PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:
These in-person one-on-one meetings at the 2024 Toronto 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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Marilyn Biderman is a literary agent with Transatlantic Agency. Areas of Interest: Literary fiction; sweet-spot fiction, that is, accessible but literary in intent (often found at book clubs); literary crime fiction; and women’s commercial and historical fiction. I love memoir with an utterly unique story and brilliant writing; narrative nonfiction on compelling and newsworthy topics that anticipate trends; expert nonfiction of wide appeal from authors with established social media platforms; and biographies of fascinating lives. Learn more about Marilyn here.
Tasneem Motala is a literary agent with The Rights Factory. She is seeking: fantasy, graphic novels, middle grade, new adult, science fiction, young adult contemporary YA, cyberpunk, fairytale retellings, low fantasy, magical realism, robots/A.I., steampunk, urban fantasy. Sometimes she doesn’t know what she’s looking for until it’s in her inbox, but some things are timeless, like retellings of well-known myths and classics, teenage romances, and mysteries with fascinating protagonists, just to name a few. In the realm of Middle Grade and YA, Tasneem is currently seeking stories (regardless whether fantasy, sci-fi, or contemporary) that are raw, emotional, heartfelt, and authentic. Learn more about Tasneem here.
Eric Smith is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, with a love for young adult books, literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction. Eric is eagerly acquiring fiction and nonfiction projects. He’s actively seeking out new, diverse voices in young adult (particularly sci-fi and fantasy), middle grade, and literary and commercial fiction (again, loves sci-fi and fantasy, but also thrillers and mysteries). In terms of non-fiction, he’s interested in cookbooks, pop culture, humor, middle grade, essay collections, and blog-to-book ideas. Learn more about Eric here.
Jes Trudel (she/her/mx) is a literary agent with The Rights Factory. At the moment, I’m accepting only children’s literature, including: Board books (BB); Picture books (PB); Chapter books (CB); Middle grade (MG); and Young adult (YA). In addition to traditional styles of storytelling, I also love graphic novels and novels in verse. I’m also open to short story and poetry collections for kids. I accept both illustrated and text-only manuscripts. If you are an illustrator only, I’m sorry, but I can’t represent you at this time (unless you create full-length wordless picture books). Learn more about Jes here.
Alethea Spiridon is an editor with Entangled Publishing. She focuses on romance — both print and digital. She enjoys a fresh, fun, flirty voice, and anything that can make her laugh and see the lighter side of life. That being said, she’s also drawn to contemporary alpha male stories and lush historical romances. Jane Porter, Sherryl Woods, Rachel Gibson, Carole Matthews, Julie James, Sheila O’Flanagan, and Sarah Mayberry are some authors she enjoys reading. Learn more about Alethea here.
Ali McDonald is a literary agent and partner with 5 Otter Literary. In fourteen years as an international literary agent, Ali McDonald has represented many award-winning and bestselling authors and illustrators. Specializing in children’s and young adult literature, she works on projects ranging from concept and novelty books, board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, and graphic novels, to middle grade, young adult, and new adult fiction and nonfiction. Learn more about Ali here.
Kat Kerr is a literary agent with Donald Maass Literary Agency. Kat feels strongly about supporting programs like We Need Diverse Books and is passionate about creating space in this industry for those from historically marginalized communities. She is actively seeking to grow her client list and is particularly hungry for magical realism, literary leaning speculative (fantasy) and science fiction, women’s fiction, YA works with a lot of heart, and narrative nonfiction with something to say. In fiction, she seeks literary, upmarket, women’s, rom-coms, multicultural, speculative, magical realism, family saga, young adult, and select sci-fi and fantasy. In nonfiction, she seeks narrative nonfiction and journalistic nonfiction tackling current affairs and social justice issues, particularly covering topics of racism, immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, and poverty. She also represents select biographies and memoirs. Learn more about Kat here.
