Deep Dive Virtual Retreat:
Building a Bridge Between You and Publishing’s Gatekeepers
31 Jan & 1 Feb 2026
10am-5pm ET
We have 13 incredible speakers lined up for our very last Deep Dive Virtual Retreat,
12 of whom are either literary agents or editors—and a few who are also authors! — who are all looking forward
to sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience with you as you navigate your publishing journey.
The retreat will be recorded and send to all registered delegates on the 2nd of February
so that you won't miss out on a minute of it!
Those recordings will be made available for 3 months after the Deep Dive.
Danya Kukakfa is the author of the national bestseller, Notes on an Execution, which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2023 and was named The New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. Notes on an Execution was an Indie Next Pick, a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards for fiction, and received a cover review in the New York Times Book Review. Her debut novel, Girl in Snow was also a national bestseller, an Indie Next Pick, and a B&N Discover pick. Both novels have been optioned for film and television, and her work has been published in more than a dozen languages worldwide.
She works as a literary agent with Trellis Literary Management and before then, was privileged to work as an assistant editor at PRH for writers like Meg Wolitzer, Paula Hawkins, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett, Emma Straub, Gabriel Tallent, Helen Oyeyemi, Maile Meloy, Sigrid Nunez, and many more.
She was also a wonderful guest on the podcast! If you missed that episode, you can listen to it here.
Danya’s Topic: Editorial Agents: How Much Work Are They Willing to Take On?
Writers keep hearing that a work needs to be polished before querying agents. But they also hear that editorial agents help writers elevate their work before submitting it to publishers. How can both these things be true? Join literary agent and author Danya Kukafka to find out. Danya will guide us through five books she’s edited as an agent before selling them to publishers, revealing what “polished” looks like and how a novel can be polished enough for an agent but still not ready for submission to publishers.
She works as a literary agent with Trellis Literary Management and before then, was privileged to work as an assistant editor at PRH for writers like Meg Wolitzer, Paula Hawkins, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett, Emma Straub, Gabriel Tallent, Helen Oyeyemi, Maile Meloy, Sigrid Nunez, and many more.
She was also a wonderful guest on the podcast! If you missed that episode, you can listen to it here.
Danya’s Topic: Editorial Agents: How Much Work Are They Willing to Take On?
Writers keep hearing that a work needs to be polished before querying agents. But they also hear that editorial agents help writers elevate their work before submitting it to publishers. How can both these things be true? Join literary agent and author Danya Kukafka to find out. Danya will guide us through five books she’s edited as an agent before selling them to publishers, revealing what “polished” looks like and how a novel can be polished enough for an agent but still not ready for submission to publishers.
Loan Le is a senior editor at Atria Books, where she acquires genre-bending adult fiction, often with a dark edge. She is also the author of Solving for the Unknown and A Pho Love Story. She published her YA speculative short story in the anthology Firsts & Lasts.
Her titles include Scott Alexander Howard’s The Other Valley, Luke Dumas’s The Paleontologist, Carolyn Huynh’s The Fortunes of Jaded Women (a GMA Book Club Pick), and Jess Kidd’s The Night Ship, Sarah Langan’s Good Neighbors (both B&N Book Club Picks).
When she isn’t editing or writing, she’s making sourdough bread and watching true crime documentaries. Visit her website at WriterLoanLe.me and Instagram @LoanLoanLe.
Loan’s Topic: Beauty of In-Between: The Art (and Risk) of Genre-Bending Fiction
What happens when a story refuses to fit neatly on the shelf? In this talk, Atria senior editor Loan Le explores how today’s most exciting fiction blurs the boundaries between genres, why readers are craving fiction that defies the expected, why editors are drawn to the books that defy easy labels. From literary horror to speculative romance, hybrid storytelling is reshaping what readers expect and what publishers aim to publish. Attendees will learn how to pitch stories that cross categories without losing focus or heart, and how to turn “too hard to categorize” into “impossible to forget.”
