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 June 1 - 4, 2023, and will be held virtually. The conference badge costs $420; the early bird registration fee is $350. You must register by the priority deadline March 15, 2023 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.
Anjali Singh
Anjali Singh started her career in publishing in 1996 as a literary scout. Formerly Editorial Director at Other Press, she has also worked as an editor at Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Vintage Books. She is best known for having championed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis after stumbling across it on a visit to Paris. She has always been drawn to the thrill of discovering new writers and among the literary novelists whose careers she helped launch are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Samantha Hunt, Preeta Samarasan and Saleem Haddad. As an agent she represents Bridgett Davis, author of the acclaimed memoir The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life in the Detroit Numbers; Susan Abulhawa, bestselling author of Mornings in Jenin and Against the Loveless World; Nawaaz Ahmed, author of the debut novel Radiant Fugitives and Rachel Harper, author of The Other Mother. Her graphic novel list includes Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez’ Wake: The Hidden History of Women-led Slave Revolts and Gillian Goerz’ Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer as well as forthcoming works by Deena Mohamed, Steenz, Salman Toor, Fouad Mezher and Tessa Hulls. She is on the lookout for character-driven fiction or non-fiction works that reflect an engagement with the world around us and graphic novels for all ages. She grew up between New Delhi and Alexandria, VA, graduated from Brown University and holds a diploma in French language and literature from the Sorbonne. She is a devoted New Yorker but still manages to spend a great deal of time in Rhode Island.
Christina Morgan
Christina Morgan has over a decade of professional book publishing experience, including editorial positions at Amistad/HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and as an agent for Curtis Brown Ltd. At Amistad she was a part of a team that published numerous New York Times bestsellers including CONFESSIONS OF A VIDEO VIXEN, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, and ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A MAN. At HMH she worked with some of the world’s most esteemed authors, including Umberto Eco, Amos Oz, Gunter Grass and Alice Walker. Prior to working in book publishing she worked as a journalist, writing for numerous magazines and newspapers. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Columbia Publishing Course. What She's Looking For: Christina is primarily interested in literary fiction, crime fiction, and narrative non-fiction in the categories of pop culture, sports, current events and memoir.
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).
Hafizah Geter
Hafizah Geter is an award-winning Nigerian-American poet, writer, and editor born in Zaria, Nigeria. She grew up in Akron, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina and received her BA in English and economics from Clemson University and an MFA in poetry from Columbia College Chicago. Before joining Janklow, Hafizah was most recently an Editor at Little A and Topple Books, where her list included Hari Ziyad’s BLACK BOY OUT OF TIME, Susan Bernhard’s WINTER LOON, William Dameron’s THE LIE: A MEMOIR OF TWO MARRIAGES, CATFISHING & COMING OUT, Precious Brady Davis’s I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ME, Bobi Conn’s THROUGH THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY, Marco Rafalà’s HOW FIRES END, a 2020 Connecticut Book Award finalist and honorable mention, and Melissa Faliveno’s TOMBOYLAND which was named one of New York Public Library and NPR’s Best Books of 2020.
Iwalani Kim
Sanford J. Greenburger & Associates
Iwalani Kim is an associate literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i and graduated from Vassar College with degrees in Political Science and German Studies. She is seeking adult upmarket and literary fiction and select narrative nonfiction. In fiction, she loves coming-of-age narratives, family dramas, and stories that challenge systems of power. She gravitates toward lush prose, wry humor, irreverent characters, and a sense of yearning. In nonfiction, she is looking for literary memoir and cultural criticism. She is particularly drawn to narratives about identity, deep dives into subcultures, food writing, and writing that complicates the idea of ‘paradise’ or explores progressive social movements. She is passionate about championing the work of underrepresented authors and would especially love to work with Pacific Islander writers. Upcoming titles include Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s EVERY DROP IS A MAN’S NIGHTMARE and Reena Shah’s EVERY HAPPINESS.
Jenny Xu
Atria Books (Simon & Schuster)
Jenny Xu (she/her) is the senior editor at Atria Books. Previously, she worked for Harper Books and Ecco, where she edited and acquired poetry for Ecco and nonfiction for Harper, with a particular focus on marginalized and underrepresented voices. Recent and upcoming projects include The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi, Rise by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu and Philip Wang, and The High Desert by James Spooner. She is on the board of MassLEAP, and mentors through Representation Matters and POC in Publishing.
