It was a wild, inspiring weekend at the 2011 Agents Conference, and we’d like to share a little bit of that with you! We hope you enjoy these photos and bits of information and inspiration that we gathered over three days in the company of talented writers and some of the best in the publishing business!
The panels on Saturday kicked off with a welcome breakfast (including the Hyatt’s incomparable breakfast tacos!) Shown here are editor Emily Griffin, agent Susan Schulman, Marika Flatt of Austin publicity firm PR By the Book, and Rusty Shelton of Shelton Interactive.
The panelists shared their wisdom as we followed the Twitter feed for the conference at #WLTCon. (Check in there to see more of how the conference went, including quotes from panelists!)
Agents Victoria Marini and Jenny Bent on a panel: “Why We Still Love Fiction,” sharing their stories and knowledge of working with fiction writers and publishers.
Jenny Bent shares a tip: you should know where your book will go on a shelf in the bookstore. (The other panelists disagreed, saying this is best left to a publishing professional, since the boundaries can seem arbitrary and so many writers get it wrong. Jenny’s advice: do your research and don’t get it wrong!)
The WLT is proud to present: a table full of 2011 Manuscript Contest winners! From left to right: co-authors John T. Davis and Brent Douglass (Mystery), Don Sanders (Historical Fiction), Helen H. Pilz (Romance), and Monica Berry (Nonfiction). If you see them at a WLT event, be sure to congratulate them!
Writer Vanessa Lee, winner of the Manuscript Contest for Middle Grade.
Author and illustrator Don Tate and author Jessica Lee Anderson covered a broad range of kidlit topics on a panel moderated by the Regional Advisor of SCBWI, Debbie Gonzales (right). Jessica is sharing a great definition of YA lit, courtesy of editor Cheryl Klein. And in case you’re wondering, those are Don’s beautiful books along the table!
Writers signing up for our newly formed critique groups! If you’re interested, please email us at wlt@writersleague.org and we will do our best to set you up with people of similar interests in your area!
It’s the Pitch Box! Writers were invited to drop their pitches in and have them critiqued by a panel of our publishing experts.
Agents Ryan Harbage, Jim McCarthy, and Susanna Einstein at the final pitch session, offering their critiques.
We had an amazing time at the 2011 Agents Conference and we hope you did, too! If you couldn’t make it this year, we hope to see you in 2012.