Her titles include Scott Alexander Howard’s The Other Valley, Luke Dumas’s The Paleontologist, Carolyn Huynh’s The Fortunes of Jaded Women (a GMA Book Club Pick), and Jess Kidd’s The Night Ship, Sarah Langan’s Good Neighbors (both B&N Book Club Picks).
When she isn’t editing or writing, she’s making sourdough bread and watching true crime documentaries. Visit her website at WriterLoanLe.me and Instagram @LoanLoanLe.
Loan’s Topic: Beauty of In-Between: The Art (and Risk) of Genre-Bending Fiction
What happens when a story refuses to fit neatly on the shelf? In this talk, Atria senior editor Loan Le explores how today’s most exciting fiction blurs the boundaries between genres, why readers are craving fiction that defies the expected, why editors are drawn to the books that defy easy labels. From literary horror to speculative romance, hybrid storytelling is reshaping what readers expect and what publishers aim to publish. Attendees will learn how to pitch stories that cross categories without losing focus or heart, and how to turn “too hard to categorize” into “impossible to forget.”
Caroline Bleeke is the editorial director of fiction at Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, having joined in 2014, at the very beginning of the fiction program. In addition to helping shape the vision and strategy for our fiction acquisitions, she publishes a list of literary and upmarket fiction, with an emphasis on underrepresented voices, family sagas, coming-of-age stories, historical fiction, fantasy crossover, clever retellings, innovative structure and style, writing with a strong sense of place, and lots of heart. Among the titles she has published at Flatiron are the New York Times bestseller, #1 IndieNext pick, and Reese's Book Club pick Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy; Women's Prize finalist and inaugural GMA Book Club pick Dominicana by Angie Cruz; Lambda Literary and Goodreads Choice Award finalist Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield; New York Times Notable Book Four Treasures of the Sky by National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree Jenny Tinghui Zhang; and #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber's adult debut novel, Alchemy of Secrets. Originally from St. Louis, Caroline began her career at Alfred A. Knopf and holds a Master’s degree in Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Literature.
Caroline’s Topic: How Much Plot is Required?
What do we mean when we call a novel “literary” or “commercial”? What about “upmarket” or “book clubby”? Do these distinctions mean anything to readers, or just publishers? In this presentation with Flatiron Books executive editor Caroline Bleeke, we will dive into the different general fiction categories and discuss what makes them unique. One major question that often arises is how much plot is required in a literary vs. commercial novel. What does plot add to the reading experience, and how else might we generate momentum, pacing, and dramatic stakes? What are the merits of “quiet” fiction, and how does it fit into the current publishing marketplace? Drawing on Caroline’s career and experience, we will look at examples of novels across the general fiction categories to see how they might subvert our expectations and offer insights for writers.
Caroline’s Topic: How Much Plot is Required?
What do we mean when we call a novel “literary” or “commercial”? What about “upmarket” or “book clubby”? Do these distinctions mean anything to readers, or just publishers? In this presentation with Flatiron Books executive editor Caroline Bleeke, we will dive into the different general fiction categories and discuss what makes them unique. One major question that often arises is how much plot is required in a literary vs. commercial novel. What does plot add to the reading experience, and how else might we generate momentum, pacing, and dramatic stakes? What are the merits of “quiet” fiction, and how does it fit into the current publishing marketplace? Drawing on Caroline’s career and experience, we will look at examples of novels across the general fiction categories to see how they might subvert our expectations and offer insights for writers.
Alexa Stark joined Writers House in 2022, after ten years at Trident Media Group. She represents a range of literary and upmarket fiction and select nonfiction. On the fiction side, she is seeking bold voices, novels that engage with social issues, coming-of-age stories, historical fiction with a modern edge, smart book club reads, and fiction that delves into the surreal or plays with genre in fresh or subversive ways.
She is particularly drawn to relationship-driven fiction: novels that center dysfunctional friendships or families, complicated love stories, or stories about obsession. She also enjoys elevated suspense and social thrillers. She gravitates towards the humorous, the psychologically probing and the tender. On the nonfiction side, she is seeking memoir, cultural criticism, popular science, psychology, parenting, and women’s issues.