Ron Eckel is a proprietor and literary agent with CookeMcDermid. As an agent Ron is particularly drawn to dark fiction, both commercial and literary, in the areas of horror, science fiction, fantasy , suspense, and psychological thriller. On the nonfiction side, Ron loves story-driven narrative non-fiction in the areas of pop culture, music, sports, pop science, and current affairs. Learn more about Ron here.
Stephanie Winter is a literary agent with P.S. Literary. Stephanie is primarily acquiring across three pillars: adult fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels. She’s actively seeking titles with diverse and inclusive representation that offer smart, culturally aware, and enriching narratives. In fiction, she particularly enjoys commercial and upmarket projects (rom-coms, thriller/suspense, etc.) that offer millennial and/or queer-affirming perspectives. In nonfiction, she’s on the hunt for pop culture, cultural criticism, millennial business and finance, narrative nonfiction, how-to, and lifestyle projects. Learn more about Stephanie here.
Bridgette Kam is a literary agent with Westwood Creative Artists. In fiction, I’d love to represent more literary fiction in the vein of Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s The Last Story of Mina Lee and Asha Lemmie’s Fifty Words for Rain. In children’s literature, I’m especially interested in fiction and nonfiction picture book texts, middle grade fiction, and illustration. In narrative nonfiction, I’m drawn to fresh, unique, diverse, and well-informed voices, especially pop culture, social issues, popular history, big ideas, current affairs, and popular science. I’m also interested in practical nonfiction: self-improvement, health, and lifestyle. Learn more about Bridgette here.
Lindsay Leggett is a literary agent with The Rights Factory. Lindsay grew up in the frozen wilds of Northern Ontario, and turned a love of reading and writing into a passion for editing. After working for a variety of authors and publishers, she found a home at The Rights Factory. Lindsay is focused on graphic novels, romance, and young adult & middle grade with bite. She enjoys horror, thriller, magical realism, fantasy, science fiction, LGBTQIA+, #ownvoices, and graphic stories. Learn more about Lindsay here.
Amanda Ferreira is an editor with Random House Canada. She primarily edits adult commercial fiction, and is drawn to books with an early hook and YA crossover appeal. She acquires in every genre (except horror) — including fantasy, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, and thriller. In particular, she loves retellings of ancient myths and history, accessible speculative fiction with happy endings, romance with a fresh twist on popular tropes, and diverse characters that feel true to the communities they’re a part of. Her deep loves are fantasy, romance, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ stories. Learn more about Amanda here.
Claire Caldwell is a Toronto-based editor and writer with over ten years’ experience in the publishing industry. She is the Senior Editor at Annick Press, where she acquires books for young people, including the award-winning picture books Salma the Syrian Chef (written by Danny Ramadan, illustrated by Anna Bron) and Abuelita and Me (written by Leonarda Carranza, illustrated by Rafael Mayani). Claire is also the author of two poetry collections, Invasive Species (Wolsak and Wynn, 2014) and Gold Rush (Invisible Publishing, 2020). Learn more about Claire here.
Tayler Hill is an intern and literary scout at The Purcell Agency. She is open to taking pitches on behalf of The Purcell Agency for the following genres: middle grade, young adult, new adult, women’s fiction, book club fiction, speculative fiction (fantasy & sci-fi), romantasy, children’s picture books, memoir, mystery, crime, thriller, contemporary/realistic fiction, dystopian, suspense, horror, romance, #ownvoices, and LGBTQIA+. Learn more about Tayler here.
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ADDED ONLINE PITCHING: To ensure that writers have a robust and diverse lineup of agents & editors to pitch, 2024 Toronto Writing Workshop attendees will have the ability to also pitch literary agents at the Writing Day Workshops *online* event that follows the 2024 TWW on our calendar.
That event is the Ohio Writing Workshop, May 10-11, 2024, which will have 30-40 agents taking one-on-one Zoom virtual pitches.
This means that 2024 TWW attendees can have access to pitching all those online OWW agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online May 2024 event. (That said, if you want to formally register for the Ohio conference and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Toronto attendees.)
If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Toronto. Following the TWW conference on April 6, 2024, we will be in touch with all Toronto attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2024 OWW (May 10-11). 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.)