Presenters for the 2023 workshop to be finalized
and listed here as soon as possible. Thank you.
Laura Biagi is a freelance editor with 14 years of experience in editing and agenting adult fiction, memoir, young adult fiction, and children’s books. Previously, she was a Literary Agent with the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she turned her clients’ books into New York Times bestsellers, including the bestselling YA Ash Princess trilogy by Laura Sebastian.
At the 2023 online FWW event, she is available for add-on manuscript critiques.
Laura holds an MFA from the University of Houston and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine Southeast Review, a Whiting Award finalist. She has been published in TriQuarterly Magazine, was previously Fiction Editor with the literary magazine Gulf Coast, and is obtaining her PhD in Creative Writing from Florida State University. She has taught numerous novel-focused writing workshops in addition to workshops on how to get published, how to write query letters, and how to get an agent. As a freelance editor, she brings the insight of a prior agent, a current editor and publisher, and an author steeped in the knowledge of craft to the table. She is particularly savvy with character, plot, and pacing and channels her experience into thorough, deep-dive edits that consider every facet of your work to launch your writing to the next level and fulfill your vision for your book.
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Joel Brigham is the founder of Brigham Editorial, a fiction-editing service that has helped writers find agents and agented authors prepare for submission and publication.
He also is an editorial consultant for The Purcell Agency, a literary agency based out of Chicago, Illinois. As an author, he writes YA contemporary fiction and has two books on submission, both represented by agent Tina P. Schwartz.
He also edits content for Basketball News and spent 12 years covering the NBA as a senior sportswriter for HoopsWorld and Basketball Insiders. He has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and a master’s degree in English Education and has taught high school English for 18 years.
At the 2023 online FWW workshop, he is offering add-on manuscript critiques for attendees.
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Kimiko Nakamura is a literary agent with Dee Mura Literary, representing YA and adult titles within the genres of contemporary, literary, historical, and women’s fiction. In the categories of non-fiction she specializes in cookbooks and memoir.
At the 2023 online FWW, Kimiko is offering add-on manuscript critiques for attendees. (She is not taking pitches.)
A graduate of Boston University’s Book Publishing program and Skidmore College, Kimiko has called the publishing industry home since 2006. From production to sales she’s worked within publishing houses to release new titles and foster backlist profits. As an agent, she uses this diverse background to assist her clients with all stages of publication, and well beyond.
Kimiko works with aspiring and established authors alike. She loves projects that reimagine what’s possible, characters with something (or nothing) to lose, unique viewpoints, trailblazing heroines, and cookbooks she can read like the Sunday morning paper.
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Swati Hegde is a desi adult romance and YA author. By day, she’s a mindset coach and freelance editor. She is also a self-proclaimed coffee shop enthusiast who lives in Bangalore, India, and can usually be found at the nearest café with a hot mug of tea.
At the 2023 FWW, Swati is offering add-on manuscript critiques for attendees.
Swati is represented by Rachel Beck at Liza Dawson Associates. Her debut romantic comedy novel MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is out 2024 from Ballantine Bantam Dell, Penguin Random House.
“I write funny romance novels featuring strong heroines, sweet-as-honey heroes, and happily-ever-afters that will make you tear up and laugh all at once. Oh, and did I mention they’re all desi characters? I live in Bangalore, India, and my writing always centers people like me living in my home country. Right now, I’m working on MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, my desi romantic comedy out 2024 from Random House, ft. an aspiring matchmaker heroine, a pub owner hero, and tons of mis-matchmaking and misunderstandings.” See her website here.
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E.J. Wenstrom is a published novelist. See all her books here.
At the 2023 online FWW, E.J. is teaching a class.
E.J. believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including the young adult dystopian novel Departures and the award-winning Chronicles of the Third Realm War series (start with Mud). When she isn’t writing fiction, E.J. is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and co-hosts the Troped Out and Fantasy+Girl podcasts.
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Eve Adler is a literary agent at Red Fox Literary.
At the 2023 online FWW conference, Eve is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one virtual pitches.
I’m an agent at Red Fox Literary, where I represent board books, picture books, early readers, and chapter books. Prior to joining Red Fox, I held editorial positions at Macmillan, Penguin, and Union Square Kids. I’ve worked on a variety of formats, series, and publishing programs, including bestsellers and award-winning titles such as Girls Who Code: The Friendship Code by Stacia Deutsch, the Hello, World board book series by Ashley Evanson, and The Ninth Night of Hanukkah by Erica S. Perl.