Krishan Trotman
Hachette Book Group
Krishan Trotman is the Vice-President, Publisher of Legacy Lit. She joined Hachette Books in 2016. In 2020 she launched Legacy Lit, an imprint dedicated to books that give voice to issues, authors, and communities that have been marginalized, underserved, and overlooked. This includes BIPOC authors, all women, and any group that they believe deserves a spotlight. The imprint is committed to promoting equality, equity, and inclusion for all people. The books are bold, mission-driven commercial works. Social justice and empowerment are Trotman’s passion. She likes to work with authors who are candid, bold, and, in their own unique way, not afraid to shake things up. Her authors have included a range of award-winning and New York Times bestsellers, including: congressman John Lewis’ Across That Bridge; journalist Stephanie Land’s Maid; MSNBC political analyst Malcolm Nance’s The Plot to Destroy Democracy; New York Times columnist Lindy West’s The Witches Are Coming and Shit Actually; UFC’s Mixed Martial Artist Paige VanZant’s Rise; Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad’s Proud; radio and TV host Zerlina Maxwell’s The End of White Politics; TV personality Ed Gordon’s Conversations in Black; journalist Talia Lavin’s Culture Warlords; Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales ’ forthcoming memoir Nothing Personal; BRAVO’s Million Dollar Listing star Ryan Serhant’s Sell It Like Serhant and Big Money Energy; Morning Joe’s cohost Mika Brzezinski’s Earn It! and Comeback Careers; The Today Show’s cohost Al Roker’s You Look So Much Better in Person; and empowerment coach Gina DeVee’s The Audacity to Be Queen, to name a few. Krishan has been featured in the New York Times, Essence Magazine, New York Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Salon, Shondaland, Cheddar TV, MSN, CSPAN, and more. She is the self-described Beyoncé of Books, and mom to her son Bleu.
Linda Camacho
Linda was always a fan of escaping into a good book, so the fact that she gets to make it her career is still surreal. She graduated from Cornell with a B.S. in Communication and has seen many sides of the industry. She’s held various positions at Penguin Random House, Dorchester, Simon and Schuster, and Writers House literary agency until she ventured into agenting at Prospect. She's done everything from foreign rights to editorial to marketing to operations, so it was amazing to see how all the departments worked together to bring books to life. Somewhere in between all that (and little sleep), Linda received her MFA in creative writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Now at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency, Linda continues to work with colleagues and clients who inspire her every day in both the children’s and adult categories.
Mariah Stovall
Mariah Stovall joined Trellis Literary Management after agenting at Howland Literary and Writers House. Prior to that, she worked on the other side of things, at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and at Gallery Books. She is actively seeking writers with strong voices and intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives. She works on adult literary and upmarket fiction, narrative nonfiction, essay collections and memoir. Mariah is a graduate of Pitzer College, of the Claremont Colleges, where she studied English and World Literature with a minor in Linguistics. She volunteers for VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts. She has written fiction and nonfiction for Ninth Letter, Hobart, Joyland, The Paris Review, Poets & Writers, Literary Hub and more.
Marisa Cleveland
Marisa Cleveland joined The Seymour Agency as an author in 2009. In June 2020, Marisa started signing her own authors who write in the children’s, general fiction, and nonfiction spaces. She’s looking for a manuscript she can’t put down until the last page and can’t stop discussing. Voice is definitely key for her. If she’s going to sign (and sell) someone or recommend someone, then the writer’s voice has to speak to her. She has to be able to listen (vocally and on the page) to that writer through revisions and edits and book after book. She wants to find characters she wants as her best friends and partners-in-crime long after the story ends, whether it’s in this world or an alternate universe.
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.
