2025 Deep Dive Virtual Retreat
1st and 2nd of February 2025
10am - 5pm ET both days
Are you tired of hearing that publishing is filled with gatekeepers
who are impossible to gain access to?
So are we!
That’s why we’ve got nine agents and editors
as part of the incredible speaker line-up for our 2025 Deep Dive Virtual Retreat!
Join co-hosts Bianca and CeCe, along with 12 speakers, all of whom are looking forward to sharing
their wealth of knowledge and experience
with you as you navigate your publishing journey
First up is Jenny Jackson who is Vice President, Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf; she joined the group in 2002.
She publishes a range of literary and commercial fiction, from Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,
to Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven,
to Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.
One strange summer she simultaneously edited Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger and Stella Maris,
Dave Eggers’s The Circle, and Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Baby.
She counts Dolly Alderton, J. Courtney Sullivan, Chris Bohjalian, Ayobami Adebayo, Peter Heller,
Katherine Heiny, Jennifer Close, Caroline O’Donoghue, Erin Morgenstern, and Lauren Fox among her writers.
In 2023 Jenny wrote her own novel, Pineapple Street,
which was published by Pamela Dorman Books at Viking
and became a New York Times bestseller.
She is a graduate of Williams College and lives in Brooklyn Heights.
Jenny’s Topic: The Art and Science of Creating a Bestseller with Jenny Jackson
Jenny Jackson, bestselling author of Pineapple Street, Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf, and editor of more than 35 New York Times bestsellers, will discuss what it takes to launch a book onto the bestseller list in 2025.
From changing trends in the marketplace to the evolving media landscape,
from retail partners to book clubs,
we will look at the way publishing has evolved over the years in general,
and then we will review a number of specific bestselling publications,
including Crazy Rich Asians, Station Eleven, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,
analyzing different paths to success before finishing with a targeted “wish-list” for an ideal publication in 2025.
She publishes a range of literary and commercial fiction, from Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,
to Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven,
to Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.
One strange summer she simultaneously edited Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger and Stella Maris,
Dave Eggers’s The Circle, and Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Baby.
She counts Dolly Alderton, J. Courtney Sullivan, Chris Bohjalian, Ayobami Adebayo, Peter Heller,
Katherine Heiny, Jennifer Close, Caroline O’Donoghue, Erin Morgenstern, and Lauren Fox among her writers.
In 2023 Jenny wrote her own novel, Pineapple Street,
which was published by Pamela Dorman Books at Viking
and became a New York Times bestseller.
She is a graduate of Williams College and lives in Brooklyn Heights.
Jenny’s Topic: The Art and Science of Creating a Bestseller with Jenny Jackson
Jenny Jackson, bestselling author of Pineapple Street, Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf, and editor of more than 35 New York Times bestsellers, will discuss what it takes to launch a book onto the bestseller list in 2025.
From changing trends in the marketplace to the evolving media landscape,
from retail partners to book clubs,
we will look at the way publishing has evolved over the years in general,
and then we will review a number of specific bestselling publications,
including Crazy Rich Asians, Station Eleven, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,
analyzing different paths to success before finishing with a targeted “wish-list” for an ideal publication in 2025.
Next up, we have literary agent, Cherise Fisher, who began her career in publishing more than twenty-five years ago,
spending many years editing and publishing several national bestselling and award winning authors at Simon & Schuster and Plume (an imprint of Penguin Random House), where she was Editor-in-Chief.
As an agent with Wendy Sherman Associates for the past eight years,
she has represented story-driven fiction with full bodied characters, both contemporary and historical.
She seeks out memoirs and narrative nonfiction that showcase the diversity of human experience,
and well-platformed non-fiction writers who seek to provoke, inspire, and educate on diverse subjects, including self-help, finance and career, health and wellness, spirituality, and social justice
An active member of the American Association of Literary Agents,
and a very popular workshop leader for several writer’s conferences including the Grub Street Writing Center, Cherise also teaches the “Introduction to Publishing” class as a part of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York.
Her intention is that all the books she helps bring into the world are relevant, enduring,
and help readers maximize their lives.
Cherise’s Topic: The Company You Will Keep
It is vitally important for authors (both fiction and non-fiction) to have a keen sense of how their book will fit alongside
other titles that are similar; why you must never ever tell a publisher "No book like mine has ever been written!;"
how to distinguish between comparative and competitive titles,
and how to use comp titles to position your book for success.
