear about your goals:
> What do you want to write?
> Who is your audience?
> What impact do you want to make?
• Develop a plan for success, so that you reach these goals.
• Create a system for:
> Taking action each week to reach your goals
> Having accountability to support your success
SHOW
SPECIAL
1.
Visit
DateWithTheMuse.com
before the end of
this event.
2.
Choose a date for your
writing consultation.
3.
Enter WD2016 for your
special bonus.
4.
Start your way to
being an author today.
> Addressing any challenges you’re having and meeting your goals
and overcoming any roadblocks to achievement
> Learning from “mistakes” and turning them into opportunities
• Assess your progress and make any necessary
changes to your plan
• Organize and develop your book or book proposal
• Provide feedback on and edit your writing
• Expand your author platform
• Develop a powerful and effective promotion plan for your book
www.DateWithTheMuse.com
@DateAMuse |
@AnnalisaCParent
SESSIONS
10:15 – 11:15 am
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11
3:00 – 5:50 pm
Storytelling Superpower Master Class:
DIY MFA Insiders Program
Gabriela Pereira
* space is limited, available at an additional cost
4:00 – 4:50 pm
Love Between the Covers—Film Screening
Laurie Kahn
6:00 – 6:15 pm
Orientation and Networking Tips
Phil Sexton
The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference begins with a special
orientation session that walks attendees through the logistics of
navigating WD’s biggest event and introduces newer writers to key
concepts, terminology, and business practices in publishing that they
should have a working familiarity with. Writer’s Digest publisher Phil
Sexton will discuss things like ISBNs, co-op, advances, royalties and
more—all the basics you need to improve your understanding of the
sessions to come.
6:15 – 7:15 pm
Publishing 101: Understanding the Deals and
Contract Terms
Marisa A. Corvisiero
Literary agent Marisa A. Coorvisiero demystifies publishing deals
with concise, clear explanations about how deals work, what
contract terms are imprtant, what they mean, and what the industry
standards are. You will gain a solid understanding about what to
expect, and how to negotiate the best deal for your work.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
In this candid, brutally honest, and genuinely funny session, author
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and editor-in-chief Zac Petit will break
own the many critical ins-and-outs of writing for magazines, including the ways in which magazine editors can be divas, how to get their
attention, get published, and begin a successful freelance career.
How to be Your Own Best Publicist
Emily Liebert
Bestselling author Emily Liebert discusses the need in publishing to
become your own cheerleader and publicist. She provides insight,
advice, and anecdotes from her publishing journey to illustrate her
success in this area. Some examples include: how to approach your
contacts about the book to yield best results; social media best
practices and tools leading up to your launch; the reality of book
signings and managing expectations about events; creative ways to
garner maximum attention, including her experience partnering with
brands; and her “I’ll Take It” policy, which encourages writers to jump
at every opportunity that comes their way.
You Spin Me Right Round: New Opportunities
for Writers
Richard Nash
What does it mean to be a writer in a world where seemingly everyone is a writer? Richard Nash, entrepreneur, maverick, and student of
books and media, draws on legal, economic and intellectual history,
on his experience running Soft Skull Press, on the start-ups he’s
founded, and the technology companies for whom he has consulted
to provide an answer. He synthesizes all this in a new framework for
understanding the business of writing and the culture of reading.
You’ll develop a new perspective on the range of opportunities
available to writers which will enable you to make the best choices
in your career.
Nailing the Spike: Creating a Compelling Short Story
April Eberhardt
9:00 – 10:00 am
Pitch Perfect
Chuck Sambuchino
Secrets to Getting Published in Magazines
That Editors Won’t Tell You (But We Will)
Zachary Petit, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Pitch Perfect is open to those who have paid to attend the pitch
slam. If you are pitching, it’s imperative that you attend this session.
This is your chance to capture the attention of agents and editors
who can help bring your book to market. Time is limited, so you need
to make sure your pitch is perfect. Chuck Sambuchino, Writer’s
Digest editor and writer of the Guide to Literary Agents blog,
provides guidelines for honing your pitch, getting comfortable with
presenting and give you the confidence you need to make a great
impression when you pitch.
This unique session focuses on the quick and dramatic arc (i.e. the
spike) required to make a short story stand out, particularly in today’s
competitive publishing environment. Literary agent and short story
expert April Eberhardt will show you how to craft a piece of work
that grabs readers from the first line and makes the biggest possible
impact. You’ll also gain tips and techniques for organizing short story
submissions.
Sexy, Savvy, Sensational Romance: How to
Break into the World’s Most Popular Genre
Isabo Kelly, Nicki Night, Lena Hart, Hope Tarr, Addison Fox,
Laurie Kahn (Moderator)
Industry statistics confirm what most of us have always known.
Romance is THE dominant fiction genre in both print and digital
formats. Romance is more than a billion-dollar-a-year industry and
the RWA confirms (with data from Nielsen Books & Consumer
Tracker) that the romance unit share of adult fiction is 13% of the
8
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SESSIONS
total, while 39% of all romances sold are ebooks (outpacing massmarket sales which weigh in at 32%). The breadth and popularity of
the genre keep growing. If you want to successfully publish in this
hottest of hot genres, be sure to attend this panel and learn how
from the experts.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
The Changing Face of Publishing: New Models
All Authors Need to Know
April Eberhardt
Literary change agent and publishing consultant April Eberhardt leads
a candid discussion of the pros and cons of the full range of publishing options available to authors today. In addition to traditional and
self-publishing, models such as hybrid, partner, cooperative and craft
publishing are increasingly attractive to many authors. Learn the
details of each and how to choose the best publishing path for you.
You’ll learn five questions to ask yourself before embarking on your
publishing career, key steps in evaluating your publishing options
project by project, vetting publishers and freelance service providers,
budgeting essentials, and mistakes to avoid
Writing the Hook for Your Book
Jennifer Wilkov
This sought-after book consultant and host of the radio talk show,
“Your Book Is Your Hook!”, shows you how to master writing your
hook along with your book! Break through the bottlenecks, complete
your hooks, build your platform and start using it to attract more
readers, agents, publishers, publicists, press and clients. You’ll learn
the basics to writing effective hooks, how to capture the attention
of literary agents and professionals with your hook, techniques to
use your hook for TV producers and the media, ways to master
networking introductions with your hook and book inside and
outside of the publishing industry, top strategies to leverage your
hook for various audiences, opportunities and markets, and the
secret to using your book as your “hook” in conversations
Hot Sheet Live: Which Industry Issues Are
Your Business
Porter Anderson
Journalist Porter Anderson created The Hot Sheet with Jane
Friedman to help authors keep up with industry news in a concise
and actionable format – one that enables you to focus on your
writing without missing out on industry events. Anderson looks
at key issues that authors need to assess, and takes questions on
current developments – all with The Hot Sheet’s standard promise:
“no drama, no hype.” From trade publishing’s contract standoff with
the Authors Guild to self-publishing’s new quality control demands
from Amazon, these are the issues that authors spend hours trying
to understand. Cutting through the confusion and recommending
rational approaches to issues is the goal, and your precise concerns
(discoverability? marketing? strategies?) are the point of this session.
Creating Suspense: 13 Techniques to
Make Your Readers Sweat
Jane K. Cleland
Want to improve your story’s pace, while ratcheting up the suspense?
Award-winning author Jane K. Cleland shows how to do it. By
integrating these 13 thinking, writing, and revising techniques into
your writing processes, you’ll learn how to write tight
and polished first drafts. These techniques serve as a
checklist and a mandate. They relate to tightening a
story’s structure, adding complexity to the plot,
integrating backstory, enhancing character motivation,
choosing words for sensual specificity, balancing
narrative with action and dialogue, and improving
both productivity and professionalism.
Panel: Horror-It’s Alive
Matthew Quinn Martin, Grady Hendrix, Robert Swartwood,
Vincent Zandri, Phil Sexton (Moderator)
Horror fiction has had its ups and downs, but is currently experiencing a renaissance of both quality and popularity. In this special
session, we’ll talk about what’s happening to the genre, where it’s
going, and why it’s becoming so popular. Our panelists will also talk
about the surge in short fiction markets for horror as well, and how
to break into them.