“I’m actively building my list, and welcome submissions in the 0-12 age range, especially from author-illustrators. I’m drawn to stories that make kids feel comforted, loved, and understood; to diverse voices; to ideas that break the mold; to projects that meet kids where they are developmentally; and to books that expand kids’ worlds while helping them understand their own.
What I’m looking for: I’m seeking projects for ages 0-12 that elicit strong emotions—I love manuscripts and dummies that give me goosebumps.
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Julie Eshbaugh is a published novelist. She lives with her husband and fur babies in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
At the 2023 online FWW, Julie is teaching a class.
Early on, she focused her artistic energies on filmmaking and online video. Julie made two short films and spent several years producing a web series for teens that became an early YouTube hit and received several honors from the Webby Awards. Julie’s latest YA fantasy, Crown of Oblivion, was released by HarperTeen in November 2019. She is also the author of Ivory and Bone, (HarperTeen 2016) and its sequel, Obsidian and Stars (HarperTeen 2017.)
Julie is a member of the group writing blog Pub(lishing) Crawl. You can also add Julie on Goodreads, and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
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Gordon Warnock is a literary agent and Partner with Fuse Literary.
At the 2023 online FWW, Gordon is teaching a class. He is also meeting with writers for one-on-one virtual pitches.
Gordon represents New York Times bestsellers and debut authors alike. He seeks to amplify historically marginalized voices and grow sustainable, long-term writing careers with an eye on actively creating change in the publishing industry and the culture as a whole. His years of experience as a senior agent, marketing director, editor for independent publishers, publishing consultant, and author coach inform his approach as a comprehensive business partner through the many lives of a book and the many stages of an author’s career. He frequently teaches workshops and gives keynote speeches at conferences and MFA programs in the US and Canada. He is an honors graduate of CSUS with a degree in Creative and Professional Writing.
With a zest for fresh, new voices and a deep love of the classics, Gordon actively seeks out both the timely and the timeless. In that spirit, he establishes involved, long-term working relationships with talented and dedicated authors of many genres.
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Anjanette Barr is a Literary Agent at Dunham Literary, Inc. She has been working in various branches of the writing and publishing world for over a decade, and being an agent is the perfect way to synthesize her interests and talents.
At the 2023 online FWW, she is teaching a class. She is also meeting with writers one-on-one for virtual pitches.
She spent the pandemic earning a certificate in Literary Representation from UCLA Extension. She also holds a B.A. in Japanese Studies from William Jewell College.
Member:
– Association of American Literary Agents
– Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
– Alaska Writers Guild
– Catholic Writers Guild
What she’s seeking:
Anjanette has an eclectic reading taste and a love for literature that “baptizes the imagination” (C.S. Lewis) and begs to be shared. She loves genre and popular fiction with substance, and literary and non-fiction titles infused with living ideas that leave readers with a new desire to immerse themselves in the subject matter.
This could look like an historical fiction that uses captivating detail and relatable characters to bring times-gone-by to life (My Antonia, Outlander), or it could be a SFF world that highlights virtues like empathy and self-sacrifice (Lord of the Rings, Song of Albion, The Sparrow). A romance set in a place so vivid she feels she’s traveled there and wants to take up the protagonists hobbies will definitely get her attention (The Winter Sea).
In nonfiction she is looking for well-researched biography (Unbroken) written in beautiful literary prose, popular science and other disciplines titles that make lay-people enchanted and invested in topics previously over their heads (The Elements by Theodore Grey, Freakonomics), and memoir with the ability to connect diverse readers (If You Lived Here I’d Know Your Name by Heather Lende). She’s also interested in books that shed light on poverty and justice in a new way (Evicted by Matthew Desmond).
She prefers picture books that are winsome and pleasant to read aloud (Blueberries for Sal, Brigid’s Cloak by Bryce Miligan, Miss Rumphius). Humor is great when it helps tell the story (The Book with No Pictures, Good Dog Carl).
Particular interests of Anjanette’s are the exploration of culture, history, faith, myth, fine arts, and nature. She has a soft spot for gothic novels (Rebecca, Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield) and magical realism (The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey). As a mother of four, she’s is especially fond of books that can be read aloud and shared with the whole family (Children of the Longhouse, Anna Hibiscus, Gregor the Overlander).
