Fyrecon is lining up a stellar list of agents and editors who will not only accept pitches from authors at the con, but who will also help train authors on how this pitching thing is supposed to go, anyway. You must be must be register for the conference to sign up for pitches.
By popular demand from our fantastic agents and editors, we’re shaking up pitch sessions this year. We’re adding a new option.
Agents and Editors
Lisa Mangum has worked in the publishing industry since 1997. She is currently the Managing Editor for Shadow Mountain Publishing and has worked with several New York Times best-selling authors, including Ally Condie, Brandon Mull, James Dashner, and Jason F. Wright. While fiction is her first love, she also has experience working with nonfiction projects (memoir, educational, cookbooks, etc.) and some children’s picture books. Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels (The Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello) as well as several short stories and novellas. She has also edited three anthologies about unicorns and dragons. She graduated with honors from the University of Utah, and currently lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy.
Lisa will be taking Advance Query +10 on:
What she is looking for: “I’m looking for original middle-grade fantasy with a good message, contemporary middle grade with strong voice, Regency romance, general fiction/women’s fiction (based on a true story is a plus), and the best fantasy and contemporary offerings for the YA market.”
Terri Baranowski is a writer, speaker, editor, literary agent, and founder of Gateway Literary and Bluestocking Editorial. With over twenty years experience working with writers, she has prepared numerous manuscripts for publication and is currently specializing in hybrid contracts designed to meet the diverse needs of today’s author. Terri graduated with a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University where she was a writer and key player in the development of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) involving various new media platforms to promote The Book of Jer3miah, a webisode series that received New York Times recognition. She also developed a television series for BYU-TV and assisted in the creation and editing of The Criterion, BYU’s first literary criticism journal. The author of several award-winning humorous essays, Terri has also served as guest feature columnist, and was instrumental in the formation of a few critique groups, all of which have given her the preposterous idea that she is a writer. Her current frustrations over the uncooperative characters in her first aspired-literary- but-morphing- into chick lit novel, Chimera, are beginning to make her think otherwise. Terri resides in Vineyard, Utah with a couple of unruly Shih Tzu’s, a mile-high slush-pile, and anindomitable Polish spirit. www.gatewayliterary.com
Terri will be taking Advance Query +10 on:
Michelle Witte is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of kids books, from illustrated board and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction.Michelle is always on the lookout for fascinating stories that are well told, especially those with a distinct and distinctive voice. Her published work includes Happy Little Accidents: The Wit and Wisdom of Bob Ross and The Craptastic Guide to Pseudo-Swearing. She lives in Utah.
Michelle will be taking Advance Query +10 on:
Friday, June 21, 2019
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Holli Anderson is the chief editor at Immortal Works Publishing.
Holli is looking for: Immortal Works only publishes books that, if movies, would be a light PG-13 (think Avengers), fiction only, and right now we’re a little heavy on Fantasy and Sci-Fi, so we’re looking for some contemporary, mystery, historical fiction, paranormal, horror… But I won’t reject a really great SFF, either. We publish Middle Grade up to Adult.”
Holli will be taking Advance Query +10 on:
JOHNNY WORTHEN is an award-winning, best-selling author, voyager, and damn fine human being! He is the tie-dye wearing writer of the nationally acclaimed, #1 Kindle best-selling ELEANOR, THE UNSEEN. Among his other excellent and very read-worthy titles are the adult occult thriller BEATRYSEL, the award-winning mystery THE BRAND DEMAND, and the genre bending comedy-noir THE FINGER TRAP, winner of the Diamond Quill for best book of the year. And of course the continuation of THE UNSEEN Trilogy, with CELESTE and DAVID which also have won awards. Trained in stand-up comedy, modern literary criticism and cultural studies, Johnny is a frequent public speaker, teacher and blogger. He’s an instructor at the University of Utah and an acquisitions editor for Omnium Gatherum, a publisher of unique dark fantasy, weird fiction, and horror.
Johnny will be taking Advance Query +10 on:
Why charge for pitches? Fyrecon, unlike other writing conferences, has a very low membership fee. We want to make the conference as accessible to aspiring authors and artists as possible. As a result, to offer this specialized service we directly charge those participating in the pitching event. This pays for the agents’ and editors’ time and travel and allows them to know who is serious about the next step.