1:45 – 2:45 pm
Go Hybrid or Perish: How One Author Learned
(the Hard Way) about the New Necessity of Being
a Hybrid Author
Vincent Zandri
After striking a publishing deal in the late 1990’s a young (and very
naive), Vincent Zandri assumed he’d hit not only pay dirt, but that
he could simply write a novel every two years, collect a quarter of
a million dollars in advance money per book, and live happily ever
after. He didn’t realize that publishing companies don’t always honor
contracts to the letter, especially when their author’s books don’t
sell. This is the story about why and how to diversify your publishing
output—what it means for your work and your career.
Panel: Take Your Book Publicity to the Next Level
Susan Shapiro, Ryan Harbage, Victoria Chow, Renee Watson,
Naomi Rosenblatt, Joseph Alexiou, Jill Bialosky
You probably already know to be nice to your agent, editor and
publicist, and that social media can help publicize your work. But
many published and aspiring authors don’t know that there are easy
ways to increase your visibility and sell your books – to an agent,
editor, book critics, bookstore event planners and readers. This
panel—with a bestselling authors, book editors and agents of many
bestsellers will spill the secrets of how—and why—you should get to
work on your own.
The Writing Life: How to Survive and Succeed Without
Breaking Your Heart or Losing Your Mind
Gabriela Pereira
Here’s the secret about writing: survival (and success) has nothing to
do with talent or technique, it’s all about mindset and attitude. This
is true whether you are just starting out or have been writing for
decades. The most effective way to up your game is to understand
yourself fully, both as a writer and as a person. Gabriela debunks
three myths about writing, shares her secret formula for conquering goals, and walks you through a fundamental technique that will
change your writing process forever. You’ll leave inspired with the
tools you need to write more, write better, write smarter.
9
SESSIONS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
1:45 – 2:45 pm
Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable
Fiction by Breaking the Rules
Steven James
When you focus on what lies at the heart of story—tension, desire,
crisis, escalation, struggle, discovery—rather than plot templates and
formulas, you’ll begin to break out of the box and write fiction that
resonates with your readers. This workshop is filled with practical
insights, new paradigms for understanding story, and easy-toimplement ways to respond to the emerging story rather than fill
in a plot outline.
Panel: The Craft and Business of Women’s Fiction
Jessica Strawser, Brenda Janowitz, Emily Liebert, Sarah
Domet, Catherine McKenzie, Kimiko Nakamura (Moderator)
The First Ten Pages: How to Craft a Beginning
That Hooks Agents, Editors, and Readers
Paula Munier
Agents and editors – even readers – won’t give your work more than
ten pages or so to make an impact. If you haven’t got them hooked by
then, it’s a safe bet you won’t be asked for more material. Make sure
you’ve got the kind of opening they’re looking for! You’ll get to work
with an agent online to review and refine the first ten pages of your
novel. You’ll learn author, literary agent, and editor Paula Munier’s
methods to keep a reader engaged, common mistakes that make
them stop, and the steps you need to correct them.
Panel: Crafting a Standout Thriller that Really Thrills
Vincent Zandri, Ben Sobieck, Steven James, CJ Lyons
This panel examines challenges specific to writing women’s fiction,
one of the hottest and most consistently successful literary genres.
During the session you’ll find out what it took for each author to
break through, what makes women’s fiction distinct and what is it
agents and publishers are looking for. You’ll also have an opportunity
to ask your own questions of the panelists.
Thrillers represent one of the hottest genres on the market today,
with growing popularity. In this panel, you’ll hear from a lineup of
bestselling authors, firearms experts, literary agents and more to
learn what qualities make a thriller stand out in a crowded marketplace, resonate with readers, and keep them coming back for more.
From keeping readers on the edge of their seat, to developing viable
series characters, you’ll learn what it takes to succeed in this everpopular genre.
3:00 – 4:00 pm
4:15 – 5:15 pm
The Effective Query Letter Workshop
Janet Reid
In this session, you’ll learn how to craft a compelling query that
introduces your work and entices a literary agent to ask for more.
Respected literary agent Janet Reid will share with you the key things
to avoid, as well as the things you must include. After the lecture,
Janet will provide plenty of time for Q&A. Bring your own query if
you want it used as a class example. (Not required, of course, but oh,
what an opportunity!)
Opening Keynote: Saying Yes to the
Writerly Life
Kwame Alexander
A bit of conversation, a dash of
storytelling, and a splash of
performance by Kwame Alexander
as he shares from his recent books,
educational insights, and plan to
change the world one word at
a time.
Maximizing Your Business as an Author on Amazon
Jason Kuykendall
This one-of-a-kind session—direct from the heart of Seattle—
revolves around leveraging the tools and services available to
authors on Amazon to publish and promote, as well as info, tips,
and best practices for augmenting visibility and discovery for your
books on Amazon.
Panel: How to Turn Writing Career
Tragedies into Triumphs
Susan Shapiro, Renee Zuckerbrot, Rakia Clark, Wayne Hoffman,
Angie Chen, Kate Walter, Sherry Amatenstein
What do you do if you’re laid off from your full-time job, lose your
best freelance gig, have a piece you love killed, get tons of rejections
for pieces you can publish and nasty critical response on what you
do publish? This panel of top editors, agents & authors will share
their secrets on how to strategize, repackage, reinvent and turn your
failure into a triumph. Remember: no never means no and publishing
well is the best revenge.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
9:00 – 10:00 am
Panel: Cooperative Publishing: The New Wave
Jordan Rosenfeld, C. P. Lesley, April Eberhardt (Moderator)
Many authors are interested in indie publishing, but are reluctant
to take on the business of publishing on their own. Literary agent
April Eberhardt presents a panel of experts who will discuss the
growing trend among indie authors to form literary cooperatives,
enabling them to support one another’s efforts while benefiting from
group collaboration on editing, marketing/promotion, financial and
other aspects of publishing. You will learn whether a cooperative is
the right model for you, how to structure a successful cooperative
model, balancing writing time with business and promotional time
(including social media), and pitfalls to avoid.
10
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SESSIONS
Three Ways to Build a Successful Author Platform
Fauzia Burke
Every author’s online platform is their biggest asset, and creating
one is important for your success. There have never been more
demands on an author’s time than today. In this session, you will
learn which efforts are worth your time and which ones are distractions. Whether you’re an author or someone who advises authors
(publisher, agent or publicist), this session is relevant. You will learn
through examples and case studies how to connect all the elements
of online marketing (website, mailing list, blogging, social media,
advertising and publicity) into a cohesive, successful and sustainable
author platform.
Getting Blood on the Page: From Truman Capote to
Diane Sawyer
Kim Powers
From a searing memoir about a lost twin brother, to a fictionalized
account of the friendship of Truman Capote and Harper Lee, to a
no-holds-barred commercial thriller about the kidnapping of a young
girl, author Kim Powers has loaded the pages of his books with
blood—real emotion that makes an impact on readers. And he writes
about it on a daily basis too, in his work as a journalist at ABC News.
In this look at one busy writer’s career, you’ll learn how to balance
your day job with your writing, imbue your work with emotional
power, and make both pay off.
You Haven’t Scene This Before: Creating Unique &
Compelling Settings
Heather Webb
One of the most compelling elements of any novel is the setting in
which it takes place. If a reader can smell the burning sugarcane in
the hazy Caribbean heat or feel the scratchy mittens that ward off
the chill of an Irish winter, the writer has done their job. But how
does an author create a setting pulsing with life? Author Heather
Webb will illustrate how to create realistic settings using craft
strategies as well as specific examples from her work and expert
writers. You’ll learn techniques of how to transport readers to a
fictional world throbbing with life.
Writing Your Life Story—A New Approach
Richard Campbell
Writing your memoir can be a daunting task. You must choose a
central theme and amplify it into your life story. You make decisions
about the narrative arc, dialogue, and finding your writing style.
Often you must work alone with only tentative support from others.
You feel your own perfectionism. What if I can’t do this? Is there
another way to write my life story? It’s time to rethink the paradigm.
10:15 – 11:15 am
How to Write an Irresistible Nonfiction Book Proposal
Phil Sexton
It’s become more competitive than ever to get your book traditionally
published. Selling your nonfiction book idea, however, is as much a
matter of positioning and platform as it is writing skill. While you
don’t need a completed manuscript to get a book deal,
you do needa compelling business plan that shows
editors and agents that you have a truly salable idea.
