Agent Meeting Information and Preparation
In-Person meetings with agents will be held during the first two sessions of the conference, before lunch.
Lauren Scovel and Jeff Herman are available for in-person meetings at the conference, and will participate in a session after lunch.
Marissa Childs, Amaryah Orenstein and Cole Hildebarnd will be available for agent meetings on Zoom.
- Marissa is available Tuesday October 21st, between 11am - 2 pm.
- Amaryah is available Wednesday October 21st between 10am - 11:30am and Thursday October 22nd between 1pm - 2:30pm.
- Cole is available Wednesday October 21st between 11:30-1pm and 2:30 - 4pm.
Agents are familiar with the publishing industry as well as the craft of writing and can guide you responsibly in both areas, and give you feedback on how to make your query letter stand out. They also serve as gateways to editors and publishing companies. While some participating agents do go on to represent clients they meet at WriteAngles, an equally valuable purpose of these sessions is to provide you with feedback to strengthen your agent submissions.
Please remember, one meeting with an agent is a great opportunity, but for most authors this will be one of many experiences with agents that you have until you find the agent that is right for your work.
When to Meet with an Agent -
If you are seeking an agent for your fiction, you should have a completed manuscript. If you are seeking an agent for your nonfiction, you should have several chapters and a completed book proposal.
What to Expect -
We expect the meetings to be warm, friendly, and professional. The agent will lead the meeting and likely launch immediately into giving feedback on your work. Alternatively, they may begin by asking you questions. You should expect to hear critical feedback that may or may not be difficult to process or accept. If the agent does not give you a glowing review or offer to represent you, this does NOT mean that your work is poor or that you are untalented. It may not be right for the agent you’re meeting with, but their feedback will be useful to you nonetheless.
Because the conversation can be overwhelming, we recommend that you plan to take notes during your meeting. Do not expect a request for your full manuscript. If they would like to see more of your work, the agent or editor will ask you to submit it at a later date.
How to Prepare your Query Letter and Manuscript for the Agent Meeting -
Prepare a query letter and the first five pages of your manuscript, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font.
Your agent will read five pages, so polish your sample and make it as strong as you possibly can.
Include your query letter. A query letter helps agents understand your entire work and give you better feedback. They can also give you feedback on these pitch documents themselves and tell you what would make your query letter stand out to them and their colleagues. You can find suggestions for writing a query letter here.
Use our Manuscript Checklist to ensure you have formatted your sample according to these guidelines:
- No more than FIVE (5) double-spaced pages of a fiction or nonfiction manuscript. Pages should be numbered, titled, in black 12-point Times New Roman font, on white 8.5 x 11–inch electronic pages, with one-inch margins on all sides.
- Include your one-page query. The query may be single-spaced.
- Submit your query letter and manuscript pages in a single ".doc" or ".docx" document, which you can create in programs like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The title of the file MUST be your full name, e.g., ToniMorrison.doc. Files must end in a .doc or .docx extension.
You will receive an email with instructions on submitting your query letter and pages. To ensure that agents have adequate time to review your work, submit your file no later than Saturday, October 3.
Prepare for and Attend Your Meeting -
You will receive an email confirming your agent meeting time(s) and/or ZOOM link(s) by Sunday, September 27, 2026. For Zoom meetings, log in to Zoom using the link you will receive in that email. Contact the WriteAngles team at [email protected] ASAP if you do you not receive your link(s). For in-person meetings, you will receive your designated time for the conference session.
The agent will conclude the discussion promptly after 15 minutes so that subsequent meetings may start on time.
Email to be manually sent (no later than Sunday, Sept. 27) when we have hopefully finalized the specific schedule for each agent’s meetings <I suggest that we create one email for each agent, and include the first name/last initial of each writer meeting with the agent along with their time slot in it. That way we have to create only five emails rather than 45.>
Have questions? Reach out to our event planning team at [email protected] .