In this presentation, Cherise will take you behind the scenes so you can see how publishers
use comparative titles to come up with advances, marketing plans and book covers.
spending many years editing and publishing several national bestselling and award winning authors at Simon & Schuster and Plume (an imprint of Penguin Random House), where she was Editor-in-Chief.
As an agent with Wendy Sherman Associates for the past eight years,
she has represented story-driven fiction with full bodied characters, both contemporary and historical.
She seeks out memoirs and narrative nonfiction that showcase the diversity of human experience,
and well-platformed non-fiction writers who seek to provoke, inspire, and educate on diverse subjects, including self-help, finance and career, health and wellness, spirituality, and social justice
An active member of the American Association of Literary Agents,
and a very popular workshop leader for several writer’s conferences including the Grub Street Writing Center, Cherise also teaches the “Introduction to Publishing” class as a part of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York.
Her intention is that all the books she helps bring into the world are relevant, enduring,
and help readers maximize their lives.
Cherise’s Topic: The Company You Will Keep
It is vitally important for authors (both fiction and non-fiction) to have a keen sense of how their book will fit alongside
other titles that are similar; why you must never ever tell a publisher "No book like mine has ever been written!;"
how to distinguish between comparative and competitive titles,
and how to use comp titles to position your book for success.
In this presentation, Cherise will take you behind the scenes so you can see how publishers
use comparative titles to come up with advances, marketing plans and book covers.
Lastly, but certainly not least, in today’s lineup reveal is Annabel Monaghan
who is the USA Today bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of
Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer, and Nora Goes Off Script,
as well as two young adult novels and Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?,
a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in the Huffington Post, the Week, and the Rye Record.
She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with her family.
Annabel’s Topic: Finding the Emotional Arc of Your Character by Finding Their Wound
A novel is basically a character moving towards something they think they wants.
But, let’s face it, most of us don’t move directly toward what we want - we zig zag,
and we trip ourselves up along the way because we’re people and we show up wounded.
Starting by knowing your character’s wound is the easiest way to understand how
they’ll move through your story and, ultimately, what they really want.
who is the USA Today bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of
Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer, and Nora Goes Off Script,
as well as two young adult novels and Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?,
a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in the Huffington Post, the Week, and the Rye Record.
She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with her family.
Annabel’s Topic: Finding the Emotional Arc of Your Character by Finding Their Wound
A novel is basically a character moving towards something they think they wants.
But, let’s face it, most of us don’t move directly toward what we want - we zig zag,
and we trip ourselves up along the way because we’re people and we show up wounded.
Starting by knowing your character’s wound is the easiest way to understand how
they’ll move through your story and, ultimately, what they really want.
Pilar Garcia-Brown is a Senior Editor at Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Previously, she worked at Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
She concentrates on fiction in multiple categories, as well as the occasional narrative nonfiction.
Recent and forthcoming titles include: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, which will be
produced for TV by Constance Wu; the National Book Award-nominated collection Holler, Child
by LaToya Watkins; the New York Times Editors’ Choice Old Enough by Haley Jakobson;
Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk, a dual-period queer Gothic vampire novel set in Argentina;
and Mateo Askaripour’s sophomore novel, This Great Hemisphere,
a mind-bending speculative epic set 500 years in the future.
Pilar has taught at NYU’s Center for Publishing and is co-chair of the Center for
Fiction’s First Novel Fête Committee. She lives in Brooklyn.
Pilar’s Topic: Defining Voice
What is voice? What does it mean when prose is “voice-y”?
What are the differences between the author’s voice, the narrator’s voice, and the characters’ voices?
In this talk, we’ll discuss all things voice—what it is, how to find your own distinctive voice,
and how to make sure your voice deepens and directs your storytelling.
Previously, she worked at Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
She concentrates on fiction in multiple categories, as well as the occasional narrative nonfiction.
Recent and forthcoming titles include: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, which will be
produced for TV by Constance Wu; the National Book Award-nominated collection Holler, Child
by LaToya Watkins; the New York Times Editors’ Choice Old Enough by Haley Jakobson;
Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk, a dual-period queer Gothic vampire novel set in Argentina;
and Mateo Askaripour’s sophomore novel, This Great Hemisphere,
a mind-bending speculative epic set 500 years in the future.
Pilar has taught at NYU’s Center for Publishing and is co-chair of the Center for
Fiction’s First Novel Fête Committee. She lives in Brooklyn.
Pilar’s Topic: Defining Voice
What is voice? What does it mean when prose is “voice-y”?