Phil Sexton, Writer’s Digest publisher and former book
sales executive, outlines the key components of a
successful nonfiction book proposal. Learn how to craft
a proposal worthy of your idea, while providing the information that publishers, editors, agents, and salespeople
need in order to commit to your book.
Lessons Learned: Four Things I Wish I’d
Known at the Start of My Writing Career
Jane K. Cleland
From knowing specific craft techniques to implementing
efficient promotional strategies (and skipping the rest)
and from building meaningful relationships to understanding the complexities of business, award-winning
author Jane Cleland will discuss four crucial lessons all
authors need to know, and that most only learn the hard way.
10 Things No One Told You about Writing
Weapons in Fiction
Ben Sobieck
This presentation will reveal the pitfalls to avoid and missed opportunities to take advantage of when writing about weapons in fiction.
Learn what to do when your characters aren’t as knowledgeable
about their weapons as you are, how weapons can serve as extensions of the characters using them, how to overcome the nuances
of weapon names and functionality, and more. After learning about
these topics, your readers will be better served by the depth
weapons can bring to a story and you’ll be in a better position to
market yourself as an authoritative writer.
Getting Intimate with Your Characters: Learn to Master
Point of View for Dazzling Character Development
Jordan Rosenfeld
Those books you can’t put down until your eyelids are sandy and
your brain is buzzing at two a.m.—what makes them compelling?
Unforgettable, singular characters. You allow readers to engage with
characters in this deeply intimate way through mastery of point of
view, which is the intimacy through which you share your characters’
experiences and plant the reader right inside the character’s very
skin. Jordan Rosenfeld will discuss character cues and the emotional
layers of each point of view for masterful character development.
YA Fiction: What It Is, Why It’s Hot, and How
to Break Through
Cheryl Klein
The young adult fiction market has seen massive changes in the
past two decades. Executive editor Cheryl Klein, author of the
forthcoming book The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children
and Young Adults, will discuss the reasons the category has grown so
much, and the qualities your novel must have in order to stand out
and succeed, with both editors and readers.
11
SESSIONS
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
Writing the Killer Crime Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Self-Editing for Nonfiction Writers: How to Revise
Your Way to Publication
Rachel Randall
A well-written, organized, clean manuscript bears the mark of professionalism. To set your manuscript apart, eliminate distracting errors,
or convince editors you’re an author worth working with again and
again, you owe it to yourself to learn the tenets of self-editing.
Moreover, self-editing reveals two key points in your book proposal:
the mission statement and the primary audience. In this session,
you’ll learn how to assess and revise your manuscript from both
macro and micro levels, apply the two Big Cs of strong writing, gain
tools and techniques to make the task more manageable, avoid
common mistakes and missteps, and decide if and when to seek
the assistance of a professional. Attend this session and you’ll also
receive invaluable handouts of examples, interactive exercises, style
sheets, checklists and more.
Panel: Effective Marketing Strategies for Authors
Fauzia Burke, Dan Blank, Caroline Leavitt, Amy Quale
The biggest challenge facing an author – whether traditionally
published or self-published – is effectively promoting your work
and motivating the public to buy it. There are many strategies for
doing this right and making the best use of your time. But what if you
haven’t got time and dislike social media? Is it worth setting up book
signings? Are online retailers the key to success? If you’re traditionally published, what are the odds you’ll get marketing support from
your publisher? Should you hire a freelance publicist and, if so, what
should your expectations be? You’ll learn all of this and more.
Your Turn to Ask Anything: A Q&A Session with
Bestselling Author CJ Lyons
CJ Lyons, Porter Anderson
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons
takes your questions on publishing and what it takes to create a
successful career as a novelist. In addition to her self-publishing, CJ—
one of Amazon’s first “Kindle Millionaires”—has also partnered with
major traditional publishers and is constantly experimenting with
new trends such as establishing her own print imprint, Edgy Reads.
She’ll share insights on both the failures and successes that have built
her career. If your goal is to make a living by writing, this is the place
to ask your questions.
Creating Dynamic Characters that Come to Life:
An Interactive Workshop
Brenda Janowitz
How can you create characters that jump off the page, characters
that feel like real, breathing people? Novelist Brenda Janowitz will
discuss where to find inspiration for your characters, how to make
your characters feel authentic, and how to present your characters
in your narrative. Attendees can expect to do writing exercises, and
come away with a clear understanding of how to create a character
study for their characters.
Have a passion for writing crime fiction? In this exclusive session,
Reed Farrel Coleman, a New York Times bestselling master of the
genre, shares his tricks of the trade for success, as well as dos and
the don’ts for getting the attention of agents and editors. He’ll shine
a light into all of the dark places where the best stories about the
worst of us take place.
1:45 – 2:45 pm
An Insider’s Guide to the Editing Process for Novels
Catherine McKenzie
The editing process: how important is it to the final product? How
does it feel to be on the receiving end of edits? What is an editor
looking for from an author in the process? Join author Catherine
McKenzie as she takes you through the process for an eye-opening
look at what happens to your manuscript behind the scenes.
What the Independent Bookstore Resurgence
Means for Authors
Dan Cullen, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo
Nationally, independent bookstores are seeing a resurgence—with
growing sales, new stores opening, established stores expanding,
and a new generation coming into the business as both owner/
managers and frontline booksellers. And more than ever, it’s
independent booksellers who are discovering notable new authors
and helping customers discover their great next reads. In this
informative session, an accomplished bookseller and a senior staff
member of the Association of American Booksellers will discuss
ways authors can more successfully work with both individual indie
bookstores and the larger indie network. Come with your questions
for an informative and engaging discussion.
10 Essential Writing Lessons From 10 Years
of Interviewing Bestsellers
Jessica Strawser
For a decade, Jessica Strawser has been interviewing bestselling
authors for Writer’s Digest—and not only has their advice inspired our
readership, but it’s inspired her—all the way to a two-novel contract
of her own. This session distills 10 years of collected wisdom into the
10 all-time best insights into the creative process, the writing life, the
craft of writing and the business of publishing. Get new perspectives
on revolutionizing your writing routine, following the path of your
story, revising with the right mindset, persevering through rejection,
and empowering yourself—straight from the mouths of awardwinners and bestsellers.
Humor Sells: How to Add Funny to Your Writing
Mark Shatz
To write funny, you must think funny. In this insightful session,
Dr. Mark Shatz, author of the top-selling humor writing book,
Comedy Writing Secrets (3rd ed), describes strategies for maximizing
your funny in any piece of writing you may attempt, whether fiction,
essays, memoirs, or articles.
12
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SESSIONS
Research for the Historical Novel: A Journey from
Now to Then and Back Again.
Donna Russo Morin
Whether history is a backdrop to your story or the focus of the story,
this workshop will take you along the path to the ‘then’ of your story
upon the many stepping stones of research. Learn from an awardwinning internationally published author of historical fiction how to
find the facts you need. Explore the obvious—and the many not so
obvious—sources of research material: how to find it, how to organize it, and how to use it. Discover the war between verisimilitude
and anachronism, to reign triumphantly with authenticity.
3:00 – 4:00 pm
Panel: Getting Real About Self-Publishing
Ben Sobieck, Josh Floyd, CJ Lyons, Karrie Flanagan
Don’t miss this if you’re interested in self-publishing! A panel of
industry experts and bestselling self-published authors discuss the
trials, tribulations and reality of indie publishing. You’ll hear the dirt
on what it takes to succeed, pitfalls to avoid, and what small victories
you might experience along the way to self-publishing success. This
panel consists of professionals who know the industry best and
authors who have succeeded as both artists as well as businesspeople. Ask your questions, get real answers, and discover how to
overcome the challenges and revel in the benefits that this method
of publishing brings.
Panel: The Seven (or So) Habits of Highly Effective
Social Media Stars
Jordan Rosenfeld, Oliver Jeffers, Jessica Sinsheimer, Dana Schwartz
Zachary Petit (Moderator)
Most writers aren’t social media superstars. We’re going to talk to
authors and agents who are and find out how and why social media
matters in the modern publishing world and targeted tips that
writers can put into practice to boost their social media game … and
ultimately their careers. We’ll discuss how to remain authentic to
your own voice in order to build a following and engage with it, how
to manage your time (and sanity), and how to truly take your platform
to the next level.
