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Saturday, October 3
 

8:30am CDT

Dear Agent: Querying, Pitching, And Slush Piles
Saturday October 3, 2026 8:30am - 9:20am CDT
Room E-F
Ask the agents anything about querying, pitching, and how to get "the call."
Speakers
avatar for Christine Goss

Christine Goss

Christine Goss is a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management.

She graduated from Lake Forest College with a BA in communications. Formerly a sales representative, her skills pair well with her love of reading and story development. As an author herself, the craft of writing is very important to her when she looks at manuscripts... Read More →
avatar for Kevin O'Connor

Kevin O'Connor

Kevin O’Connor has always worked at the intersection of business and creative. As an agent, Kevin takes on children's projects (Ziggy Marley's Pajammin') and serious adult nonfiction, Who We Are by Jeffery Robinson, with a forward by Tom Hanks.

Kevin is the founding director of The Center for Nonfiction, a Columbia University Community Scholars Project dedicated to helping journalists and scholars understand the formal needs of trade publishers. He is an adjunct professor at NYU and currently working on a maste... Read More →
avatar for Eloy Bleifuss Prados

Eloy Bleifuss Prados

Eloy Bleifuss Prados is a literary agent with Neon Literary.

For fiction, he is especially interested in literary fiction along with character-driven, elevated genre fiction. His favorite novels are ones that bridge the high and the low, the real and the imaginary, the trashy and... Read More →
avatar for Eva Scalzo

Eva Scalzo

Eva Scalzo is the Agency Director and Senior Literary Agent at Speilburg Literary. A lifelong romance reader—ever since discovering Sweet Valley High in the fifth grade—she proudly inherited her grandmother’s collection of vintage Harlequins and never looked back.

She gravitates toward voice-driven YA and romance with heart, humor, and hope—stories where falling in love leads to self-discovery. She loves high-concept premises, lush and escapist settings, sharp banter, and joyful tones that embrace emotional depth. Eva actively... Read More →
Saturday October 3, 2026 8:30am - 9:20am CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

9:30am CDT

Love Hurts: Conflict, Separation, And Angst In Romance
Saturday October 3, 2026 9:30am - 10:20am CDT
Room E-F
How does conflict, separation, and emotional tension deepen a romance and make the eventual reunion more satisfying? Panelists will discuss balancing angst with hope, raising the emotional stakes, and creating obstacles that strengthen the love story rather than simply delay the happy ending.
Speakers
avatar for Sydney Applegate
avatar for Katherine Center

Katherine Center

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s The New York Times bestselling author of over half a dozen books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Her latest, The Shippers, was released on May 19, 202... Read More →
avatar for Kayla Olson
avatar for Lauren Lanza Osias
avatar for Madeline Warthan
Saturday October 3, 2026 9:30am - 10:20am CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

10:30am CDT

Beyond The Default: Representation, Inclusion, and Authentic Storytelling
Saturday October 3, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am CDT
Room E-F
How can writers create stories that reflect the richness and complexity of the world around them? Panelists will discuss writing characters across identities, cultures, abilities, and lived experiences; avoiding stereotypes and tokenism; researching beyond one’s own perspective; and approaching representation with empathy, specificity, and care.
Speakers
avatar for Jade Wong Baxter

Jade Wong Baxter

Jade Wong-Baxter is a literary agent with the Frances Goldin Literary Agency.

She's looking for adult literary and upmarket/bookclub fiction, as well as narrative nonfiction. She particularly enjoys coming-of-age narratives; novels exploring queer identity; stories set within a specific subculture or hidden world; grounded speculative (no high fantasy... Read More →
avatar for Nikki Carrero

Nikki Carrero

Nikki is a literary agent with The Rights Factory and has a background in education and in publishing.

Her love for the written word began when her grandmother brought her to the bookstore as a kid to pick out new books. She's currently looking for adult or young adult fiction in the following genres: mystery, thriller, romance, romantic suspense, magical realism, women’s... Read More →
avatar for Nicole Luongo

Nicole Luongo

Nicole Luongo is an Associate Editor at Grand Central Publishing (GCP), part of Hachette Book Group. At GCP, Nicole acquires a wide range of edgy, voice-driven upmarket fiction, with a particular emphasis on amplifying marginalized voices.

