PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

These in-person one-on-one meetings at the 2024 Indiana 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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Madeline Wallace [SOLD OUT OF PITCH APPOINTMENTS] is a literary agent with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. Madeline is seeking literary and upmarket fiction, as well as select narrative nonfiction and memoir. In fiction, Madeline loves to lose herself in unputdownable stories with characters that transcend the page. More specifically, she would love to receive coming-of-age novels from adult perspectives, especially ones that turn tropes on their heads and offer engrossing, offbeat perspectives. She appreciates novels with distinct sociopolitical contexts, welcomes satire and surrealism as long as the overall work is grounded, and falls for anything with a biting sense of humor. She would love to see intergenerational or domestic sagas with crackling characters and vibrant prose. She also appreciates suspenseful, literary-leaning novels with smart twists. In the nonfiction space, she is hoping for books that explore pop culture, examining celebrity and fandom through a critical lens. She would also love to receive intimate narratives that interrogate institutions and systems, books that grapple with relationships between food and body image, and memoirs with family-centered narratives, particularly ones that excavate surprising histories. She is committed to advocating for voices that have been underrepresented in publishing. Learn more about Madeline here.

Elisa Moles is a literary agent with Painted Fire Literary Agency. She is seeking: Especially interested in upmarket fiction. “In one word, what defines fantastic fiction narrative? Consequences. Consequences give structure. And stories with cohesive and creative structures, true to each writer’s background and voice, stand the test of time beyond the trendy topics and gimmicks of the day. I especially love psychologically complex characters. I’m looking for distinctive and compassionate voices who are telling organically unexpected stories in a wide variety of styles and genres. Surprise me.” Things you should NOT pitch her include: nonfiction, poetry, children’s books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, screenplays, westerns, horror, nihilist, or erotic work. Learn more about Elisa here.

Alice Speilburg [SOLD OUT OF PITCH APPOINTMENTS] is a Literary Agent and founder of Speilburg Literary. In fiction, she’s looking for genre novels — historical, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, or adventure. Within that, she’s interested in historical novels from fresh and unique perspectives, women’s fiction that has thriller and/or horror elements, high-stakes mystery novels with female protagonists, fantasy that imagines fresh worlds with non-Western roots or fantasy that springs from newer American folk magic (especially Appalachian), sci-fi that explores the line between progress and corruption. “I like darker elements, especially when they’re woven deeply and subtly into the atmosphere of a novel. In particular, I’d like to see unconventional narrators in overlooked settings, like a BIPOC woman who runs a car repair shop in northern Wisconsin, or trans man who sings in the church choir in the bible-belt South. Settings in the South or in so-called flyover country are rich with complex people and stories, and I’d love to represent more novels that showcase this.” In nonfiction, she’s looking for cultural narratives, as well as paradigm-shifting books that explore how we live and think from a fresh perspective. Her favorite subgenres in nonfiction include microhistory, nature, and pop science written by journalists and academics. “I’m also interested in untold histories of incredible women, travel/adventure narratives, culturally-engaged history narratives that look at how we came to be where we are, music books that go beyond the basic biography narrative, environmental/conservation narratives, true crime.” Learn more about Alice here.

Amanda Luedeke [SOLD OUT OF PITCH APPOINTMENTS] is a literary agent with MacGregor & Luedeke. Amanda is taking pitches on behalf of herself (general nonfiction and Christian nonfiction, no memoir) as well as her co-agents. On behalf of co-agent Alina Mitchell, she can take pitches for: memoir, biographies, how-to, elementary & secondary education topics, religion/spirituality, narrative nonfiction, and new perspectives in history, arts & culture. On behalf of co-agent Elisa Saphier, she can take pitches for: “As a reader and as an agent, Elisa is open to most genres, as long as the novel or memoir is well-written, but she is partial to character-heavy stories that tell her something about herself or the world around her. She actively seeks science fiction/fantasy, series (although mystery can be an exception to that), picture books, chapter books.” On behalf of co-agent Colleen Oefelein, she can take pitches for: romance–heart-rending love stories in most sub-genres (no erotica) and romantic suspense, as well as young adult and adult fiction: harsh and sobering contemporary, low fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, unusual re-tellings, suspense and thriller. In nonfiction, she’s interested in proposals for high-profile crime memoir, whistleblower memoir and narrative nonfiction on the subjects of science or medicine. Learn more about Amanda here.

Antwan Houser is a literary agent at CYLE Literary. He is seeking: Young adult, middle grade, and children’s books. He seeks nonfiction in these areas: Christian living, lifestyle, business, leadership, self-help, socialization, politics/current affairs, narrative, inspirational/gift/motivational, devotionals, Bible studies, advice, purposeful living. Learn more about Antwan here.

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

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Indiana. Following the IWW one-day conference on Feb. 24, 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 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.

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, and pricing/detail is explained below.)