Authors Without Borders: How Global Is the
Writer’s Reach Today
Porter Anderson
The digital revolution should offer the chance to make your work
available anywhere, but checking a box by France during your Kobo
upload doesn’t mean you’ll be selling books in Paris. Supportive
services are coming into focus for internationally minded authors, but
all challenges in going offshore are not easily handled. There are pain
points—including pricing—to consider if you want to be read abroad.
Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of the leading international books
business magazine, Publishing Perspectives, looks at avenues and dead
ends encountered when “going global.” He takes your questions on
how to get offshore in meaningful and effective ways and runs up a
few warning flags about where those exotic shores get rocky.
Pulling the Rug Out: How to Craft Twists
Your Readers Will Never See Coming
Steven James
Readers want to predict how a story will end, but they
want to be wrong—yet still satisfied. Everyone tells you
to include a good twist, yet no one tells you how. Until
now. In this seminar you’ll discover how to develop
endings that leave your readers stunned, thrilled, and
panting for more.
Panel: Writing about Yesterday, Today:
The Art & Business of Historical Fiction
Donna Russo Morin, Heather Webb, Kim Van Alkemade,
Kristen Harnisch
Historical fiction is one of publishing’s most popular genres, as
well as being one of the most challenging to write. In this insightful
session, our panelists will examine the peculiar difficulties associated
with crafting convincing, artful historical fiction that sweeps readers
away without bogging them down in endless details and descriptions.
We’ll also talk about how the historical fiction market has changed
and what it takes to get published and read today.
4:15 – 5:15 pm
How to Find Freelance Writing Success
Robert Lee Brewer
In this session, editor, author and poet Robert Brewer will examine
the current freelance writing landscape, identify strategies you can
employ to find work, and show you how to take your freelance
writing efforts to the next level. If you want to generate clients,
make money and get paid, this is the session for you!
Building Your Author Platform with Magazine Articles
Kerrie Flanagan
Writing and submitting magazine articles is a great way to expand
your audience and build your platform. This interactive presentation
will cover how to come up with ideas, how to reach your target
market and tips to writing an effective query letter. Participants will
leave with a basic knowledge of how to write for magazines along
with a list of potential topics to begin writing about. Writing for
magazines is an important marketing tool that many authors don’t
take advantage of and this workshop will give you everything you
need to strengthen your platform through writing and publishing
articles.
13
SESSIONS
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14
4:15 – 5:15 pm
9:00 – 10:00 am
Three Common Plotting Mistakes that Keep Writers
Frustrated, Unpublished and at the Bottom of the
Slush Pile
Annalisa Parent
Dirty Little Secrets: Learn How the Publishing
Industry Really Works in Order to Become a More
Successful Author
Phil Sexton
In this session, author and writing coach Annalisa Parent will walk
you through a straightforward system for plotting your fiction to
ensure that your readers keep turn pages until The End. You’ll learn
how and when should backstory be used, where is the best point in
the narrative to start your story, and what’s the most effective way
to build to the climax. You’ll walk away with information, handouts,
and resources, so that you can cross “becoming an author” off of
your bucket list.
Take Off Your Pants and Write! The Benefits and
Pitfalls of Pantsing vs. Plotting a Novel
Jeff Somers
There are some writers who are content to make it up as they go—
flying by the seat of their pants, as it were. Other writers need a
more tangible plot outline crafted in advance, one which they follow
closely as they write. It keeps them on track and ensures that their
story proceeds—and ends—the way they expected. There are pros
and cons to both “pantsing” and “plotting”, however. Novelist Jeffrey
Somers shows how each method works, how to overcome each
method’s weaknesses, and how to determine which method is the
right one for you—or if a hybrid approach called Plantsing is the ideal.
Panel: “You Know My Methods, Watson” or:
Secrets to Succeeding as a Mystery Writer
Libby Cudmore, Reed Farrel Coleman, Jane K. Cleland, Evan Marshall,
Paula Munier (Moderator )
Death, deduction, red herrings, and clues all factor into what makes
the mystery genre so exciting. During this panel, an exciting lineup of
bestselling and award-winning mystery novelists will detail exactly
what defines a good mystery, what special or unique considerations
the genre may require of an author, and how to write a mystery that
attracts both industry pros and readers alike.
5:30 – 6:30 pm
Central Keynote: Why I Write:
An Evening With David Baldacci
David Baldacci will talk books and writing,
share amusing stories from the road, and
discuss the importance of literacy.
Most authors assume that agents will handle the business end of an
author’s relationship with their publisher. There are critical things
that happen at a publishing house that agents don’t ask about and
may not be aware of. You’re responsible to know what’s happening,
why, and how to turn it to your advantage. It can make or break the
success of your book—even your career! Writer’s Digest publisher
Phil Sexton examines ten key questions you should be asking your
publisher, and will provide advice, tips, and strategies for ensuring
that your book is given the attention it deserves.
Creating Book Buzz on a Shoestring Budget
Kristen Harnisch
Internationally published, award-winning author Kristen Harnisch
will help you determine what’s unique about your book or your
personal story, and how to use it to market your book on a budget.
You’ll learn how to design a professional tip sheet, press kit and
press release, how to leverage your contacts, how to maximize
opportunities with libraries, book clubs, contests and conferences,
how to identify & approach local clubs, schools, universities and
more, and how to market your book authentically—in a way that’s fun
and financially savvy. As a bonus, you’ll walk away with an outline for
a cost-effective sales plan!
Becoming Persistent: How to Survive and
Thrive on the Path to Publication
Jordan Rosenfeld
Many writers strive to find an audience in what has become a
quick-changing publishing landscape. This can make the path to
publication fraught with many frustrations and discouragement.
Jordan Rosenfeld will show you how to sustain an unshakable writing
practice through the mastery of persistence skills such as: building
boundaries around your writing time; carving out distractions;
collaborating with others; learning when to walk away, and when to
try again. You’ll explore strategies for how to recover after rejection
or criticism; how to write authentically and tackle taboo subjects;
and how to stay committed to the craft among other things.
Rework, Rewrite and Rock Your Revisions
Gabriela Pereria, Elisabeth Kauffman
Most people think revision is something you do in an afternoon,
manuscript and red pen in hand. They think once that first draft is
done, the book is practically finished. Writers know better. You know
that revising your fiction while trying to juggle all the story elements
at once will leave you frustrated and your manuscript in shambles.
Gabriela Pereria and Elisabeth Kauffman walk you through Pereria’s
signature Pyramid Method for revision, a layer-by-layer approach
for a smoother revision and a stronger final draft. You’ll discover a
concrete plan and actionable timeline so you can power through
your revisions.
14
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SESSIONS
The ABC’s of Writing for Children
Debbie Dadey
Bestselling children’s author Debbie Dadey will take you through
the ABC’s of everything she wished she’d known when she first
started writing for children, 166 books and 42 million copies ago.
Have questions about getting started, finding success and maintaining a career as a children’s author? You’ll find all of the answers here.
10:15 – 11:15 am
Panel: Breaking In; First Time Novelists Share
How They Got Their Book Published
Libby Cudmore, Sarah Domet, Elizabeth Crowens, Michael Ransom,
Meg Leder, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Rachel Randall (Moderator)
Each year, thousands of writers try to break through the wall of
agents, editors, and other gatekeepers to get their novels published.
Only a small percentage succeed. In this panel, you’ll hear from
authors who just broke through with publishing houses both small
and large. You’ll learn what it took for each of them to secure a deal,
what the reality of that experience was, the disappointments and the
victories, and the lessons learned along the way. It’s a crash course
on the real-world issues of getting an agent, getting published, and
making a life as a writer.
How to Build an Audience and a Business With
Your Writing
Robert Lee Brewer
In this session, editor and author Robert Lee Brewer provides an
expansive lecture detailing how writers can find work, grow their
audience, and build an actual business with their writing. You’ll learn
how to set goals and create an actionable plan, as well as how to
capitalize on publishing opportunities, contests, freelance work, and
more. You’ll also get Robert’s invaluable advice on developing your
professional presence – everything from finances and contracts to
websites, blogs and social media.