What are the differences between the author’s voice, the narrator’s voice, and the characters’ voices?
In this talk, we’ll discuss all things voice—what it is, how to find your own distinctive voice,
and how to make sure your voice deepens and directs your storytelling.
Mark Tavani is a literary agent with the David Black Agency.
He represents a wide range of commercial fiction geared to entertain and to enrich the lives of readers.
He represents nonfiction that illuminates or inspires, working typically with experts and journalists,
especially those in the spaces of memoir, narrative nonfiction, big ideas, wellness, history, and sports.
He also represents collaborative writers who partner with authors in such spaces.
Mark started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and
spent over 23 years with a number of imprints at Penguin Random House.
He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction,
including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Justin Cronin,
Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, George Dohrmann, Lisa Gardner,
Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine.
Mark has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.
He lives with his wife, his daughters, and a headstrong dog in New Jersey.
Mark’s Topic: How to Successfully Pitch Agents at Pitch Events
Summing up an entire novel in a one-page query letter is difficult enough,
so attempting to do it in a few sentences for a pitching event might seem impossible,
especially when dealing with the nerves associated with sitting directly across from your dream agent.
Mark Tavani takes you through the dos and don’ts of pitching events,
and how to get the most out of them so you can bypass the dreaded slush pile.
He represents a wide range of commercial fiction geared to entertain and to enrich the lives of readers.
He represents nonfiction that illuminates or inspires, working typically with experts and journalists,
especially those in the spaces of memoir, narrative nonfiction, big ideas, wellness, history, and sports.
He also represents collaborative writers who partner with authors in such spaces.
Mark started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and
spent over 23 years with a number of imprints at Penguin Random House.
He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction,
including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Justin Cronin,
Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, George Dohrmann, Lisa Gardner,
Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine.
Mark has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.
He lives with his wife, his daughters, and a headstrong dog in New Jersey.
Mark’s Topic: How to Successfully Pitch Agents at Pitch Events
Summing up an entire novel in a one-page query letter is difficult enough,
so attempting to do it in a few sentences for a pitching event might seem impossible,
especially when dealing with the nerves associated with sitting directly across from your dream agent.
Mark Tavani takes you through the dos and don’ts of pitching events,
and how to get the most out of them so you can bypass the dreaded slush pile.
Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including The Middlesteins,
All Grown Up, A Reason to See You Again and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.
She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer,
which inspired the recently published USA Today bestseller 1000 Words: A Writer’s G
uide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round.
Jami has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal,
the Sunday Times, The Guardian, and others. Her work has been published in sixteen languages.
She lives in New Orleans, LA.
Jami’s Topic: What Does It Take to Lead a Creative Life Every Day?
How can writers best serve their own creative processes?
Where do you go for inspiration?
How do we free ourselves from distraction?
How important is community to our writing lives?
And how can you create a life in this business of art?
Jami will also explain the development of the worldwide literary movement #1000wordsofsummer.
All Grown Up, A Reason to See You Again and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.
She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer,
which inspired the recently published USA Today bestseller 1000 Words: A Writer’s G
uide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round.
Jami has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal,
the Sunday Times, The Guardian, and others. Her work has been published in sixteen languages.
She lives in New Orleans, LA.
Jami’s Topic: What Does It Take to Lead a Creative Life Every Day?
How can writers best serve their own creative processes?
Where do you go for inspiration?
How do we free ourselves from distraction?
How important is community to our writing lives?
And how can you create a life in this business of art?
Jami will also explain the development of the worldwide literary movement #1000wordsofsummer.
Sarah Cantin is an Executive Editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group,
where she edits a list of upmarket commercial fiction, narrative nonfiction, and pop poetry.
Her bestselling and critically-acclaimed authors include Emilia Hart (Weyward),
Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs), Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies), Jessica George (Maame),
Laurie Albanese (Hester), Mikki Brammer (The Collected Regrets of Clover),
and Lynda Cohen Loigman (The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern).
Prior to joining SMPG, Sarah spent nine years at Atria Books, where she edited Taylor Jenkins Reid,
Lisa Jewell, Jennifer Weiner, and Lucinda Riley, among others.
She is a native of the Boston area, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and lives in Manhattan with her husband and son.
Sarah’s topic: How to Infuse a Story With Suspense Even When You Don’t Write in the Suspense Genre
You know that feeling when you just fall into a story, when the pages seem to practically turn themselves?