Alexa also enjoys helping her authors place fiction and essays in a range of publications including the New Yorker, Harper’s, Paris Review, the Atlantic, Tin House, N+1, Playboy, McSweeney’s, and the New York Times. Her authors have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and have been recognized by the PEN/Faulkner Award, National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35, Rona Jaffe Award, NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award, Scotiabank Giller Prize, Lambda Literary Award, Ernest J. Gaines Award, Philip K. Dick Award, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and more.
Raised in New York City, Alexa earned her BA in comparative literature and society at Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn.
Alexa’s Topic: Reading Between the Lines of Agent Responses
You’ve perfected your query letter, polished your manuscript, and submitted to your dream agents. In this session, we’ll comb through a range of agent responses – from rejections, requests, and revise and resubmits, to offers of representation. We’ll discuss how to interpret and navigate these replies, best practices for following up with agents, and questions to ask agents on “The Call."
She is particularly drawn to relationship-driven fiction: novels that center dysfunctional friendships or families, complicated love stories, or stories about obsession. She also enjoys elevated suspense and social thrillers. She gravitates towards the humorous, the psychologically probing and the tender. On the nonfiction side, she is seeking memoir, cultural criticism, popular science, psychology, parenting, and women’s issues.
Alexa also enjoys helping her authors place fiction and essays in a range of publications including the New Yorker, Harper’s, Paris Review, the Atlantic, Tin House, N+1, Playboy, McSweeney’s, and the New York Times. Her authors have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and have been recognized by the PEN/Faulkner Award, National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35, Rona Jaffe Award, NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award, Scotiabank Giller Prize, Lambda Literary Award, Ernest J. Gaines Award, Philip K. Dick Award, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and more.
Raised in New York City, Alexa earned her BA in comparative literature and society at Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn.
Alexa’s Topic: Reading Between the Lines of Agent Responses
You’ve perfected your query letter, polished your manuscript, and submitted to your dream agents. In this session, we’ll comb through a range of agent responses – from rejections, requests, and revise and resubmits, to offers of representation. We’ll discuss how to interpret and navigate these replies, best practices for following up with agents, and questions to ask agents on “The Call."
The Poets & Writers 2019 Editor of the Year, Dawn Davis is the founding publisher of 37 INK, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She has edited many prize-winning and New York Times bestselling books, including Pulitzer Prize winner, Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo; National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair; The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan; Never Caught, a finalist for the National Book Award, by Erica Armstrong Dunbar; The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton; The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, by Issa Rae; Tough Love by Ambassador Susan Rice; I Can’t Make this Up by Kevin Hart, and various books by weight loss expert JJ Smith, including the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse.
In 2020, Davis was named Editor in Chief of the Condé Nast magazines, Bon Appétit and Epicurious. She returned to Simon & Schuster in 2023.
Prior to first joining Simon & Schuster, Davis was publisher of Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins, where she edited The Known World by Edward P. Jones, which won the Pulitzer Prize; Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, which was one of the best-selling books of the decade; and The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner.
She lives in New York City.
Partnering with Dawn for their session is Jennifer Gates, Senior Partner with Aevitas and Director of Strategic Partnerships
In 2020, Davis was named Editor in Chief of the Condé Nast magazines, Bon Appétit and Epicurious. She returned to Simon & Schuster in 2023.
Prior to first joining Simon & Schuster, Davis was publisher of Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins, where she edited The Known World by Edward P. Jones, which won the Pulitzer Prize; Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, which was one of the best-selling books of the decade; and The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner.
She lives in New York City.