Contracts 101 for Book Authors: A Workshop
Ryan Fox, Michael Gross
A publishing contract can determine an author’s income, rights, and
liabilities, often for decades after it’s signed. It’s one of the most
important documents a writer will encounter, and it’s also one of the
most baffling—but it doesn’t have to be. This workshop, run by a team
of the Authors Guild’s legal experts, will arm authors working with or
without an agent with the knowledge and negotiating
skills to get the most out of their book deals before,
during and after signing, focusing on critical provisions,
perils to avoid, and what needs to change in many
standard publishing agreements to bring them into
the 21st century.
The Well-Sold Story: An Agent’s Secrets
to Writing Stories That Sell
Paula Munier
In today’s tough and volatile publishing environment, what you don’t
know about the commercial viability of your story can definitely hurt
you. Literary agent Paula Munier reveals the little-known factors that
affect your ability to sell your work, and what you can do about it.
Panel: The Art (and Science) of Worldbuilding in
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Jeff Somers, Debbie Dadey, Matthew Kressel, David Mack, Diana
Gill (Moderator)
Writing speculative fiction requires a level of imaginative thinking
unmatched by other genres. And yet, it’s not simply a matter of wild
creativity. The people, places, environments, political systems, flora
and fauna must all adhere to an internal logic, being both fantastic,
yet believable. We’ll examine what special considerations are
required when writing superior fantastic fiction and how to address
those considerations properly, without limiting the power, impact,
or pace of your story.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Closing Keynote: A Look at Craft
Emily St. John Mandel
In this lecture, National Book Award
Finalist Emily St. John Mandel talks
about her craft of writing and
structuring non-linear novels,
including examples and analysis
of non-linear structures in other
writers’ works. Mandel will also
discuss the process of writing
literary fiction that flirts with
genre and where she finds
inspiration for her work.
Notes
15
Self-Publish Like a Pro with
IngramSpark
Begin Your Self-Publishing Journey at Booth #5
ADVANCE PROFESSIONALLY AS A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR WITH
ACCESS TO:
•
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•
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•
Educational opportunities through our free e-newsletter, blogs, downloadable
guides, and webinars
ALL FROM ONE SIMPLE-TO-USE PLATFORM.
Stop by Booth #5 to learn more about self-publishing and
IngramSpark. And see us on the panel:
Getting Real About Self-Publishing | August 13 @ 3:00 p.m.
It’s your content.
We just help you do more with it.
VISIT US ONLINE!
www.ingramspark.com
AGENTS/EDITORS
MARILYN ALLEN
Allen O’Shea Literary
Marilyn seeks young adult fiction as well
as nonfiction books with solid marketing
platforms in the areas of health, cooking,
history, lifestyle, business, science, current
affairs, crafts and narrative nonfiction.
KURESTIN ARMADA
P.S. Literary
Kurestin is actively acquiring upmarket and
commercial fiction, magic realism, science
fiction, fantasy, alternative history, historical
fiction, LGBTQ (any genre), select young adult
and middle grade, graphic novels, mystery
(including mystery with elements of SF/F),
and romance. In nonfiction, she is looking for
design, cooking, pop psychology, humor,
narrative, photography, and pop science.
AMELIA APPEL
McIntosh & Otis, Inc.
Amelia is looking to represent primarily adult
fiction with some young adult. For adult, she
is most interested in literary fiction, mystery,
thriller, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Projects with a smart, distinct
voice, a fantastic setting to jump into, and/or
a witty protagonist are all up her alley. For YA
in particular she’s interested in stories with a
savvy protagonist and a slightly dark tone that
deals with serious coming-of-age issues well.
NOAH BALLARD
Curtis Brown, Ltd
Noah specializes in literary debuts, upmarket
thrillers and narrative nonfiction, and he is
always on the look-out for honest and provocative new writers.
westerns. Her books are mainly erotic romance
with elements of BDSM and domestic discipline. They range from “sweet” to “smoking.”
She likes her books to have a “Happily Ever
After” or “Happily for Now.”
JOCQUELLE CAIBY
Serendipity Literary
Jocquelle specializes in young adult fiction,
gravitating mostly towards the subgenres of
fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, and horror. She
loves stories that take her on an adventure with
vividly imagined and well developed characters,
and is particularly struck by stories that surprise
her with shocking plot twists and gasp-inducing
revelations. For adult fiction, she is primarily
interested in literary and historical fiction, as
well as novels with an anthropological bent.
Her interests in nonfiction include mind/body/
spirit titles, professional wrestling, and mental
health projects.
KIRSTEN CARLETON
Prospect Agency
Kirsten is currently seeking upmarket YA and
adult fiction with strong characters and storytelling, across speculative, thriller, and literary
genres. She’s drawn to books that capture her
attention early on with a dynamic plot, and
innovative storytelling that blends or crosses
genres. In particular, she’s interested in novels
that bend and blur genres; literary takes on
high concept worldbuilding; diverse characters
in stories that are not just about diversity; antiheroes she find herself rooting for; characters
with drive and passion; girls and women in
STEM fields; settings outside the US/Europe;
well-researched historical settings; YA noir/
thriller/mystery; stories that introduces her to
a new subculture and makes her feel
like a native.
AYANNA COLEMAN
Quill Shift Literary Agency
Ayanna is looking for middle grade and young
adult fiction in all genres. Bring her stories with
plucky, realistic characters that represent our
multicultural society who grow throughout
an engrossing plot in a setting that sucks the
reader in.
ELIZABETH COPPS
Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc.
Elizabeth represents a wide range of fiction
and nonfiction. For fiction, she seeks action/
adventure, children’s, commercial, family saga,
historical, horror, humor, LGBTQ, literary,
middle grade, mystery, thriller, women’s fiction,
and young adult. She’s an equal fan of hilarious
stories as well as dark, gritty and sinister reads.
Her nonfiction interests include humor, travel,
and pop culture.
MARISA CORVISIERO
Corvisiero Literary Agency
Marisa specializes in adult and new adult romance (contemporary and historical), women’s
fiction, gay fiction, fantasy, paranormal, thriller,
suspense, and adventure; and all categories
of children’s books, from picture and chapter
books to middle grade and young adult fiction,
with a keen interest in fantasy, sci-fi, thriller,
romance (YA only), and chick and lad lit. She
loves genre combinations. Her nonfiction preferences are mainstream science (from physics
to environmental topics), politics, law, finance,
how to books, decorating, cookbooks, and self
help.
REBECCA BUGGER
Serendipity Literary
Rebecca is currently seeking nonfiction projects (narrative, memoir, investigative) that are
related to fitness, nutrition, health and wellness,
sports (especially those with a psychological
spin), youth sports, theology, military, and
politics. She also has an avid interest in any
projects related to musical theater, Broadway, Touring Broadway, and Off-Broadway.
Within all of these categories, she has a specific
interest in projects that hold the potential for
additional branding opportunities. For fiction,
she is currently interested in literary fiction,
middle grade, and children’s books by athletes,
actors, journalists, politicians, musicians, and
authors who have been traditionally published
previously in the market.
BETHANY BURKE
Blushing Books
Bethany seeks well written historical fiction
romance. She would love to be pitched time
travel romances, stories with Cowboys, and
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17
AGENTS/EDITORS
RACHEL CRAWFORD
DIANA FINCH
STACEY FRIEDBERG
Wolf Literary
Rachel is looking for literary and commercial
fiction and YA. She’s interested in stories
that defy genre conventions and play with
reader expectations, and enjoys dystopian,
eco-fiction, and apocalyptic narratives, as
well as anything with a scientist protagonist.
She’s also looking for fiction that explores
big ideas and stories from traditionally
underrepresented voices. In non-fiction she’s
interested in tech, futurism, psychology,
environment, and science.
Diana Finch Literary Agency
Diana represents many journalists and has
good success recently with books about
environmental issues, business (both narrative and how-to), politics—especially the
progressive kind—sports and science. In
fiction, she looks for a distinctive voice
and strong storytelling. One of her newest
clients is a YA novelist with a fantasy dystopian trilogy, and she is happy to say that she
signed a novelist from a previous Writer’s
Digest Pitch Slam.
Dial Books For Young Readers
Stacey works on everything in the kidlit
realm from picture books through YA. Stacey
is always looking for voice driven books—
specifically, she loves emotional YA with
depth and funny, smart middle grade. Stacey
is open to immersive, original science fiction
and fantasy, but she is not interested in
books with romance as the A-plot.
