Louisville Writing Workshop:
April 25, 2025
In-Person Writers Conference

PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

Christine Goss is a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management. Christine is drawn to stories with high stakes and tension. The first pages must draw her in with action and curiosity. Lyrical writing, along with emotionality, physicality, and interiority, are all key components Christine looks for in a manuscript.  Christine is generally interested in romance, historical fiction, book club fiction, upmarket, dystopian, graphic novel, and fantasy. Nonfiction and graphic novels covering a specific range of topics are also of interest. She is also open to most young adult. Championing marginalized voices is important to Christine as she seeks to include BIPOC, LGTBQ+, and neurodivergent (and more) authors on her list. “I am looking to uplift, support, and highlight marginalized voices.” Learn more about Christine here.

Cole Lanahan is a literary agent with The Seymour Agency. Cole is actively looking for all genres of YA, all genres of adult romance, psychological suspense in the vein of The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine, and thrillers in the vein of Verity by Colleen Hoover and I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. In nonfiction she is looking for humor, business, self-help, lifestyle, and arts and crafts books. Learn more about Cole here.

Amanda Wooden is a literary agent with SBR Media. I am open to all sub-genres of Romance, Thrillers, Romantasy, Young Adult, and more.” Amanda found her love for reading when her husband was deployed in 2013, and it has continued to grow over the years. She has been a book reviewer, blogger, Author PA, graphic designer, and more. Her continued love of working with authors and helping them grow is what led her to becoming a literary agent at SBR Media. Learn more about Amanda here.

Lydia Caudill is a literary agent with Andrea Hurst & Associates. Lydia is primarily looking for YA and Adult contemporary fiction, YA and Adult fantasy (she can appreciate both an urban setting or an immersive new world, and bonus points if there’s a romantic element, but the plot must shine regardless), light and cozy science fiction, mysteries with a strong and innovative protagonist, domestic suspense, and historical fiction that is not war-based or rooted in medical/medicinal history. As a hopeless romantic at her core, Lydia holds the romance genre close to her heart and is always on the lookout for raw and intimate depictions of love—all kinds by all voices. She also appreciates rom-coms with a good trope or two, and any period piece that provides a much-needed escape from reality. Learn more about Lydia here.

Katie Otey is an editor with Phoenix Media & Books. She seeks: children’s fiction and nonfiction picture books. She will accept rhyming picture books and is especially interested in multicultural stories. She also likes Middle Grade humor, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction, Self-Help nonfiction, and Poetry. She is also open to pitches on behalf of her co-editors in the following areas: Contemporary Middle Grade; YA and Adult books that strike a balance between happy and sad; Unique memoir; Cozy mysteries with series potential; MG/YA research-based nonfiction about lesser known topics with broad appeal; Literary-leaning fiction that highlights cultures/perspectives that have been overlooked by traditional publishing; Picture Books (humorous, subversive, comic style, lyrical [but no rhyming], and creative nonfiction); Middle Grade (humor, mystery, realistic fiction, action and adventure, fantasy, sci-fi); YA/Adult (humor, mystery, romantic comedy, horror, suspense/thriller, fantasy, sci-fi). Learn more about Katie here.

Alice Speilburg 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 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.

Optional Manuscript Critique Options

Add $69 — for an in-depth, personal critique of your one-page query letter from Brian Klems, one of the day’s instructors. (This rate is a special event value for Cleveland Writing Workshop attendees only.) Registrants are encouraged to take advantage of the specially-priced critique, so they can send out their query letter with confidence following the workshop. Also, if you are meeting with an agent at the event, you’re essentially speaking your query letter aloud to them. Wouldn’t it be wise to give that query letter (i.e., your pitch) one great edit before that meeting?

Add $89 — for an in-depth personal critique of the first 10 pages of your novel. Spaces with faculty for these critiques are very limited, and participating attendees will either 1) get an in-person meeting at the workshop, if the faculty member is attending the live event, or 2) get a 10-minute phone call with the faculty member, and have notes passed along via email, if the critiquer is not attending the live event. Options:

• All adult fiction and young adult fiction categories (except romance) (in-person critiques): Faculty member Olivia A. Cole, a published novelist, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you in person at the conference for 15 minutes to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, young adult SFF, urban fantasy (virtual critiques): Faculty member Wesley Chu, a published novelist, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime before the workshop to discuss his thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Women’s fiction, contemporary/mainstream fiction, literary fiction, young adult, and memoir (virtual critiques): Faculty member Kimiko Nakamura, a literary agent and writing coach, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime before the workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Fantasy (both YA and adult), fantasy romance, contemporary romance, women’s fiction (virtual critiques): Faculty member Shauna Golden, a former agent, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, talk with you virtually (Zoom/phone) for 15 minutes workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes.
• All types of adult fiction (except erotica); all types of young adult fiction and middle grade; Christian fiction; screenplays and TV scripts (virtual critiques): Faculty member Jaimie Engle, a screenwriter, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, talk with you virtually (Zoom/phone) for 15 minutes workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• More possibly forthcoming