Partnering with Dawn for their session is Jennifer Gates, Senior Partner with Aevitas and Director of Strategic Partnerships
Jennifer Gates has represented numerous New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors, among them Mira Bartók, author of the bestselling and NBCC Award winner The Memory Palace, Maya Soetoro-Ng’s Ladder to the Moon; Eva Longoria’s Eva’s Kitchen; Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s How We Learn to Be Brave; and Chris Gardner’s #1 New York Times bestseller The Pursuit of Happyness. Gates also represents a range of critically acclaimed and bestselling fiction authors including Catherine Newman, Jung Yun, Lily Brooks-Dalton and Jillian Medoff. She has worked with estates such as those of Muhammad Ali, Albert Einstein, Jim Morrison, and Alice and John Coltrane and with music artists such as Liz Phair, Neko Case and Rhett Miller, among others.
Gates received her BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University. She joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as an agent in 1997. Jennifer Gates is a Senior Partner with Aevitas and Director of Strategic Partnerships.
Based in New York, Gates represents literary fiction, a range of nonfiction, including memoir, narrative and expert-driven works, current affairs, pop culture and children’s books.
Dawn and Jennifer’s Topic: From Pitch to Publication: Inside the Buy/Sell of Books
Publisher Dawn Davis, whose bestselling and prize-winning list spans fiction, nonfiction, memoir, history, and popular culture, joins literary agent Jen Gates of Aevitas Creative Management for a rare, candid look at how books are sold and acquired. From shaping proposals to navigating auctions, they’ll walk you through what really happens behind closed doors—the strategy, the instinct, and the collaboration that turn an idea into a deal. Perfect for anyone curious about how publishing decisions are made.
Gates received her BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University. She joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as an agent in 1997. Jennifer Gates is a Senior Partner with Aevitas and Director of Strategic Partnerships.
Based in New York, Gates represents literary fiction, a range of nonfiction, including memoir, narrative and expert-driven works, current affairs, pop culture and children’s books.
Dawn and Jennifer’s Topic: From Pitch to Publication: Inside the Buy/Sell of Books
Publisher Dawn Davis, whose bestselling and prize-winning list spans fiction, nonfiction, memoir, history, and popular culture, joins literary agent Jen Gates of Aevitas Creative Management for a rare, candid look at how books are sold and acquired. From shaping proposals to navigating auctions, they’ll walk you through what really happens behind closed doors—the strategy, the instinct, and the collaboration that turn an idea into a deal. Perfect for anyone curious about how publishing decisions are made.
Sarah Stein joined Harper Books in 2018, after working at Penguin Books and Riverhead. She is focused on literary crossover fiction, narrative nonfiction, and memoir, with a focus on strong stories propelled by quality writing. Writers she has worked with include Ann Packer, Marianne Cronin, Ellery Lloyd, Georgia Hunter, Natalie Haynes, Krysten Ritter, Sarina Bowen, and Maggie Su.
Sarah is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and started her career at The Paris Review.
Sarah’s Topic: The Story of a Book (That’s Not Inside the Pages)
Every book tells a story, but how do you communicate what the book is, and who the book is for, before a reader has even cracked the spine? In this presentation, Sarah will be going into detail about how all the elements of a book — the cover, the copy, the blurbs on the back—tell a story of what the reader can expect when they read a book and factor into their decision of whether the book is right for them.
Sarah is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and started her career at The Paris Review.
Sarah’s Topic: The Story of a Book (That’s Not Inside the Pages)
Every book tells a story, but how do you communicate what the book is, and who the book is for, before a reader has even cracked the spine? In this presentation, Sarah will be going into detail about how all the elements of a book — the cover, the copy, the blurbs on the back—tell a story of what the reader can expect when they read a book and factor into their decision of whether the book is right for them.
Chloe Saeger joined the MM Agency in 2019 from Northbank Talent where she spent four years building a Children’s, YA and SFF list from scratch, selling rights in the UK, US and internationally. She began her career at Titan Books in publicity, where she worked on the campaign for Vicious by V.E. Schwab, amongst books by other prominent SFF authors.