KERRY D’AGOSTINO
HEATHER FLAHERTY
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Kerry seeks adult literary fiction as well as
adult mainstream (upmarket / book club)
fiction.
The Bent Agency
Heather is currently looking for middle
grade, young adult, and select adult fiction
and nonfiction projects. For YA, she considers
all genres, and loves an authentic teen voice.
For MG, she’s looking for realistic stories
about coping or coming-of-age. In adult, she
wants upmarket fiction, female-centric thrillers, and commercial women’s fiction. And
finally in nonfiction, she’d like to see humor,
pop culture, and social-media based projects,
as well as teen memoir.
JESS DALLOW
Rebecca Friedman Lit Agency
Jess specializes in YA and adult, with a keen
interest in contemporary, thriller, romance,
and women’s fiction.
KAYLEE DAVIS
Dee Mura Literary
Kaylee is actively acquiring middle grade,
young adult, and adult fiction—particularly
sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, literary, and
LGBTQ. She is drawn to exciting, thoughtprovoking stories with a fresh perspective
that explores what it means to be human.
She loves plot twists, genre-bending,
unlikely allies, flawed heroes, and stories
that are both literally and figuratively out of
this world.
STEPHANIE DELMAN
Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc.
Stephanie represents adult fiction, with
particular enthusiasm for literary novels,
near-historical fiction set in the past 200
years, multigenerational family sagas, upmarket women’s/book club fiction, and certain
psychological thrillers, suspense, and literary
mysteries.
ELISE ERICKSON
Harold Ober Associates
Elise is looking for romance and all of its
subgenres, women’s fiction, paranormal,
mystery including clever cozy mysteries,
thrillers, historical fiction, commercial literary fiction, and some YA. She is particularly
drawn to stories that contain a strong sense
of place, and female protagonists with
unique, compelling voices.
CAITIE FLUM
Liza Dawson Associates
Caitie specializes in middle grade and young
adult fiction of all genres. She is especially
interested in contemporary, mystery,
romance, and science fiction and fantasy
(including crossovers to adult market). In
adult fiction, she is looking for women’s fiction, contemporary romance, historicals, and
mysteries and thrillers of all kinds. In nonfiction she is looking for narrative nonfiction,
politics, theater, and memoir.
ROZ FOSTER
Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Roz is interested in nonfiction in the areas
of politics, history, current affairs, memoir,
business, technology, sociology, cultural
studies, urban studies, science and design.
She’s also interested in literary and commercial fiction. Across the board, she’s looking
for books that make her feel like the author
is tuned into a rising revolution—political,
cultural, sociological, or whatnot—that’s
about to burst on the scene. She’s specifically not interested in sports, cookbooks,
screenplays, poetry, romance, fantasy, sci-fi,
new adult, young adult or children’s books.
CONNOR GOLDSMITH
Fuse Literary
Connor is seeking sci-fi/fantasy/horror,
thrillers, upmarket commercial fiction, and
literary fiction with a unique and memorable
hook. he is especially interested in books
by and about people from marginalized perspectives, such as LGBT people and/or racial
minorities. Connor does not represent young
adult, middle grade, or children’s manuscripts
at this time. In nonfiction, Connor is only
seeking authors who are recognized experts
with established platforms. Fields of interest
include history (particularly of the ancient
world), theater, cinema, music, television,
mass media, popular culture, feminism and
gender studies, LGBT issues, race relations,
and the sex industry. He is not interested in
memoir.
MARK GOTTLIEB
Trident Media Group
Mark represents the following fiction
genres: African-American, comedy, humor,
comix, graphic novels, historical, horror,
literary, mystery, thrillers, science fiction,
fantasy, Western, young adult, picture
books, middle grade, young adult, new adult,
and women’s. In nonfiction, he seeks arts,
cinema, photography, biography, memoir,
history, mind, body, spirit, narrative nonfiction, politics, current affairs, pop culture,
entertainment, relationships, family, science,
technology, self-help, sports, travel, world
cultures, and true crime.
KATHY GREEN
Kathryn Green Literary Agency
Kathy is currently seeking cozy mysteries
with fresh angles and interesting locales,
upmarket women’s fiction (think the next
Liane Moriarity), and police procedurals with
female protagonists. For nonfiction she likes
quirky projects and narrative nonfiction
with a laser focus on one subject. Also seeks
contemporary realistic YA fiction and middle
grade with heart.
18
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
AGENTS/EDITORS
WENDI GU
ANNIE HWANG
EVAN MARSHALL
Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
Wendi likes puns, quirky humor, girl power,
and cute animals in picture books, middlegrade, and young adult fiction. She’s also
looking for literary middle grade, young
adult, or adult fiction on the first-generation
American experience. Although she leans
towards contemporary fiction, Wendi first
and foremost appreciates anything character
driven with a strong voice.
Folio Literary
Specializes in all categories of literary and
upmarket fiction. She’s especially drawn to
historical novels and psychological thrillers.
In addition, she loves working with debut
authors who have a gift for storytelling and
are able immerse her deep within a wellbuilt world in the space of a few sentences.
Braided narratives, layered plots, and characters with deep emotional resonance all
occupy a strong place in her heart. Annie
is also open to nonfiction in the categories
of pop science, diet/health/fitness, food,
lifestyle, humor, pop culture, and select
narrative nonfiction.
Evan Marshall Agency
Evan seeks fantasy/science fiction, historical
fiction, horror, LGBT, mainstream, mystery,
romance, paranormal/urban fantasy, suspense/thriller, women’s fiction, and young
adult
SERENE HAKIM
Ayesha Pande Literary
Serene is actively seeking young adult (all
subgenres, but in particular: sci-fi and fantasy
with a unique hook, and realistic YA with
diverse characters), upmarket women’s fiction, and anything that gives voice to those
whose voices are underrepresented and/or
marginalized. Stories dealing with the Middle
East and the variety of immigrant experiences out there will definitely catch her eye.
Intriguing female characters are also a huge
plus. For nonfiction, she is seeking humorous
and fascinating memoirs, and is particularly
interested in LGBTQ and feminist issues.
SHANNON HASSAN
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Shannon represents authors of literary and
commercial fiction, young adult and middle
grade fiction, and select nonfiction. With
respect to fiction, she is drawn to fresh
voices, compelling characters, and crisp
prose, and enjoys both contemporary and
historical settings. For nonfiction, she is
interested in exceptional narratives from
authors with strong platforms. Based in
Boulder, Colorado, she is also eager to hear
from authors with a unique perspective on
the New West.
NORMA PEREZ-HERNANDEZ
Kensington Publishing (Editor)
Norma is interested in romance, young adult,
mysteries, women’s fiction, and nonfiction.
MIKE HOOGLAND
Dystel & Goderich Literary
Management
Mike represents sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, upmarket women’s fiction, and some children’s
books (picture books, MG, and YA), as well
as a wide variety of narrative nonfiction,
including science, history, and politics. He
is particularly interested in seeing thoughtprovoking, realistic
speculative fiction.
ANDY KIFER
The Gernert Co.
Andy likes literary fiction, smart genre fiction
(especially sci-fi), and nonfiction by brilliant
writers who can make you fall in love with a
subject you never knew you cared about.
PETER KNAPP
New Leaf Literary
Peter represents authors of middle grade
and young adult fiction across all genres, and
he’s also seeking out smart, high-concept
adult fiction. He is genre-agnostic, as long
as the writing is great—meaning a standout
voice, complex characters (not just the protagonist), and plotting that keeps the reader
hooked from the first page through to the
very end. In middle grade, he likes literary
award-contenders, epic adventures (fantastical or not) and everything in-between. He
has a special place in his heart for middle
grade that is spooky, funny, irreverent—or
all three. In YA, he wants character-driven
contemporary, magical realism, epic fantasy
(but it must feel fresh), and realistic stories
with some type of twist (speculative, fantastical or otherwise). For adult fiction, he
wants high concept, voice-driven stories,
ranging from the highly commercial (such as
The Martian or Blake Crouch’s books) to the
more literary. For all ages, Peter is always on
the lookout for character-driven horror and
suspense.
BIBI LEWIS
Ethan Ellenberg Agency
Bibi is actively looking for young adult,
middle grade, and picture books, as well as
adult commercial and women’s fiction. In all
both children’s and adult, she enjoys character-driven contemporary realism, fantasy,
mysteries, thrillers, historicals, and humor.