When you tell yourself that you’ll read just one more chapter before turning out the light?
In this presentation, we’ll discuss how to inject that feeling into your work, regardless of genre.
We’ll do a deep dive into what suspense actually is, and the different forms it can take.
We’ll learn how to recognize the techniques other authors are employing to grab our attention,
and how we as readers react to those techniques.
In the process, we will look at a range of novels that deploy suspense in clever, unexpected ways,
and explore the alchemy that makes a book “unputdownable.”
where she edits a list of upmarket commercial fiction, narrative nonfiction, and pop poetry.
Her bestselling and critically-acclaimed authors include Emilia Hart (Weyward),
Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs), Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies), Jessica George (Maame),
Laurie Albanese (Hester), Mikki Brammer (The Collected Regrets of Clover),
and Lynda Cohen Loigman (The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern).
Prior to joining SMPG, Sarah spent nine years at Atria Books, where she edited Taylor Jenkins Reid,
Lisa Jewell, Jennifer Weiner, and Lucinda Riley, among others.
She is a native of the Boston area, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and lives in Manhattan with her husband and son.
Sarah’s topic: How to Infuse a Story With Suspense Even When You Don’t Write in the Suspense Genre
You know that feeling when you just fall into a story, when the pages seem to practically turn themselves?
When you tell yourself that you’ll read just one more chapter before turning out the light?
In this presentation, we’ll discuss how to inject that feeling into your work, regardless of genre.
We’ll do a deep dive into what suspense actually is, and the different forms it can take.
We’ll learn how to recognize the techniques other authors are employing to grab our attention,
and how we as readers react to those techniques.
In the process, we will look at a range of novels that deploy suspense in clever, unexpected ways,
and explore the alchemy that makes a book “unputdownable.”
Stephanie Delman spent 10 years building her list at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
before co-founding Trellis Literary Management in the fall of 2021.
Stephanie is focused on adult fiction: stylish writing, high-stakes and high-concept literary thrillers,
upmarket fiction, socially conscious fiction, untold or underrepresented historical fiction,
psychologically propulsive suspense, maximalist storytelling (in ambition, not in word count),
and literary novels that play with genre. She enjoys fiction that’s grounded in reality
but tinged with something else: a bit of surrealism, a touch of horror.
A very small part of Stephanie’s list is nonfiction: specifically, braided/speculative memoir projects
by authors with established platforms and diverse perspectives.
Her clients include Zakiya Dalila Harris, Vanessa Chan, Jenny Tinghui Zhang, Serena Burdick,
Julia Fine, and many others; they have been New York Times and international bestsellers,
GMA Book Club and Book of the Month picks, National Endowment for the Arts,
Tin House, and Kundiman fellows, Rona Jaffe and Harper Lee award winners,
Barnes & Noble Discover authors, and more.
Stephanie’s Topic: Why I Said Yes:
In this session, we’ll look at the queries that dazzled, the sample pages that
won Stephanie over, and the moment she knew she wanted to sign each of her newest clients.
before co-founding Trellis Literary Management in the fall of 2021.
Stephanie is focused on adult fiction: stylish writing, high-stakes and high-concept literary thrillers,
upmarket fiction, socially conscious fiction, untold or underrepresented historical fiction,
psychologically propulsive suspense, maximalist storytelling (in ambition, not in word count),
and literary novels that play with genre. She enjoys fiction that’s grounded in reality
but tinged with something else: a bit of surrealism, a touch of horror.
A very small part of Stephanie’s list is nonfiction: specifically, braided/speculative memoir projects
by authors with established platforms and diverse perspectives.
Her clients include Zakiya Dalila Harris, Vanessa Chan, Jenny Tinghui Zhang, Serena Burdick,
Julia Fine, and many others; they have been New York Times and international bestsellers,
GMA Book Club and Book of the Month picks, National Endowment for the Arts,
Tin House, and Kundiman fellows, Rona Jaffe and Harper Lee award winners,
Barnes & Noble Discover authors, and more.
Stephanie’s Topic: Why I Said Yes:
In this session, we’ll look at the queries that dazzled, the sample pages that
won Stephanie over, and the moment she knew she wanted to sign each of her newest clients.
Diane Marie Brown who is a professor at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California
and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department.
She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program.
Her work has appeared in Bomb Magazine, Hear Our Voices, Scary Mommy,
Women Writers, the Audible Blog, and the Daily Bruin.
She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie.