Her list includes No.1 Sunday Times bestselling Katie Kirby (the Lottie Brooks series), No.1 New York Times bestselling Laura Steven (Our Infinite Fates), Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Ace of Spades) and Jordan Lees (The Whisperwicks), New York Times bestselling and award-winning Lex Croucher (Gwen and Art Are Not In Love) and multi-award winning authors Danielle Jawando (When Our Worlds Collided) and Benjamin Dean (How to Die Famous).
In 2024 Chloe was shortlisted for Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Chloe is also an author. She has penned multiple YA and MG books for publishers such as HQ and Scholastic. Her adult debut was released in 2024 and her recent novel, P.S. You’re The Worst, comes out next week!
Chloe’s Topic: Keeping Up With Market Trends
Trends are always changing in publishing which is why it’s so important for the well-informed author to be aware of what’s hot and what’s not. In this presentation, Chloe Saefer will discuss how the YA market has changed over the last ten years, exploring the emerging ‘new adult’ trend, and the huge recent shift towards SFF.
Her list includes No.1 Sunday Times bestselling Katie Kirby (the Lottie Brooks series), No.1 New York Times bestselling Laura Steven (Our Infinite Fates), Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Ace of Spades) and Jordan Lees (The Whisperwicks), New York Times bestselling and award-winning Lex Croucher (Gwen and Art Are Not In Love) and multi-award winning authors Danielle Jawando (When Our Worlds Collided) and Benjamin Dean (How to Die Famous).
In 2024 Chloe was shortlisted for Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Chloe is also an author. She has penned multiple YA and MG books for publishers such as HQ and Scholastic. Her adult debut was released in 2024 and her recent novel, P.S. You’re The Worst, comes out next week!
Chloe’s Topic: Keeping Up With Market Trends
Trends are always changing in publishing which is why it’s so important for the well-informed author to be aware of what’s hot and what’s not. In this presentation, Chloe Saefer will discuss how the YA market has changed over the last ten years, exploring the emerging ‘new adult’ trend, and the huge recent shift towards SFF.
Kirsiah Depp has been with Grand Central Publishing since 2018, but her love of books goes all the way back to first grade when she used to sneak Harry Potter books into her room to keep reading them because her mom just couldn’t keep reading out loud anymore. And since then, she’s cultivated a love of commercial fiction that whisks her away on an amazing adventure in a fast-paced read that she can’t put down. Which of course means she acquires, and has on her list, speculative fiction, historical and contemporary women’s fiction, retellings (mythic and fairy tale), and more!
She also proudly a part of David Baldacci’s editorial team. Other authors she’s had the immense pleasure of working with include Freida McFadden, Lauren Kate, Emily Hourican, Phong Nguyen, Adam Plantinga, Nicole Trope, and many more.
What they have in common is that they make her feel ALL the feels, and if there’s that spark of magic in the story, all the better. Before joining GCP, Kirsiah worked at HarperCollins and Penguin Random House, both in children’s and adult publishing, and she has a Master’s in Publishing from NYU and a Bachelor’s in Literary Studies from Bard College.
Kirsiah’s Tropic: The Hooks That Hooked Me: From Submission to Acquisition
How do you catch an editor’s attention? A strong hook is the key to making them stop scrolling through submissions and focus only on your book. With that in mind, Kirsiah will take you inside her submissions inbox to discuss the hooks that stopped her in her tracks completely and lead to her acquiring the novel.
Completing your manuscript means you now need to find the right agent, editor and reader. This session will help you understand what makes an editor lean in and say, “I need to read.”
She also proudly a part of David Baldacci’s editorial team. Other authors she’s had the immense pleasure of working with include Freida McFadden, Lauren Kate, Emily Hourican, Phong Nguyen, Adam Plantinga, Nicole Trope, and many more.
What they have in common is that they make her feel ALL the feels, and if there’s that spark of magic in the story, all the better. Before joining GCP, Kirsiah worked at HarperCollins and Penguin Random House, both in children’s and adult publishing, and she has a Master’s in Publishing from NYU and a Bachelor’s in Literary Studies from Bard College.