ED MAXWELL
Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
Ed is seeking narrative nonfiction authors,
graphic novelists, as well as children’s book
authors who also illustrate. He is especially
interested in working with authors who may
publish across different genres and formats—
scholarly and trade—over the course of their
careers. Ed hopes to connect with authors
of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and
voices. He represents some fiction—ideadriven literary fiction and upmarket sci-fi.
He likes working with diverse writers. He
is expressly interested in fiction and fiction
writers who are reflecting on social justice,
cultural justice, civil discourse, and synthesis.
CAITLIN MCDONALD
Donald Maass Literary Agency
Caitlin represents adult and young adult
speculative fiction, primarily science-fiction,
fantasy, horror, and related subgenres, as
well as contemporary fiction about geeky
characters. She is always looking for fun,
clever projects featuring badass women,
diverse worldbuilding, tropes and genrebending, heists, and LGBTQ protagonists.
She also handles a small amount of nonfiction in geeky areas, with a focus on feminist
theory/women’s issues and pop culture.
KATE MCKEAN
Howard Morhaim Literary
Kate seeks contemporary romance, contemporary women’s fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction set in the 20th Century, high
fantasy, magical realism, and science fiction.
For children/teens, she seeks middle grade,
young adult in the areas of mystery, thriller,
horror, romance, LGBTQ issues, contemporary fiction, sports, magical realism, fantasy,
and science fiction. In nonfiction for adults
or children/teens, she reps books by authors
with demonstrable platforms in the areas of
sports, food writing, humor, design, creativity, and craft (sewing, knitting, etc.). She is
not looking for novellas, poetry, screenplays
or children’s picture books.
19
AGENTS/EDITORS
PENNY MOORE
CARRIE PESTRITTO
FinePrint Literary
Penny specializes in children’s books, including young adult, middle grade, and picture
books, with a strong interest in fantasy,
sci-fi, historical fiction, and contemporary
romance. She’s a proponent of We Need
Diverse books, and is always on the lookout
for books with memorable voices. Her adult
categories include women’s fiction, fantasy,
and literary fiction.
Prospect Agency
Carrie is currently seeking narrative nonfiction, biography/memoir, commercial fiction
with a literary twist, fresh chick lit, contemporary romance, upmarket women’s fiction,
near-historical fiction (from about the Gilded
Age on), mystery/thrillers for a female audience, high-concept YA fantasy, diverse YA
and upper MG, middle grade with a quirky
voice, biographical, educational, or cultural picture books. For nonfiction projects,
she looks for authors that have a strong
platform, such as a popular blog, published
articles, or related professional experience.
Cutting edge relationship or dieting books,
pop psychology, and pop science also
interest her. She is not currently interested
in heavy, adult science fiction/fantasy or
picture books that do not fit the parameters
listed above.
DEE MURA
Dee Mura Literary
Dee is currently seeking high-stakes,
character-driven fiction in the genres of:
mystery, thriller, espionage, action/adventure, and military. For nonfiction, she is seeking: history, politics, true crime, biography,
and memoir. She also has a soft spot for any
genre that celebrates humor, animals, and
contemporary life.
KIMIKO NAKAMURA
Dee Mura Literary
Kimiko represents fiction in YA and adult
within the genres of contemporary, literary,
historical, and women’s fiction. She loves
projects that reimagine what’s possible,
characters with something (or nothing) to
lose, unique viewpoints, trailblazing heroines,
and anything with elements of magical
realism. For nonfiction she represents cookbooks and memoirs. On her bookshelf and
in her inbox, she looks for cookbooks she
can read like the Sunday morning paper and
daring memoirs of people making their mark
on the world.
RICK PASCOCELLO
Glass Literary
Rick is interested in working with nonfiction
authors who bring a unique perspective to
memoir, biography, business, history, narrative nonfiction, sports, popular culture, social
commentary and other thought-provoking
ideas, as well as mainstream and literary
fiction writers whose voices ring true on
every page.
SHARON PELLETIER
Dystel & Goderich Literary
Management
Sharon Pelletier ( specializes in suspense
fiction, from psychological thrillers to
domestic suspense to procedural mysteries with a fresh twist. She is also interested
in upmarket women’s fiction and narrative
nonfiction.
KELLY PETERSON
Corvisiero Literary
Kelly is seeking middle-grade in the areas of
fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction. She
seeks young adult in the areas of fantasy
(all types), steampunk, science fiction, paranormal, historical (nineteenth century and
earlier, with strong heroines), dystopian
(hold the cyborgs, the scorch, and diseases,
please), sword and sorcery, a very selective
few for contemporary romance, and any
combination of the above with strong,
female main characters. In new adult, she
likes the areas of fantasy, paranormal,
romance, and historical romance. Lastly, she
seeks adult fantasy and adult romance. Her
truest passion is for young adult fantasy.
BETH PHELAN
The Bent Agency
Beth represents authors of fiction and some
nonfiction. She is most interested in smart,
heartfelt young adult fiction, from contemporary to fantasy, literary and commercial;
adult contemporary romance, as well as
upmarket suspense and thrillers; the occasional middle grade project, preferably with
a literary bent; and select nonfiction, specifically cookbooks and pop culture/humor.
TANUSRI PRASANNA
HSG Agency
Tanusri is interested in all sorts of kidlit,
ranging from picture books and middle grade
to YA (including YA/Adult crossovers).
Tanusri is drawn to storytellers who deftly
inveigle readers into their intricately-crafted
plots with great voice and a touch of humor,
and to writers with a vivid sense of the
absurd. And while her primary interest is
kidlit, she is also open to selective domestic
suspense (Tana French and Sophie Hannah
are two of her favorite authors in the genre)
and voice-driven narrative nonfiction on
social justice issues.
LISA RODGERS
Jabberwocky Literary
Lisa specializes in science fiction, fantasy,
and romance genre fiction for adult, young
adult, and middle grade readerships. She’s
looking for manuscripts with strong writing
and voice, and fully-realized characters and
worldbuilding. She’s also open to nonfiction
about crafting like knitting and crochet.
RITA ROSENKRANZ
Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency
Rita seeks adult nonfiction, including health,
history, parenting, music, how-to, popular
science, business, biography, popular reference, memoir, cooking, spirituality, sports
and general interest titles. Rita works with
major publishing houses, as well as regional
publishers that handle niche markets. She
looks for projects that present familiar
subjects freshly or lesser-known subjects
presented commercially.
GRACE ROSS
Denise Shannon Literary Agency
Grace is interested in literary fiction that
experiments with form and speaks to the
current cultural climate; historical fiction;
international narratives; and dynamic plots
that bridge genres. In nonfiction, she is
looking for socially and politically conscious
narratives, especially those that engage with
cultural conversations about gender, race,
and class in an accessible way; but she’s also
drawn to popular science, biography, cultural
theory, and memoir.
ERIC RUBEN
Eric Ruben
Eric Ruben is an attorney and literary
agent who is currently interested in YA, all
romance, erotica, LGBT, mystery and more.
Early in her career, Eric suggested that NY
Times best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann write about Navy SEALs as heroes and
helped create the genre of romantic military
suspense. He is NOT accepting screenplays,
picture books, children’s books, nonfiction,
cookbooks, memoir, short stories, novellas,
graphic novels or poetry.
20
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
AGENTS/EDITORS
PETER RUBIE
ANJALI SINGH
FinePrint Literary Management
Peter represents books on business, history,
popular science, technology, parenting,
music, food, health, and self-help. In fiction,
he likes literary fiction, crime, thrillers,
science fiction, middle grade, and young
adult fiction. He very much enjoys narrative
nonfiction, memoir, and biography.
Pande Literary
Anjali is looking for new voices, characterdriven fiction or non-fiction works that
reflect an engagement with the world, literary thrillers, memoirs, YA and Middle Grade
stories and graphic novels for both children
and adults.
between categories, or you are not sure of
the category, pitch and we’ll let you know if
we’d like to take a look.” Note that she does
not represent picture books, plays, short
stories, poetry, academic, or memoir.