Her debut novel, Black Candle Women, is a Read With Jenna book club selection.
Diane’s Topic: Asking Why – Bringing Intentionality to Our Stories
Writing with purpose can help stories become more satisfying and engaging for readers.
In this session, we’ll discuss what it means to write with purpose.
Then, we’ll look at examples of intentionality when it comes to plot, acts, chapters, scenes,
character, setting, point of view, voice, and pacing.
Along the way, we’ll get tips and techniques that encourage us to
craft purposeful stories that connect with audiences.
and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department.
She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program.
Her work has appeared in Bomb Magazine, Hear Our Voices, Scary Mommy,
Women Writers, the Audible Blog, and the Daily Bruin.
She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie.
Her debut novel, Black Candle Women, is a Read With Jenna book club selection.
Diane’s Topic: Asking Why – Bringing Intentionality to Our Stories
Writing with purpose can help stories become more satisfying and engaging for readers.
In this session, we’ll discuss what it means to write with purpose.
Then, we’ll look at examples of intentionality when it comes to plot, acts, chapters, scenes,
character, setting, point of view, voice, and pacing.
Along the way, we’ll get tips and techniques that encourage us to
craft purposeful stories that connect with audiences.
Addison Duffy has more than 100 adaptations in development, through her position
an agent in the Media Rights Department at UTA. Among Duffy’s many clients are
Cecilie Fjellhoy and Pernilla Sjöholm, whose story, in Duffy’s hands, became the hit Netflix doc The Tinder Swindler,
along with author Zakiya Dalila Harris (Hulu’s The Other Black Girl) and Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies).
She also represents the novel The Dark Manual by Colin O’Sullivan,
which is the basis behind the 10-episode TV series for Apple called Sunny.
In addition, Duffy represents New York Times Best Selling author, Elin Hilderbrand,
whose novel The Perfect Couple starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning
and many others recently premiered at #1 on Netflix.
Addison’s Workshop: Loglines, Loglines, Loglines!
You already know about the importance of a strong logline.
But how can you tell if yours is a winner?
Join Addison Duffy in this live, interactive workshop in which she’ll review a select number of attendees’ pre-submitted loglines.
Listen to Addison dissect what is compelling about a logline,
what needs improvement, and/or how the market currently feels about each type of story.
If your logline is your chance to make a great first impression,
then this workshop is your opportunity to find out whether or not you’re in need of a makeover!
To wrap it up, Addison will present a brief case study with slides.
an agent in the Media Rights Department at UTA. Among Duffy’s many clients are
Cecilie Fjellhoy and Pernilla Sjöholm, whose story, in Duffy’s hands, became the hit Netflix doc The Tinder Swindler,
along with author Zakiya Dalila Harris (Hulu’s The Other Black Girl) and Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies).
She also represents the novel The Dark Manual by Colin O’Sullivan,
which is the basis behind the 10-episode TV series for Apple called Sunny.
In addition, Duffy represents New York Times Best Selling author, Elin Hilderbrand,
whose novel The Perfect Couple starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning
and many others recently premiered at #1 on Netflix.
Addison’s Workshop: Loglines, Loglines, Loglines!
You already know about the importance of a strong logline.
But how can you tell if yours is a winner?
Join Addison Duffy in this live, interactive workshop in which she’ll review a select number of attendees’ pre-submitted loglines.
Listen to Addison dissect what is compelling about a logline,
what needs improvement, and/or how the market currently feels about each type of story.
If your logline is your chance to make a great first impression,
then this workshop is your opportunity to find out whether or not you’re in need of a makeover!
To wrap it up, Addison will present a brief case study with slides.
Jordan Moblo is the Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management for Universal Studio Group.
Prior to joining Universal, Jordan oversaw similar divisions at both Netflix and Disney Television.
His Bookstagram account [email protected] which has over 239K followers,
has established him as an influential voice in the publishing world.
Jordan’s Topic: How Do You Spell Algorithm? Navigating Bookstagram and Social Media in Today's Competitive Marketplace
Platform! Platform! Platform! It’s all emerging authors hear about these days.
And while it isn’t absolutely necessary to have a platform to sell a debut,
you need to know how to successfully navigate social media to reach a wider audience.
Join Jordan as he demystifies the world of Bookstagram and gives you advice
on how best to position yourself and your debut to grab the attention of book influencers
who can set you up for success.
Prior to joining Universal, Jordan oversaw similar divisions at both Netflix and Disney Television.
