PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

These in-person one-on-one meetings at the 2024 Houston Writing Workshop are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind. More 2024 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open. We have seen many, many writers sign with agents after connecting after our conferences.

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Ann Rose [SOLD OUT OF PITCH APPOINTMENTS] is a literary agent with The Tobias Literary Agency. Ann is looking for characters who aren’t afraid to stand up for their convictions and beliefs – whether they fight with their fists or their words. She’s open to all genres of middle grade—and especially love stories that push the MG boundary. By this she means they explore topics that affect middle graders but aren’t always talked about in MG books; like It Happened on Saturday by Sydney Dunlap. Ann also represents all genres in YA. In the adult arena, she adores swoony romances, light sci-fi or fantasy (emphasis on the light side), commercial fiction, and heartwarming – or heart wrenching – contemporaries. She really enjoys feminist stories that highlight women’s experiences in the world. She is a sucker for a strong female friendship narrative because she truly believes that empowered women, empower women! She’s always looking for unique voices, diverse perspectives, vivid settings, and stories that explore tough topics. Dark and edgy is totally okay too. She is also up for a good revenge plot. Above all Ann is looking for stories with compelling characters that push boundaries and make her laugh and cry, hopefully in the same story! Learn more about Ann here.

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Leah Pierre is a literary agent with Ladderbird Literary. Leah is exclusively looking for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, and Pacific Islander voices with or without LGBTIQA+ intersectionality—basically anyone underrepresented and/or marginalized. For Picture Books, she is selectively searching for an author who is writing diverse, heartfelt and emotionally resonant stories about family, heritage, and tough, complex topics (i.e loss, identity, divorce, disabilities, etc). She is also looking for stories that are fun, adventurous, and creative. For Young Adult/Crossover/Adult, she is looking to acquire across the following genres: sci-fi, fantasy, speculative, contemporary, romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, fairytale or classic retellings/reimaginings. Learn more about Leah here.

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Jackie Kruzie [SOLD OUT OF PITCH APPOINTMENTS] is a literary agent with Olswanger Literary. “I am currently seeking adult fiction including fantasy, historical fiction, magical realism, mystery, paranormal/supernatural, sci-fi, thriller, western, and women’s fiction. I am particularly interested in magical realism and supernatural stories (give me all the witches). I have a soft spot for historical fiction with dual timelines where events from the past impact the present. I am a sucker for stories with a romantic element and enjoy when budding romances develop organically throughout the story, and I don’t mind a little spice. I welcome diverse characters and would like to see more main LGBTQ+ characters in a setting where they exist without scrutiny and their sexuality isn’t the main issue. Learn more about Jackie here.

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Jennifer Chen Tran is a literary agent at Glass Literary Management. In nonfiction, she seeks cookbooks, memoir, narrative nonfiction, and prescriptive nonfiction. She loves nonfiction (narrative or memoir with a platform) that sheds light on an unseen corner in society or history. Prescriptive nonfiction with practical takeaways, cookbooks with a unique angle or narratives centered on culinary life (see David Chang’s Eat a Peach), lifestyle titles (see Kate Oliver’s The Modern Caravan), humorous or visually-driven projects, and business books that read like memoir. Big idea books that shift how we perceive or navigate the world. In fiction, she seeks: middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, bookclub fiction, commercial/mainstream fiction, and women’s fiction. She loves middle grade and young adult that has heart and humor or visually-driven elements (see Remy Lai’s Pie in the Sky). She gravitates toward contemporary fiction that braids together issues of social significance and identity (see Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek). Learn more about Jennifer here.

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Andrea Kincaid is a literary scout with Corvisiero Literary. As a literary scout, she is taking pitches on behalf of all the agents at her agency, and passing along worthy submissions to literary agents agents at Corvisiero Literary. That means she can take pitches for the following: adult fantasy (all kinds), intricate historical novels set before the 20th century, horror, psychological thrillers, LGBTQIA+ stories, science fiction, young adult contemporary, young adult sci-fi and fantasy, women’s fiction, literary fiction, upmarket/commercial, mysteries, work from historically marginalized and underrepresented voice, folklore retellings, and magical realism. She is personally interested in unique romance stories with strong heroes and heroines that work through their past trauma to find something real. She also loves Children’s lit that teaches valuable life lessons and can be tied into a teacher’s curriculum, YA stories, Mystery/Thrillers, and Fantasy.​ Learn more about Andrea here.

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ADDED ONLINE PITCHING: To ensure that writers have a robust and diverse lineup of agents & editors to pitch, 2024 Houston Writing Workshop attendees will have the ability to also pitch literary agents at the Writing Day Workshops *online* event that follows the 2024 HWW on our event calendar.

That event is the 2024 Online Colorado Writing Workshop, March 8-9, 2024, which will have 30-40 agents taking one-on-one Zoom virtual pitches.

This means that 2024 HWW attendees can have access to pitching all those online Colorado agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online March 2024 CWW. (That said, if you want to formally register for the March 8-9 CWW and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Houston attendees.)

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Indiana. Following the HWW one-day conference on March 2, 2024, we will be in touch with all Indiana attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2024 CWW (March 8-9). At that time, you can communicate your pitch requests and purchase meeting time.

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           More 2024 agents could be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open.

These one-on-one meetings are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind.

(Please note that Agent/Editor Pitching is an add-on, separate aspect of the day, for only those who sign up. Spaces are limited for these premium meetings.)