JAIDA TEMPERLY
Sarah Jane Freymann Literary
Katherine likes books that have a clear
benefit for readers’ lives in categories of
food, travel, lifestyle, home arts, beauty,
wisdom, relationships, parenting, and fresh
looks, which might be at issues, life challenges or popular culture. For compelling
reads in faction, memoir and femoir, she
likes to be transported to a world rarely or
newly observed; for fiction, she wants to be
compelled and propelled.
Sarah Jane Freymann Literary
Sarah is seeking: picture books, young adult,
upmarket genre fiction (especially women’s/
romance/erotica, thrillers, mysteries) and—on
the nonfiction side—psychology, parenting,
self-help, cookbooks, memoirs, and works
that speak to life in the twenty-first century.
She especially likes highbrow sentences with
lowbrow content, smart/nerdy protagonists,
vivid descriptions of food, picture books
with non-human characters, and justified
acts of bravery.
LYDIA SHAMAH
LAUREN SPIELLER
Carol Mann Agency
Lydia seeks adult, young adult and
middle grade fiction, as well as nonfiction
projects. Lydia is looking for timely plots
inspired by the headlines, effortless
magical realism, unreliable narrators, and
mysteries/psychological thrillers set in small
communities (no CIA/FBI/mI5, please). She
is always on the hunt for intriguing female
voices and characters. In YA and MG, she
is looking for strong hooks and modern
themes. most importantly, she wants fiction
that is impossible to put down. She is not
looking for high fantasy, political thrillers or
romance. In nonfiction, Lydia is looking for
books that are both inspirational and modern
in the areas of self-improvement, lifestyle,
relationships and business. She is also looking for unique blogs, Tumblrs and Instagram
profiles to transform into gift books. She
is particularly interested in feminism and
women’s issues.
TriadaUS Literary Agency
Lauren is seeking picture books, all genres
of middle grade and young adult fiction, as
well as some adult fiction. She is particularly
interested in thrillers, fantasy, women’s fiction, and pop-culture nonfiction. Whatever
the age group or genre, Lauren welcomes
diverse voices.
New Leaf Literary
Jaida is actively building both her children’s
and adult list. She has a particular love for
all things middle grade, especially those that
are a bit quirky, strange, and fantastical (a
la The Mysterious Benedict Society, Escape
from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Snicker of
Magic, Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls,
etc.). She’s also open to YA submissions (all
genres), and picture books by author-illustrators with completed dummies. For all other
fiction (both adult and children’s) she has an
affinity for magical realism, historical fiction,
and literary fiction, as well as stories with a
strong mystery and/or religious undertones
(The Westing Game, A Discovery of Witches,
The DaVinci Code, Jonathan Strange & Mr.
Norrell, Outlander, The Rule of Four, etc.).
On the nonfiction side, she’s actively seeking topics that are offbeat and a bit strange
(Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, etc.), as well
as photography projects that offer unique
insight into the human experience (Humans
of New York, The Scar Project, etc.).
PAUL STEVENS
STACY TESTA
KATHARINE SANDS
KATIE SHEA BOUTILLIER
Donald Maass Literary Agency
Katie specializes in women’s fiction, realistic
YA, big sweeping love stories, and quirky
narrative non-fiction. She is looking for
smart women’s fiction with the perfect balance of plot and emotion. She loves novels
with big voices, imperfect characters and
storylines that relate to modern issues. For
narrative nonfiction, she focuses on humor,
lifestyle and pop culture.
JESSICA SINSHEIMER
Donald Maass Literary
Paul is looking for science fiction, fantasy,
mystery, suspense, and humor (both fiction
and nonfiction). He’s looking for strong stories with interesting characters. Well-rounded LGBT characters and characters of color
are a plus. For sci-fi and fantasy, Paul would
love to see stories that take tried-and-true
genre tropes and turn them on their heads in
an inventive way. Epic fantasy should stretch
the boundaries and shake things up. Show us
something that we’ve never seen before. For
mystery and suspense, Paul is interested in
historical mysteries (set in both the past and
the future), mysteries with a speculative
element (ghosts, magic, monsters), and
mysteries with an unusual setting. He is also
interested in humorous fiction and nonfiction.
MARLENE STRINGER
Stringer Literary
Marlene represents mystery, thriller,
contemporary and urban fantasy, science
fiction, romance, historical fiction, science
fiction, young adult / teen, and women’s
fiction. She also represents select nonfiction,
including parenting, history, music, sports
and popular science. “If your manuscript falls
Writers House
Stacy is looking for upmarket commercial
women’s fiction and literary fiction, particularly character-driven stories with an
international setting, historical bent, or focus
on a unique subculture. She also represents
realistic young adult (no dystopian or
paranormal, please!). For nonfiction, she is
particularly interested in young “millennial”
voices with a great sense of humor and a
strong platform and voice-driven narratives
about little-known moments or people in
history.
ALLISON TRAVIS
Cameo Press
She is seeking clean yet exciting romance
as well as young adult and new adult books.
Her goal at Cameo Press is to publish books
that young people will want to read and that
parents will encourage them to read and
fiction for people of all ages. She is looking
for books with a strong storyline, adventure,
mystery and sweet love stories. She is actively seeking submissions for clean romantic
fiction for YA, NA and adults of all ages.
21
21
AGENTS/EDITORS
KIRA WATSON
CHRISTINE WITTHOHN
MAXIMILIAN XIMENEZ
Emma Sweeney Agency
Kira is particularly interested in young
adult and middle grade books with a strong
narrative voice, well-crafted storylines,
and memorable characters. Within YA and
MG, Kira is actively seeking realistic fiction,
speculative fiction, magic realism, thriller/
mystery, horror, fantasy, and historical fiction. Stories with folklore elements, complex
villains, morally enigmatic (and very flawed)
protagonists, medieval literature influences,
and taboo subjects are bound to catch Kira’s
attention.
Book Cents Literary
Christine is seeking upmarket fiction, commercial fiction, women’s lit (particularly
stories about mother/daughters, sisters,
family drama, overcoming hardships),
romance (contemporary, romantic comedy,
mystery/suspense), young adult (contemporary, mystery/suspense, thrillers),
mainstream mystery/suspense (hard or
soft boiled, and cozies), thrillers (especially
psychological). The kind of story topping her
Wish List at the moment would be a dark,
revenge-type thriller (a contemporary Count
of Monte Cristo). She is not interested in previously published titles, erotica, inspirational,
westerns, sci-fi/fantasy, horror, memoirs,
poetry, non-fiction, screenplays/stageplays,
or anything with a focus on priests/nuns,
religion, rape, abuse of children or animals.
L. Perkins Agency
Maximilian is actively pursuing clients for
both fiction and nonfiction works. In fiction,
he seeks science fiction, fantasy, horror, and
thrillers—particularly cyberpunk and neo-noir
as well as books with a uniquely deconstructive bent. For nonfiction, Maximilian is
seeking popular science, true crime, and
books pertaining to arts and trends in
developing fields and culture.
JOHN WILLIG
Literary Services
John is primarily interested in narrative
nonfiction that shines a light on new topics,
events or perspectives and research-based
prescriptive nonfiction. Categories of interest include: science, psychology, history,
politics, current events, business, travel,
food/cooking, crafts, lifestyle/personal
growth (please no memoirs), and reference.
John’s also interested in historical fiction—
crime/mystery and literary.
KATIE ZANECCHIA
Ross Yoon
Katie represents adult narrative non-fiction
that catalyzes social change, challenges
the status quo, gives voice to the underrepresented, and inspires improvement
of all kinds—whether it’s through the lens
of women’s rights and feminism, arts and
design, technology, politics, social science,
memoir, or pop culture.
Notes
22
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
EXHIBITORS
Thank you to the following exhibitors who have
helped make Writer’s Digest Annual Conference possible.
PITCH SLAM SPONSOR
COCKTAIL RECEPTION SPONSOR
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PARTNERS
23
THE HILTON MIDTOWN FLOORPLAN
SECOND FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR PROMENADE
EXHIBITORS
1
TV Writers Studio
5
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9
Your Book Is Your Hook
2
Lulu.com
6
Radius Book Group
10
Editorial Freelance Association
3
Wise Ink Creative Publishing
7
CreateSpace
11
Writer Digital
4
Date with the Muse
8
National Writers Union
12
Gotham Writers
25
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manuscript fulfill its potential.
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contact:
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ANNUAL
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Digital Program - Writer`s Digest Annual Conference

Transcription

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