2025 SCHEDULE
Tuesday, January 21st
“The Agent-Author Relationship: Who Does What, and Why Do I Need an Agent?”
Rita Anand (D4Eo Agency)
Amy Collins (Talcott Notch Agency)
Kirby Kim (Janklow and Nesbit Agency)
Mark Tavani (David Black Literary Agency)
Moderator: Susan Lee
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Thursday Deep Dive, January 23rd:
“Perfecting Your Pitch: Making Sure Your Novel Sounds Like a Must-Read”
Doug Grad (Grad Literary Agency)
Sandy Lu (BookWyrm Lit)
Paula Munier (Talcott Notch Agency)
Moderator: Tessa Wegert
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Tuesday, January 28th
“Submission Secrets: How (and Why) Do Editors Make Their Decisions?”
Joe Brosnan (Senior Editor, Grove Atlantic)
Juliet Grames ( SVP, Editorial Director, Soho)
Dana Isaacson (former Big Five editor, now independent)
Megha Parekh (Amazon Senior editor)
Kristin Sevick (Executive Editor St. Martins Minotaur)
Moderator: James L’Etoile
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Thursday Deep Dive, January 30th:
“Does Your Query Letter Work?”
Michelle Jackson (LCS Literary)
Donald Maass (Donald Maass Literary Agency)
Joanna Mackenzie (Nelson Literary Agency)
Moderator: Elena Hartwell
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Tuesday, February 4th:
“The Big Decisions: Triumphs and Tradeoffs”
Traditional vs. Self publishing and other pathways, including expanding your base.
Brian Andrews
Robert Dugoni
Rachel Howzell Hall
Tosca Lee
Jonathan Maberry
Moderator: Sam Octavius
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Thursday Deep Dive, February 6th
“Self-Publishing Technical Nuts and Bolts”
Kiersten Moglin, #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers.
Facilitator: Hank Phillippi Ryan
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Tuesday, February 11th:
“The Real Deal: How Publishing Works”
Tim O’Connell (Publisher, Simon and Schuster / SAGA imprint)
Facilitator: Hank Phillippi Ryan
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Tuesday, February 18th:
“Preparing for Publication From Manuscript to Market”
Neil Nyren, Associate Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Facilitator: Hank Phillippi Ryan
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Tuesday, February 25th:
“How Big Can It Be? Hitting the Market: Publicity, Promotion and PR”
Keri Rae Barnum (Independent Publicist)
Andrea Bartz (Bestselling Author)
Mandy Chalal (Sourcebooks)
Carter Wilson (Bestselling Author)
Moderator: Edwin Hill
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Thursday Deep Dive, February 27th
Social Media with Sara DiVello
Moderator: Wanda Morris
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Tuesday, March 4th:
“Conferences, Networking, Blogs, Pre-Publication and Post”
with K.J. Howe
Facilitator: Samantha Skal
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Thursday Deep Dive, March 6th
“On Camera, On the Air, and On the Page: Interactive Media Training”
with Hank Phillippi Ryan
Facilitator: Jerri Williams
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Tuesday, March 11th:
“What I Wish Someone Had Told Me”
Laura Dave
Joe Finder
Tess Gerritsen
Caroline Kepnes
Moderator: K.J. Howe