Keynote Speaker

Break Out Session

Editor & Agent Pitch

2017 Annual April Guild Conference

"Diverse Inspirations:  Connecting the Dots"

Editor and Agent Pitch Sessions

Houston Writers Guild is proud to offer Editor and Agent Pitch Sessions at the 2017 Annual April Conference, on Saturday, April 29.  Editor or Agent pitch sessions are $50 each.  To schedule an agent pitch session, you must be registered for the Saturday Conference Sessions.  There are limited number of sessions so please book yours early. We encourage you to attend all three days of the conference; however, Saturday registration is required to take advantage of the Editor or Agent pitch sessions opportunity.   To purchase a pitch session use the PayPal button provided below.

Christine Klocek-Limagent pitch sessions

Senior Acquisition Editor, Evernight Publishing

Agent Pitch Sessions:

Evernight Publishing accepts all genres of erotic romance with a strong emphasis on romance. Your story must have a well developed plot, good characterization, and realistic dialogue. No head hopping, infidelity, or dubious consent. Agent pitch sessions will be looking for happy-ever-after endings (HEA); or, at least a happily-for-now ending (HFN). Evernight Publishing also accepts a small number of well-written urban fantasy stories. For these, a traditional HEA and romance isn’t required, but the plot must be extremely tight and well-constructed.

For a complete list of genres and categories, please see our website: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/. Here is a sample: gay romance, ménage, contemporary, romantic suspense, BDSM, shifters/vampires, paranormal, rubenesque, sci-fi, etc. We accept short stories, novellas, novels, and some epic length manuscripts. Our short story line, Romance on the Go, is particularly popular, as is our Planet Alpha ménage sci-fi series.

Evernight Teen accepts fresh young adult fiction that is raw, gritty, and real.  Agent pitch sessions should concentrate on teen romance, coming of age stories, and cutting edge fiction that today’s young adults can relate to. The stories should have real issues, a strong emotional punch, and a plot to keep the reader turning the pages.

Editor/Agent Bio:

Christine Klocek-Lim is an editor, novelist and prize-winning poet who resides in Pennsylvania. received the 2009 Ellen La Forge Memorial Prize in poetry. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for 3 Quarks Daily’s Prize in Arts & Literature, among others. She has written for Nautilus and is the author of one full length poetry collection, Dark Matter. She is the editor of Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY and is an Acquisition Editor for Evernight Teen and Evernight Publishing. She writes romance novels under the pen name Erin M. Leaf.

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agent pitch sessions

Doug Grad

 The Doug Grad Literary Agency

Agent Pitch Sessions:

The Doug Grad Literary Agency opened for business in 2008, with twenty-two years experience as a senior editor. Throughout his editorial career at four major New York publishing house, Doug was always considered an “author’s advocate”.  Doug was the kind of editor authors wanted to work with, because of his keen eye, integrity, and talent for developing projects.  He is also a skillful negotiator, sometimes to the chagrin of literary agents. Now, Doug he brings those experiences to the other side of the table. He offers publishers the kind of high-quality commercial fiction and nonfiction that he himself was proud to publish. Learn more about the Doug Grad Agency at http://www.dgliterary.com

At conference agent pitch sessions, Doug will be looking for the following genres:

  • Military memoir
  • military narrative nonfiction
  • narrative history
  • sports
  • cozy mysteries
  • thrillers.

Editor/Agent Bio:

Doug Grad has been editor in various capacities, from 1986 through the opening of his own literary agency in 2008.  He has worked for such great publishers as: Ladies Home Journal; Simon & Schuster; Harlequin Romance; Pocket Books; Golf Digest Magazine; Ballantine Books; Penguin Books; Regan Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers..  He has been the man behind numerous New York Times Best Sellers.  Learn more about Doug Grad and the Doug Grad Literary Agency.

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agent pitch sessionJennie Goloboy

Red Sofa Literary

Agent Pitch Sessions:

Red Sofa Literary is the celebration of the quirky, eclectic ideas in our exciting literary community.  Realizing that the best ideas come via engaging conversations and over good coffee, while sometimes relaxing in a colorful lounger. Red Sofa Literary is a boutique literary agency originally established in the St. Paul/Minneapolis. With authors all over the world, Red Sofa now has a reach beyond the infamous 10,000 Lakes.

At conference, she will be looking for the following genres:

  • Commercial History (non-academic)
  • American history, especially through 1850. Also interested in “history of an idea” books.
  • Romance, primarily with sci-fi and fantasy elements.
  • Young Adult and Middle Grade– Mostly Science Fiction/Fantasy. No paranormal romance, dystopias, or “chosen one” stories, please.
  • Absolutely no personal memoirs.

“Science Fiction/Fantasy, especially with a literary flair. Would love to see more non-traditional settings and characters. I’m always open to optimistic, light hearted fiction, but also enjoy a good scare.” – Jennie Goloboy

Editor/Agent Bio:

Jennie Goloboy is a literary agent at Red Sofa Literary in St. Paul, MN with a particular interest in representing history and science fiction and fantasy.  A Harvard-trained historian, she is the author of Charleston and the Emergence of Middle Class Culture in the Revolutionary Era.  She enjoys writing fiction under her pen name, Nora Fleischer, and jogging, very slowly.

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Alex Franks

Literary Agent, The Donaghy Literary Group

Agent Pitch Sessions:

The Donaghy Literary Group works to guide, support and promote their writers to achieve full career potential in an ever changing publishing landscape.  Agents and other team members are located in the U.S. and in Canada. DLG represents NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors K.A. Tucker​, Jay Crownover and many other talented clients. For more information on this agency, visit their website at: http://www.donaghyliterary.com

A seasoned traveler, Alex enjoys literature with a sense of place, in addition to well-formed characters and carefully paced plots. Small details can make or break a reader’s immersion in a text, and he is always looking out for writers who understand the idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms of the countries and regions about which they write. Additionally, he loves comic fiction, though prose quality and plot take precedence in consideration.

At conference agent pitch sessions, Alex will be looking for:

  • Contemporary fiction
  • Literary fiction
  • Science fiction
  • Thriller & Mystery – Most subgenres considered, with the exception of cozy and soft-boiled in a contemporary setting
  • Espionage

Editor/Agent Bio:

Prior to joining DLG, Alex worked at The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City,as a freelance editor for mysteriouspress.com, and proofreader for Europa Editions.He has written regularly for Kirkus Reviews and Foreword Reviews, primarily about independent and self-published works.

Alex graduated with honors from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he focused on Ancient philosophy and the early Victorian novel.  He continued his education, earning an MS in Modernism and Postmodernism.