Her editorial interests include upmarket speculative fiction (especially with a feminist bent); genre-subverting psychological thrillers (think cunning female perpetrators and unreliable narrators); select coming-of-age stories; and satire or dark comedy (she’s a sucker... Read More →
avatar for Andy C. Naranjo
Saturday October 3, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

11:30am CDT

The Poet’s Eye: How Poetic Techniques Strengthen Every Writer's Work
Saturday October 3, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm CDT
Room E-F

Speakers
avatar for Moon Abbas
avatar for John Bartell

John Bartell

John Bartell is a past president of the Fort Worth Poetry Society and of the DFW Writer’s Workshop. His poems can be found in various journals, including The Orchards Poetry Review, Canyon Voices, The Loch Raven Review, Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase X and XI, and... Read More →
avatar for Brooke Fossey

Brooke Fossey

Brooke Fossey was once an aerospace engineer with a secret clearance before she traded it all in for motherhood and writing. She’s a past president and an honorary lifetime member of DFW Writers’ Workshop. Her work can be found in numerous publications, including Ruminate Mag... Read More →
avatar for Leslie Lutz
Saturday October 3, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

2:10pm CDT

Literary Smackdown
Saturday October 3, 2026 2:10pm - 3:00pm CDT
Room E-F

Speakers
avatar for John Bartell

John Bartell

John Bartell is a past president of the Fort Worth Poetry Society and of the DFW Writer’s Workshop. His poems can be found in various journals, including The Orchards Poetry Review, Canyon Voices, The Loch Raven Review, Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase X and XI, and... Read More →
avatar for Mark Dye
avatar for A Lee Martinez
avatar for Lauren Lanza Osias
Saturday October 3, 2026 2:10pm - 3:00pm CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

3:10pm CDT

Trust No One: Building Dread and Suspense in Thrillers and Mysteries
Saturday October 3, 2026 3:10pm - 4:00pm CDT
Room E-F
Explore how thriller writers create unease, escalate tension, and keep readers anticipating what might happen next. Panelists will discuss pacing, atmosphere, foreshadowing, psychological pressure, and the careful release of information that turns danger into dread.
Speakers
avatar for Katie Bernet

Katie Bernet

Katie is The New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Indie bestselling author of Beth Is Dead. She’s an award-winning creative director and a long-standing member of the DFW Writers’ Workshop. As the oldest of three sisters, she’s a diehard fan of Little Women.... Read More →
avatar for Larry Enmon
avatar for Stacey Graham

Stacey Graham

Stacey Graham is a literary agent with 3 Seas Literary Agency.

Stacey has worked both sides of the literary door as a humor writer with the wickedly funny Zombie Tarot, screenwriter, ghostwriter, short story writer, and specializes in offbeat nonfiction.

She loves working with writers at all stages of their careers, representing talented authors and illustrators from around the globe in picture books, middle grade, romance, graphic novels, and nonfiction. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents... Read More →
avatar for Brian Tracey
Saturday October 3, 2026 3:10pm - 4:00pm CDT
Room E-F
  Panel

4:10pm CDT

Here Be Dragons: Making Exposition in Your Fantasy Invisible
Saturday October 3, 2026 4:10pm - 5:00pm CDT
Room E-F
How do you pitch fantasy without explaining the whole world? How much does a reader truly need to understand in the opening chapters? What are your favorite ways to reveal worldbuilding through action rather than explanation? What are the clearest signs that exposition has become an info dump? When can dialogue carry exposition successfully, and when does it sound like characters explaining things they already know?
Speakers
avatar for Kelsey Evans

Kelsey Evans

Kelsey began as an editor, helping writers shape their work through developmental feedback, query critiques, and revision guidance.

Later, she moved into agenting, interning with Triada US and Creative Media Agency (CMA), where she gained hands-on experience in manuscri... Read More →
avatar for Sally Hamilton
avatar for Kate Khavari
avatar for Chelsea Moyer

Chelsea Moyer

Chelsea Moyer is a literary agent with the Raven Quill Literary Agency.

She loves genre fiction (especially mashups), speculative fiction, as well as contemporary. She's looking for stories that are fantastical, fierce, and filled with “big feelings" in Middle Grade, YA, and Adult categories. Prior to Raven Quill, Chelsea graduated with her M... Read More →
Saturday October 3, 2026 4:10pm - 5:00pm CDT
Room E-F
  Panel
 

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