Conference & Pitch Fest
About
Anaphora Conference & Pitch Fest is a program designed exclusively for writers of color, to provide them the opportunity to connect with professionals in the publishing industry.
The conference will include conversations with editors and publishers; manuscript prep and critique sessions; query crafting sessions; sessions on how to pitch literary agents; and more. Participants will also have the chance to pitch their work to select literary agents.
Dates & Fees
The upcoming residency will run on May 13 - 17, 2024, and will be held virtually. The conference badge costs $420; the early bird registration fee is $350. You must register by the March 31, 2024 to take advantage of the early bird registration fee.
Registration is now open! Take advantage of the early bird registration deadline. Registration includes participation both in the conference session and in the pitch fest. Your admission badge confirms your spot in the conference; registrations without the paid fees will not be considered valid.
Anaphora staff will hold prep sessions to go over the conference programming and how to prepare for the pitch sessions. If you have any questions, please check out the conference FAQ page, or contact us.
What to Expect
By attending this conference, you will be able to:
Gain insight into the publishing industry;
Understand how to talk about your work, how to develop your voice, and how to build lasting relationships with professionals in the publishing industry;
Learn about the different pathways for publication, and opportunities for writers of color;
Learn practical skills on how to craft a query letter, how to pitch your work to literary agents, how to edit your manuscript, and how to navigate the publishing industry;
Connect with an extended community of writers, editors, agents, publishers of color.
and so much more!
Speakers
Amanda Orozco
Before joining Transatlantic, Amanda Orozco gained a breadth of experience in academic publishing, publicity, subsidiary rights, and agenting. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physiological Science and an English minor and worked as a fine art instructor and freelance editor for several years before moving to New York to complete the NYU Masters of Science in Publishing: Digital and Print Media. While at NYU, she worked at the National Book Foundation, Shreve Williams Public Relations, and The Gernert Company; she was also selected to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Beijing International Book Fair. Upon graduating from NYU in 2019, she worked in Subsidiary Rights at Little, Brown, where she helped sell rights for authors such as Michael Connelly, Elin Hilderbrand, and Sarah Knight, until discovering agenting was her true calling. She worked at Park & Fine Literary and Media before moving back to Los Angeles, where she is now excited to build her list at Transatlantic. Amanda has been a member of PoCinPub since 2018 and currently works for Dryland, the literary journal born in South Central, where she aims to amplify marginalized voices from the literary underground.
Amy Bishop-Wycisk
Amy Bishop-Wycisk joined Trellis Literary Management in 2023 after eight years with Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. She represents a wide-ranging list in fiction, nonfiction, and YA. Across the board, she has a special interest in underrepresented voices, especially from the AAPI community. In fiction, she’s seeking upmarket and book club fiction (to her, this means a high concept, commercial hook with more upmarket or literary writing), stories with an element of mystery or suspense, and is always looking for a propulsive plot married with beautiful writing. She’s eagerly looking for historical fiction, literary horror, and SFF written by women of color, coming-of-age-stories, and retellings from around the world. In nonfiction, her tastes trend toward expert-driven narrative nonfiction, cultural criticism, history, and pop culture; regardless of genre, books that are engaging with a contemporary conversation are always of interest. In YA, she’d love books with murder and intrigue, featuring unexpected places and unexpected heroines; more immigrant stories; queer stories; girls quietly (or loudly) working for justice, and of course, a light-hearted contemporary romp to balance out all the murder. Her incredible clients have been NYT, USA Today, and Indie Bestsellers, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and winners of the James Beard Award and Edgar Awards. Before diving into the world of publishing, she graduated from SUNY Geneseo with degrees in Creative Writing and German. Though she grew up upstate, she currently resides in Woodside, Queens with her sweet husband and very demanding cat. Amy’s favorite non-client authors (if your work is similar, please reach out!): Parini Shroff, Grace D. Li, R.F. Kuang, Sarah Gailey, Jia Tolentino, Patrick Radden Keefe, Erika Krause, Amanda Montell, Chloe Gong, Stacey Lee.
Eric Smith
Eric Smith is a literary agent at PSLA, with a love for young adult books, literary fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, and non-fiction. He’s worked on award-winning and New York Times bestselling titles, and began his publishing career at Quirk Books. A frequent blogger, his ramblings about books and the publishing industry regularly appear on Book Riot, Paste Magazine, and Publishing Crawl. He also occasionally writes books when he finds the time, like his latest, Don’t Read the Comments (Inkyard Press).