Kirsiah’s Tropic: The Hooks That Hooked Me: From Submission to Acquisition
How do you catch an editor’s attention? A strong hook is the key to making them stop scrolling through submissions and focus only on your book. With that in mind, Kirsiah will take you inside her submissions inbox to discuss the hooks that stopped her in her tracks completely and lead to her acquiring the novel.
Completing your manuscript means you now need to find the right agent, editor and reader. This session will help you understand what makes an editor lean in and say, “I need to read.”
Katrina Escudero is the Media Rights Manager at Sugar23. She previously worked as an agent in the Media Rights department at United Talent Agency and at ICM in the Media Rights and Motion Picture department. She currently oversees a roster of accomplished literary clients such as New York Times Best Selling authors: Tessa Bailey, Candace Bushnell, Tigest Girma, Marjan Kamali and Ann Liang. In addition, Escudero represents journalist such as Emmy nominated Kate Taylor who had both the number one docuseries and documentary on Max with QUIET ON SET (the most watched docuseries in Max’s history) and BRANDY HELLVILLE. Most recently, Escudero represented Jaime Oliveira’s short story HIGH SIDE which resulted in a 7 way studio bidding war ultimately landing at Paramount as their first acquisition post-merger starring Timothèe Chalamet, James Mangold directing and Oliveira adapting. Additionally, she closed a deal for Tanya Smith’s memoir NEVER SAW ME COMING with Universal Pictures to adapt as a feature with Janelle Monáe attached to star and produce through her banner Wondaland; she represents Juliet McDaniel whose novel MR & MRS AMERICAN PIE was adapted as the hit Apple TV+ series PALM ROYALE which second season premiered in November. It was adapted for TV by Abe Sylvia and is produced by Boat Rocker Studios, directed by Tate Taylor, and starring Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, and Laura Dern, who is also producing. PALM ROYALE’s first season was nominated for 11 Emmys last year including best Comedy, best Actress in a comedy and best supporting actress in a comedy.
This year she has closed adaptation deals with Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Mattel, Paramount TV Studios, Sony Pictures International, Sony TV, Universal Studio Group and Universal Pictures.
Katrina’s Topic: What Makes a Short Story a Hit in Hollywood?
Many producers and studios are starting to argue that short stories are the new spec scripts. This year alone, major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Amazon, Apple, Lionsgate and Paramount, Sony have all spent 6 to 7 figures acquiring short stories as starring vehicles for major actors like Austin Butler, Timothèe Chalamet and Jake Gylllenhaal. These short stories are often unpublished and averaging about 50 pages in length.
So what makes a short story a hit in Hollywood? How can authors tap into this new craze? Escudero will discuss and share five different case studies of successful short story sales she has been a part of. She will dive deeper into which genres tend to find the most success in this area, explain the process of how these sales become bidding wars, and share what themes Hollywood would love to see more of.
This year she has closed adaptation deals with Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Mattel, Paramount TV Studios, Sony Pictures International, Sony TV, Universal Studio Group and Universal Pictures.
Katrina’s Topic: What Makes a Short Story a Hit in Hollywood?
Many producers and studios are starting to argue that short stories are the new spec scripts. This year alone, major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Amazon, Apple, Lionsgate and Paramount, Sony have all spent 6 to 7 figures acquiring short stories as starring vehicles for major actors like Austin Butler, Timothèe Chalamet and Jake Gylllenhaal. These short stories are often unpublished and averaging about 50 pages in length.
So what makes a short story a hit in Hollywood? How can authors tap into this new craze? Escudero will discuss and share five different case studies of successful short story sales she has been a part of. She will dive deeper into which genres tend to find the most success in this area, explain the process of how these sales become bidding wars, and share what themes Hollywood would love to see more of.