Anjanette is not a good fit for: Horror (unless it’s gothic or quite mild), Erotica, True Crime, Sports, or Politics.
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Jane Chun is a literary agent with Janklow & Nesbit.
Prior to working at J&N, Jane worked on a freelance project for HG Literary and interned at Writers House and Maximum Films & Management.
At the 2023 online FWW, Jane is teaching a class, and also meeting with attendees for one-on-one virtual pitches.
Jane is particularly interested in stories that center marginalized communities and prose that is cinematic and atmospheric with good rhythm. In both fiction and nonfiction, she is drawn towards compelling, fresh voices that make her feel as though the writer is in the room with her, telling her their story with intimacy as if they were already acquainted. Regardless of how plot-driven a story is, characters with rich inner worlds and emotional depth are a must for her.
For fiction, she is seeking commercial, upmarket, and literary works in both adult and MG/YA about the search for and rebuilding of identity, diaspora, family and community, and examinations of power in relationships. She is also looking for fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction that delve into sharp social commentary and have meticulous worldbuilding and settings that don’t feel like Western Europe. For historical fiction, she likes hidden histories and anything that is set in a time or place she’s not familiar with or focuses on a community that has been often overlooked if it’s a time/place she knows.
In terms of nonfiction, she is looking for memoirs, essay collections, and narrative nonfiction with a nuanced, intersectional approach and similar themes to her interests in fiction. She also is interested in books about food, travel, pop culture, and cultural criticism that dive deeply and thoughtfully into culture and traditions.
In addition to traditional prose, she is very interested in graphic novels and nonfiction. She is looking for stylistically engaging, unique art that feels either nostalgic without being derivative or fresh and boundary-pushing.
She is not the right person for picture books, prescriptive nonfiction, self-help, religion/spirituality books, romance, commercial thrillers, hard sci-fi, poetry, or short story collections.
Jane is a native New Yorker and attended NYU where she majored in History and minored in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology; Creative Writing; and Spanish. She returned to NYU shortly after graduating to receive her M.S. in Publishing with distinction.
Jane is part of the 2022 Literary Agents of Change Mentorship Program cohort and the American Association of Literary Agents (AALA).
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James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories.
He’s the best-selling, Christy Book of the Year, Carol, INSPY, and RT Book Reviews award winning author of ten novels, co-owner of The Rubart Writing Academy, and an audio book narrator. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. See all of his books here.
At the 2023 online FWW workshop, he is teaching a class.
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Shannon Snow is a literary agent with Creative Media Agency.
At the online FWW in 2023, she is meeting with attendees one-on-one for pitches. She is is also teaching a class.
“I especially love stories with compelling, well-drawn characters that pull me in and are memorable because I have to love the characters to love the book. Send me slow burn romances that keep me pining for the satisfying conclusion (either single-title or series where the romance is stretched across multiple books. Make me earn it!) Send me light-hearted stories that will make me laugh, and darker stories where the characters must overcome. Just make me feel, and if I reach for the tissue box, even better! I would love to see a one person survivalist psychological thriller. I’m also hunting for stories with diverse characters living every day life, and am actively looking for POC and LGBTQ+ authors. I want to see stories that push boundaries and deal with taboo issues.
“Some of my favorite non-client authors include: Dean Koontz, Jennifer Estep, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Elle Kennedy, Linda Kage, Beth Revis, David Eddings, Margaret Weiss & Tracey Hickman, Kristen Callihan, Julie Kagawa, Wendy Higgins, Jennifer Echols, Michelle Rowen, Rick Chesler, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Sherilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward, Ronald A. Lindsay, Kristin Hannah, and many more.”
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Brian A. Klems (@BrianKlems) is the former online editor of WritersDigest.com. He is current the director of Writing Day Workshops.
He is the coordinator of the 2023 online Florida Writing Workshop. At the event, he is offering add-on query critiques for attendees.
His blog during his tenure there, The Writer’s Dig—which covered everything writing and publishing—was one of the largest blogs in the writing community.
Brian’s first book, Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl: A Dad’s Guide to Raising Daughters (Adams Media) was released in 2013. It received high-level buzz and praise from some of the funniest writers alive, including Dave Barry and Bruce Cameron. Brian is also a proud graduate of the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, a husband, softball infielder, perennial fantasy sports underachiever, and father of three lovely little girls.