Ibrahim Ahmad
Viking Books
Ibrahim Ahmad joined Viking as executive editor in 2021. His nonfiction interests include current affairs, politics, history, science and technology, biography, business, and pop culture. He also publishes an eclectic array of literary fiction and crime fiction, with a particular focus on incendiary, urgent voices that subvert and expand the existing literature. His first title on the Viking list, His Name Is George Floyd by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award; other recent and forthcoming titles include works by Nathaniel Philbrick, Ruth Ozeki, Salman Khan, Matthew F. Delmont, Jennifer Taub, Nathan Tankus, Joanna Schwartz, Dwyer Murphy, and Louis Chude-Sokei. As editorial director at Akashic Books, where he worked for two decades, Ahmad published a list of extraordinary writers from around the world, including Maaza Mengiste, Chris Abani, Tayari Jones, Marlon James, Amiri Baraka, Kwame Dawes, Bernardine Evaristo, Nelson George, Percival Everett, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Patricia Smith, Joyce Carol Oates, Ben Okri, Edwidge Danticat, Michael Stipe, Prodigy from Mobb Deep, Michael Imperioli, and Adam Mansbach.
Jade Wong-Baxter
Frances Goldling Literary Agency
Jade Wong-Baxter joined the Frances Goldin Literary Agency in 2021, after spending three years at Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Chinese from Vassar College in 2017. Jade is looking for adult literary/upmarket fiction and narrative nonfiction, with an emphasis on narratives by and about people of color, as well as the perspectives of marginalized identities. In fiction: Jade is drawn to stories that combine a compelling voice with clear narrative momentum. 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 or science fiction, please); a strong sense of place; AAPI and Asian diaspora stories; and novels about immigrant families. In nonfiction: across genres, Jade enjoys projects that weave together specific personal narrative with a broader sociological curiosity. She is particularly looking for memoir, cultural criticism, social justice-oriented journalism, linked essay collections, and AAPI history or culture. Jade’s clients include Chris Belcher (PRETTY BABY, Avid Reader; a 2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist); Delia Cai (CENTRAL PLACES, Ballantine, 2023); and Hannah Matthews (YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE, Atria, 2023).
Monica Odom
Monica Odom founded her own agency in 2019, after working in publishing for nearly a decade, including roles as agent at Liza Dawson Associates and Bradford Literary Agency. She earned her M.S. in Publishing: Digital & Print Media from New York University, and has a B.A. in English from Montclair State University. She was also schooled in bookselling and event coordinating at her local indie, Watchung Booksellers. Monica is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents where she serves on the Board, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and co-chairs the Communications Committee. She is President of the DEI non-profit Literary Agents of Change. She has also served on the WNDB Walter Grant Judging Committee, and is dedicated to the holistic and intentional expansion of intersectional diversity, equity and inclusivity in the publishing industry. She is a frequent guest at writers’ conferences, publishing institutes and universities, delivering keynotes, speaking on panels, and conducting workshops.
Quressa Robinson
Quressa Robinson joined Folio Literary Management in 2022 after working at previous agencies, including the Nelson Literary Agency, and as an editor for five years. She is originally from San Francisco, but has been living in New York City for over a decade. As a New York based agent, she is eager to build her MG, YA, and Adult lists. When not curled on her couch reading, she plays video games, enjoys too much, TV–-mostly Sailor Moon and Avatar: The Last Airbender (Fire Nation)--eats delicious things, drinks champagne, hangs out with her very clever partner, and adds another “dramatic” color to her lipstick collection. Quressa is also a member of the 2017-2019 WNDB Walter Grant Committee and holds an MFA in Creative Writing: Fiction from Columbia University. In 2020, she was named a Publisher's Weekly Star Watch finalist. In 2021 she was named an influential gatekeeper in Book and Film Globe’s inaugural Publishing Power 30 list alongside phenoms like Reece Witherspoon, Celeste Ng, and Lisa Lucas. Her genres and specialties include Fantasy/science fiction, Juvenile fiction, Contemporary and SF/F Middle Grade, Contemporary Young Adult, SF/F Young Adult--especially Crossover, Pop Cutlure, Pop Science, Indigenous, African/Black, Asian, Latino/a/x, Muslim and other religious minorities, People with Disabilities, Neurodivergent, Multiracial/Multicultural, LGBTQ, Inclusive.
Rakia Clark
Rakia Clark is an executive editor at Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. She acquires serious, literary and narrative nonfiction; and gorgeously written, plot-driven novels and short story collections. Big emotions and topical subjects are a plus. Rakia often works with journalists and thought leaders writing about current events, public intellectuals and culture critics telling the world about itself, biographies of legendary figures, and some history, especially when there are obvious ties to the present day. In all cases, she looks for writers who have something to say.