Sarah Phair is a literary agent with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. Sarah represents multiple New York Times Bestselling authors, and her clients have been nominated for prizes such as The National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize. She specializes in a range of fiction and nonfiction writing for the adult market. In fiction, she focuses on upmarket and literary fiction that is accessible to a wide audience and contains beautiful language with elevated ideas. She particularly loves: family sagas, friendship centered stories, complex psychological suspense, campus novels, anti-heroines, and a good love story. In nonfiction, her areas of interest include: progressive politics, popular science, psychology, self-development, gender, pop culture, true crime, and anything about food.
Sarah joined Greenburger Associates in 2019. Originally from Mississippi, she moved to New York in 2010 to pursue a career in publishing. She worked at Trident Media Group for six years, acting as audio agent and foreign rights agent before building her own list. Sarah also has a M.A. in British and American Literature.
Sarah’s Topic: From Submission to Signing
So now you’ve found the literary agent of your dreams, but what happens next? In this presentation, Sarah will go through what you can expect when your novel is being submitted to publishing houses and how to prepare yourself for that process. She’ll talk about the editorial steps that may happen with your agent before that submission, and how to know when you’re ready to let the book go out into the universe. How will your agent choose which editors and imprints to submit to? How long will it take to hear back from them? What does it mean when an editor expresses interest? How does an auction work? How long does it take to sign your contract? Sarah will go through these varied scenarios and more in hopes that after her talk, you will feel more confident when the moment comes to get your manuscript into an editor’s hands
Sarah joined Greenburger Associates in 2019. Originally from Mississippi, she moved to New York in 2010 to pursue a career in publishing. She worked at Trident Media Group for six years, acting as audio agent and foreign rights agent before building her own list. Sarah also has a M.A. in British and American Literature.
Sarah’s Topic: From Submission to Signing
So now you’ve found the literary agent of your dreams, but what happens next? In this presentation, Sarah will go through what you can expect when your novel is being submitted to publishing houses and how to prepare yourself for that process. She’ll talk about the editorial steps that may happen with your agent before that submission, and how to know when you’re ready to let the book go out into the universe. How will your agent choose which editors and imprints to submit to? How long will it take to hear back from them? What does it mean when an editor expresses interest? How does an auction work? How long does it take to sign your contract? Sarah will go through these varied scenarios and more in hopes that after her talk, you will feel more confident when the moment comes to get your manuscript into an editor’s hands
Sue Hincenbergs is a former television producer who began writing the summer she turned 60. Three years later she signed major deals with big-five publishers in Canada, the US and the UK, and sold the film rights for her novel The Retirement Plan. In May 2025, it debuted as the #1 Canadian Bestseller and stayed on the lists for 16 weeks. It is set to be translated into at least 20 languages
Sue retired from her work in TV and now writes full time at her home in Toronto where she lives with her husband and scruffy rescue dog, Kramer.
Sue’s Topic: Why Not Me?
When Sue Hincenbergs started writing, she started from scratch. No formal training…no informal training. She had no idea what she was doing, just a love of reading and a commitment to write a novel.
She was motivated by the thoughts: if not now, when? Why not me? And the only thing she knew for sure, was if she didn’t try, nothing would happen.
She’ll outline the steps she took toward figuring out how to write a good novel, and the other half of the equation that’s just as important—how to sell it.
Sue retired from her work in TV and now writes full time at her home in Toronto where she lives with her husband and scruffy rescue dog, Kramer.
Sue’s Topic: Why Not Me?
When Sue Hincenbergs started writing, she started from scratch. No formal training…no informal training. She had no idea what she was doing, just a love of reading and a commitment to write a novel.
She was motivated by the thoughts: if not now, when? Why not me? And the only thing she knew for sure, was if she didn’t try, nothing would happen.
She’ll outline the steps she took toward figuring out how to write a good novel, and the other half of the equation that’s just as important—how to sell it.
Julia Plant is the Chief of Staff at Thousand Voices Media, where she oversees publishing strategy and operations for Thousand Voices Books, Jenna Bush Hager’s imprint with Random House Publishing Group dedicated to elevating emerging and debut authors. In her role, Julia manages a growing slate of titles across genres, guiding books from acquisition through launch while coordinating closely with authors, agents, and the Random House marketing and publicity teams.