Nadxieli Nieto
Nadxieli Nieto is the Executive Editor at Flatiron Books. She is looking for upmarket and literary fiction, YA, and select nonfiction, with a focus on work by Latinx and BIPoC. Her authors at Flatiron include María Amparo Escandón, John Manuel Arias, Rasheed Newson, Wendy Chin-Tanner, Erica Berry, and Ben Austen. She is drawn to innovative, language-driven work in fiction, and idea-driven, researched nonfiction on culture, feminism, immigration, and the environment. Authors she’s previously edited and published include Carmen Maria Machado, Lilliam Rivera, Yuri Herrera, Danielle Evans, Leslie Jamison, Laura van den Berg, Rion Amilcar Scott, Stephen Graham Jones, Helen Phillips, and Amber Sparks. Nieto was previously Director of the Literary Awards Program at PEN America, and is on the board of Latinx in Publishing.
Penny Moore
Penny Moore represents standout authors such as Morris Award Finalist, Akemi Dawn Bowman, author of titles, Starfish and Summer Bird Blue; Beth Evans, author/illustrator of I Really Didn’t Think This Through; Nicki Pau Preto, author of Crown of Feathers; Lyla Lee, author of The Mindy Kim Series; and Katie Zhao, author of The Dragon Warrior. Moore graduated from the University of Georgia with a double degree in Linguistics and Japanese Language & Literature. During her time as an undergraduate, she also studied comparative literature at top universities in Japan and South Korea. Penny joined Aevitas in 2018, starting in the industry as an assistant/associate agent at FinePrint Literary Management in 2014, then joining Empire Literary as an agent two years later, where she built out the children’s portion of the agency’s list. Moore mainly represents children’s literature, including picture books, middle grade, and young adult. She also has an interest in select platform nonfiction projects that speak to younger audiences. Though she’s interested in all genres, she’s specifically seeking inventive works featuring breakout voices and compelling plot lines that will make young readers feel seen and heard for the first time.
Priya Doraswamy
Priya Doraswamy’s love for books, people, and background in law makes her career as a literary agent the perfect fit for her passions and talents. Priya enjoys working with publishers and writers from around the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, and India. Although physically in the EST, her work hours are zone-free. She does admit to occasionally losing track of time zones and waking a writer with an early morning phone call. Priya has been an agent for several years and has sold several books worldwide. She is drawn to all genre of fiction and nonfiction. Prior to her agency career, she was a practicing lawyer in the United States. Originally from Bangalore, India, Priya immigrated to the New York area many moons ago. For a period of time she relocated with her family to Singapore, and there, began her career as a literary agent. She founded Lotus Lane Literary in May 2013, and continues her journey with writers and publishers.
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.
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.
Sandy Lu
Sandy Lu founded Book Wyrm Literary Agency after working as a literary agent for more than a decade at other boutique agencies, including Peter Rubie Literary Agency, Anderson Literary Management, and most notably, the L. Perkins Agency. Born and raised in Taiwan, Sandy’s family moved to New York in her teens, so she understands the struggles of immigrants and those who straddle two cultures all too well. Sandy holds BAs in psychology and sociology from Queens College, with minors in music, business, and Japanese. Prior to becoming an agent, she attended the Ph.D. Program in Social and Personality Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and worked as a business/operations manager in the theater industry. Sandy’s areas of study and work experience greatly inform her interest in submissions. She is seeking stories that will draw her in with a unique voice, make her miss her bedtime with a thrilling plot, and characters that will stay with her long after she turns the last page. Bonus points if you can make her laugh out loud or unable to hold back tears in public. Sandy especially loves historical fiction and anything dark, twisted, or with a supernatural bent.
Serene Hakim
Prior to joining Ayesha Pande Literary in 2015, Serene worked at Laura Gross Literary Agency in Boston. Serene holds an M.A. in French to English translation from NYU and a B.A. in French and Women’s Studies from the University of Kansas. Born to Lebanese immigrants in the Midwest, she grew up straddling cultures and languages and still feels like a third culture kid. Serene loves to read a variety of genres but is particularly drawn to fiction with strong female voices, both YA and adult fiction and non-fiction with international themes, and LGBTQ and feminist issues. She is always on the lookout for great YA sci-fi and fantasy, realistic YA, and anything that gives voice to those whose voices are underrepresented and/or marginalized. She is especially interested in stories dealing with the Middle East and the variety of immigrant experiences out there. Specifically, she’s looking for writing that explores the different meanings of identity, home, family and parenthood/motherhood. When she’s not reading, she can usually be found trying a new recipe while simultaneously balancing a toddler on her hip.
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.