Saba Sulaiman
Talcott Notch Literary Services
Saba Sulaiman was born to Pakistani immigrants in Sri Lanka. She studied Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at Wellesley College, and modern Persian Literature at the University of Chicago, where she helped edit the department's Center for Middle Eastern Studies's academic journal. After a stint at Sourcebooks as an editorial intern, she joined the Talcott Notch Literary Services. She believes that being an author is an entrepreneurial endeavor, and she sees her role as her clients’ primary advocate as they navigate each and every stage of the publishing process. She is also committed to highlighting marginalized voices with bright careers ahead of them, and compelling stories to tell; stories that demonstrate the true range of perspectives that exist in this world, and address urgent and often underexplored issues with veracity and heart. She is also proud to be on the steering committee for People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization working to serve the interests of publishing professionals of color.
Samantha Fabien
Samantha Fabien (she/her) is a literary agent at Root Literary. Before joining the Root team, Samantha worked at Laura Dail Literary Agency as a literary agent and International Rights Manager. Her background includes a Bachelor’s in PR and Journalism, a certificate from the Columbia Publishing Course, and internships/part-time work at Ayesha Pande Literary, Writers House, and Chalberg & Sussman. From these experiences, Samantha has fostered her love for sharing diverse, lasting, and inclusive stories with the world – both in the U.S. and abroad. Samantha can also be found working with events and organizations like DVcon, #Edits4BlackSFF, Gotham Writers, and the New York Writing Room among others. For more information, you can visit her website: www.samanthafabien.com or follow her on social media as @samanthashnh on Instagram and Twitter.
Sonali Chanchani
Sonali Chanchani is an agent at Folio Literary Management, where she represents literary and upmarket fiction and narrative nonfiction. In fiction, she gravitates towards smart, funny novels about identity and coming of age; braided narratives of friendship and family; and nuanced psychological suspense. In nonfiction, she’s looking for reported narratives that speak to larger social, cultural, and political issues. Across the board, she’s particularly interested in character-driven stories that center historically underrepresented voices. Sonali earned her degree in English and Narrative Studies from the University of Southern California and began her career in publishing at Kaya Press.
Soumeya Roberts
Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts joined HG Literary, where she is an agent and Vice President of Foreign Rights, in 2017. Prior to representing authors as a literary agent, Soumeya was a book scout at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates and began her career in the editorial department at an independent publishing company in San Francisco. She was agent at Writers House and the Susan Golomb Literary Agency, where she was also Foreign Rights Director, prior to joining HG Literary. Soumeya represents award-winning and best-selling authors in literary and upmarket fiction, narrative non-fiction, and memoir, including Tara M. Stringfellow, Rosalie Knecht, Debra Jo Immergut, Melissa Coss Aquino, Fernando A. Flores, and Sonora Jha, among others. She also represents a curated list across creative fields including design, craft, and lifestyle by makers such as Darryl Cheng, Rachel Corry, Luke Pyenson and Alex Bleeker, and Tuft the World. She is seeking new voices in fiction and narrative nonfiction, especially stories about dynamic relationships between complex but sympathetic characters; families, siblings, and motherhood; social commentary; unconventional settings and subcultures; our relationship with land, nature, and animals; and controlled experiments with form. She is particularly, but not exclusively, interested in work that investigates or reflects on the post-colonial world, marginalized and liminal spaces, and narratives by people of color. In non-fiction, she is primarily looking for idea-driven or voice-forward memoirs, personal essay collections, and narrative non-fiction of all stripes. Soumeya is not looking for fantasy, science fiction, religious books, commercial romance, middle grade, young adult, or picture books.She is a member of the Board of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and serves on their International Rights Committee and participates in the Literary Agents of Change mentorship program. Originally from the California Bay Area, she is still drawn to the spirit of originality, diversity, and independence of the West Coast. She now lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Conference & Pitch Fest - 2023
The Conference & Pitch Fest (2023) was held virtually on June 1 - 4, 2023. The Conference included 20+ speakers, including literary agents, editors, publishers & more.
Speakers included: Amanda Orozco (Transatlantic Agency), Anjali Singh (Ayesha Pande Literary), Christina Morgan (Serendipity Literary Agency), Eric Smith (P.S. Literary), Hafizah Peter (Janklow, Nesbit & Associates), Iwalani Kim (Sanford J. Greenburger & Associates), Jenny Xu (Atria Books), and more.