Previously, Julia worked at NBC News’s TODAY Show, where she assisted with Jenna Bush Hager’s Read with Jenna book club – contributing to book selection, producing book announcements, and supporting social media strategy.
Julia’s Topic: Amplifying Emerging Talent
Julia will share a behind-the-scenes look at one of publishing’s most influential national book clubs. She’ll explore how Read with Jenna has helped shape today’s reading culture by building community, trust, and excitement around new voices, and how those same principles inspired the creation of Thousand Voices, a new venture with Random House Publishing Group dedicated to amplifying emerging talent.
Previously, Julia worked at NBC News’s TODAY Show, where she assisted with Jenna Bush Hager’s Read with Jenna book club – contributing to book selection, producing book announcements, and supporting social media strategy.
Julia’s Topic: Amplifying Emerging Talent
Julia will share a behind-the-scenes look at one of publishing’s most influential national book clubs. She’ll explore how Read with Jenna has helped shape today’s reading culture by building community, trust, and excitement around new voices, and how those same principles inspired the creation of Thousand Voices, a new venture with Random House Publishing Group dedicated to amplifying emerging talent.
Dates to take note of:
Prizes:
We have 13 incredible prizes up for grabs. Every one of our speakers will be offering a 10 000-word critique that you could win!! Talk about a life-changing prize which will allow you to bypass everyone and skip right to the front of the line! 🤯
Every registered delegate (whether attending live or catching up on the recordings afterwards) will automatically be entered into the draw which will be done at the end of the retreat.
Pricing:
Standard pricing for the Deep Dive Virtual Retreat is $ 599 but on the 21st of November:
After that, standard pricing of $599 applies.
Please note that due to recently enacted marketplace facilitator laws, Zoom charges sales tax based on its own criteria for each registrant's location. Unfortunately, this not something we (or any other business selling through Zoom) can control.
Scholarship Applications
We’re passionate about supporting talented writers who might not have been able to attend our retreats without funding. For the Deep Dive Virtual Retreat, we will be offering more scholarship places than ever before. These scholarships are open to writers over the age of 18, who fulfil our low-income eligibility criteria.
Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship. Winners will be selected at random. We will notify successful applicants by the 16th of January.
Scholarship applications are now closed. 25 scholarships were awarded.
- A pre-DD session on 24 January from 10am-1pm ET.
- The Deep Dive Virtual Retreat Weekend: 31st of January from 10am-5pm ET and on 1st of February from 10am-5pm ET.
- A post-DD session on 7 February from 10am-1pm ET.
Prizes:
We have 13 incredible prizes up for grabs. Every one of our speakers will be offering a 10 000-word critique that you could win!! Talk about a life-changing prize which will allow you to bypass everyone and skip right to the front of the line! 🤯
Every registered delegate (whether attending live or catching up on the recordings afterwards) will automatically be entered into the draw which will be done at the end of the retreat.
Pricing:
Standard pricing for the Deep Dive Virtual Retreat is $ 599 but on the 21st of November:
- the first 50 delegates to sign up after 12pm ET will pay only $299.
- the next 50 to sign up will pay $349.
- the next 50 after that will pay $399.
- and the last 50 will pay $449.
After that, standard pricing of $599 applies.
Please note that due to recently enacted marketplace facilitator laws, Zoom charges sales tax based on its own criteria for each registrant's location. Unfortunately, this not something we (or any other business selling through Zoom) can control.
Scholarship Applications
We’re passionate about supporting talented writers who might not have been able to attend our retreats without funding. For the Deep Dive Virtual Retreat, we will be offering more scholarship places than ever before. These scholarships are open to writers over the age of 18, who fulfil our low-income eligibility criteria.
- Unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than USD$25,000 and personal savings of less than USD$5,000.
- Married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than USD$35,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than USD$5,000
Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship. Winners will be selected at random. We will notify successful applicants by the 16th of January.
Scholarship applications are now closed. 25 scholarships were awarded.