His Bookstagram account [email protected] which has over 239K followers,
has established him as an influential voice in the publishing world.
Jordan’s Topic: How Do You Spell Algorithm? Navigating Bookstagram and Social Media in Today's Competitive Marketplace
Platform! Platform! Platform! It’s all emerging authors hear about these days.
And while it isn’t absolutely necessary to have a platform to sell a debut,
you need to know how to successfully navigate social media to reach a wider audience.
Join Jordan as he demystifies the world of Bookstagram and gives you advice
on how best to position yourself and your debut to grab the attention of book influencers
who can set you up for success.
Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry,
working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers.
She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial (named one of Writer’s Digest’s Best Websites for Authors)
and author of Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing and her latest,
The Intuitive Author: How to Grow & Sustain a Happier Writing Career.
She is a regular contributor to writers’ outlets like Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Unboxed,
and a frequent presenter and keynote speaker for writers’ organizations around the country.
Under her pen name, Phoebe Fox, she is the author of six novels. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.
Tiffany’s Workshop: Live Edit Workshop Session
Submit a page of your work-in-progress and Tiffany will edit it on the spot,
so that authors can see and participate in the process,
and witness the effect judicious editing can have on their prose.
There’s no better way to learn to edit your own work than to learn to edit others’,
and live editing is a visual, visceral, and enlightening way to learn to polish your own stories
working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers.
She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial (named one of Writer’s Digest’s Best Websites for Authors)
and author of Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing and her latest,
The Intuitive Author: How to Grow & Sustain a Happier Writing Career.
She is a regular contributor to writers’ outlets like Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Unboxed,
and a frequent presenter and keynote speaker for writers’ organizations around the country.
Under her pen name, Phoebe Fox, she is the author of six novels. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.
Tiffany’s Workshop: Live Edit Workshop Session
Submit a page of your work-in-progress and Tiffany will edit it on the spot,
so that authors can see and participate in the process,
and witness the effect judicious editing can have on their prose.
There’s no better way to learn to edit your own work than to learn to edit others’,
and live editing is a visual, visceral, and enlightening way to learn to polish your own stories
While we've moved back to a weekend intensive format to accommodate all
our supporters from across the world, if you enjoyed the breakout rooms and discussion sessions
during the 10-week Deep Dive earlier this year, have no fear!
We’ll be having additional sessions on the 25th of January (11am – 2pm ET) and
on the 8th of February (11am – 2pm) specifically to incorporate those sessions
which will enable you to build community and ask questions.
The retreat and the Q & As will be recorded for all registered delegates.
our supporters from across the world, if you enjoyed the breakout rooms and discussion sessions
during the 10-week Deep Dive earlier this year, have no fear!
We’ll be having additional sessions on the 25th of January (11am – 2pm ET) and
on the 8th of February (11am – 2pm) specifically to incorporate those sessions
which will enable you to build community and ask questions.
The retreat and the Q & As will be recorded for all registered delegates.
Prizes:
Every registered delegate will automatically be entered into a draw which will be done live at the end of the retreat.
Twelve (!) lucky participants will win one of the following incredible prizes:
A 10,000-word critique done by one of our speakers — 9 prizes are available in this category
being offered by Jenny Jackson, Mark Tavani, Annabel Monaghan, Cherise Fisher, Stephanie Delman,
Diane Marie Brown, Tiffany Yates Martin, Sarah Cantin and Pilar Garcia-Brown.
Free Registration for Deep Dive 2026 — 3 prizes available in this category
Pricing: US $499
Every registered delegate will automatically be entered into a draw which will be done live at the end of the retreat.
Twelve (!) lucky participants will win one of the following incredible prizes:
A 10,000-word critique done by one of our speakers — 9 prizes are available in this category
being offered by Jenny Jackson, Mark Tavani, Annabel Monaghan, Cherise Fisher, Stephanie Delman,
Diane Marie Brown, Tiffany Yates Martin, Sarah Cantin and Pilar Garcia-Brown.
Free Registration for Deep Dive 2026 — 3 prizes available in this category
Pricing: US $499
Scholarship Applications
We’re passionate about supporting talented writers who might not be able to attend our retreats without funding.
For this Deep Dive Series, we will be offering more scholarship places than ever, whether funded by ourselves or by our partners.
Applications will open in January.
For this Deep Dive Series, we will be offering more scholarship places than ever, whether funded by ourselves or by our partners.
Applications will open in January.