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Storymakers

Storymakers

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Special Guests

keynote speakers

Sarah M. Eden

Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today best-selling author of witty and charming historical romances, including 2020’s Foreword Reviews INDIE Awards Gold Winner for Romance, Forget Me Not, and 2020 Holt Medallion finalist, Healing Hearts. She is a two-time “Best of State” Gold Medal winner for fiction and a three-time Whitney Award winner. Combining her obsession with history and her affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting deep characters and heartfelt romances set against rich historical backdrops. She holds a bachelor’s degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library.

WebSite

Veeda Bybee

Veeda Bybee is a former journalist and holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is also part of the RURAL VOICES anthology (Candlewick) and CALLING THE MOON anthology (Candlewick, 2023). She is the author of LILY AND THE GREAT QUAKE (Girls Survive series, Capstone), LI ON ANGEL ISLAND (Smithsonian historical fiction series, Capstone) and the upcoming SHINING A LIGHT: CELEBRATING 40 ASIAN AMERICANS & PACIFIC ISLANDERS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD (HarperCollins, 2023). Veeda lives with her family in the West where she reads, writes and bakes.

Website

agents and editors

ROMA PANGANIBAN

Agent – Janklow & Nesbit

Roma Panganiban graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in English and Psychology before attending the University of York (UK) for postgraduate studies in Modern and Contemporary Literature & Culture. She began her publishing career at The Gernert Company before joining Janklow & Nesbit in 2019. Her taste leans literary, but she is open to a broad range of adult fiction, including novels and collections that embrace genre elements—speculative, historical, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy—as well as those that defy categorization altogether. In children’s fiction, Roma prefers more high-concept, plot-driven MG and more introspective, character- and voice-driven YA, whether contemporary or historical. She is also looking for narrative nonfiction that reorients our understanding of history, culture, science, society, education, and/or ourselves, as well as creative nonfiction that appeals equally to the heart, mind, and sense of humor.

Roma is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents (AALA) and an ambivalent Twitter user (@romapancake). She lives in Brooklyn and on the internet.

MSWL WebSite

ERIN CLYBURN

Agent – Howland Literary Agency

Erin Clyburn is a literary agent with Howland Literary Agency. She was previously an associate agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency and, before that, the general manager and director of collection development for Turtleback Books, a distributor of trade books to the school and library market.

Erin received her BA in English Literature from Mississippi State University and her MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her partner, Michael, and three unruly rabbits.

Erin represents middle grade fiction, YA fiction, and adult fiction and nonfiction. In MG and YA, she is looking for horror, mystery, thriller, big-hearted contemporary, and grounded stories with magical or speculative elements.

In adult fiction, she is most interested in upmarket and literary fiction, and she gravitates toward the dark and strange: horror, thriller, mystery, and grounded stories with speculative or magical elements.

In nonfiction, she’s interested in intersectional perspectives and is looking for narrative nonfiction and deep dives into topics including pop science, nature, food and culinary history, and sports and adventure.

MSWL Website

BRIDGET SMITH

Agent – JABberwocky Literary Agency

Bridget Smith has been an agent at JABberwocky Literary Agency since May 2019. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Brown University with a BA in anthropology in 2010. After graduation, she interned at Don Congdon Associates, worked at a secondhand bookstore, and read submissions for Tor.com. In 2011, she started as an assistant at Dunham Literary, and she remained there as an agent for nearly eight years. In her spare time, she runs, plays Irish fiddle, and co-hosts the publishing podcast Shipping & Handling.

MSWL: Middle grade and YA in all genres. Particularly stories where characters drive the plot with a voice that makes kids feel respected. She’s looking for high-concept stories told in a literary style.

Fantasy and science fiction (especially on the more literary side of the genre), and historical fiction.

Literary fiction that includes elements of other genres or an interesting structure, and especially stories about women, people of color, and LGBTQ people.

MSWL Website

KAITLYN SANCHEZ

Agent – Bradford Literary Agency

Kaitlyn Sanchez is a mom, wife, agent with Bradford Literary Agency, and middle school math teacher. She’s also the proud co-creator and co-host of the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest and Kidlit Zombie Week as well as creator and co-host of the Kidlit Fall Writing Frenzy Contest. In her free time, she loves to play soccer, binge-watch TV shows, and, of course, read. Especially when she’s all cozied up with her husband and daughter reading together.

MSWL: Currently looking for diversity all in forms, including but not limited to BIPOC, neurodiversity, and LGBTQ+. For picture books, she represents author-only and author-illustrators as well. For middle-grade and young adult stories (including author-illustrated graphic novels), she leans toward fiction.

MSWL WebSite

MARIA VICENTE

Agent – P.S. Literary Agency

Maria Vicente is a Senior Literary Agent and Advisor at P.S. Literary Agency representing innovative, beautifully written and illustrated books for readers of all ages. She lives in New Brunswick, Canada, reading and selling books from the Atlantic Ocean shore. Maria is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents (PACLA).

WSWL: she represents illustrated books (graphic novels, gift books, and picture books), teen and middle grade novels, upmarket and literary fiction, and nonfiction books for all ages.

She welcomes and encourages submissions from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled creators whether or not a story is considered #ownvoices.

MSWL Website

LISA MANGUM

EDitor – Shadow Mountain

Lisa Mangum has worked in publishing since 1997. She has been the Managing Editor for Shadow Mountain since 2014 and has worked with several New York Times best-selling authors. While fiction is her first love, she also has experience working with nonfiction projects.
Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels (The Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello), several short stories and novellas, and a nonfiction book about the craft of writing based on the TV show Supernatural. She has edited several anthologies. She currently lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy.

Her MSWL: Historical fiction, Women’s fiction, Historical romance, Contemporary middle grade, Contemporary young adult, Cookbooks.

Submit

SAMANTHA MILLBURN

Editor – Covenant

Samantha Millburn is the managing editor of Covenant Communications. She’s been reading books in every spare moment she has since elementary school, so why not make a career of it? She collaborates with extremely talented writers and is proud of every story they create together and the many awards her authors have won over the years. She currently lives in Rigby, Idaho, with her husband, Matthew, and their five beautiful children. Besides reading, Samantha enjoys watching and playing sports, cooking, and being with family. Covenant’s Wish List:

  • Contemporary Christian Romance (not necessarily LDS based; just Christian based)
  • Historical Romance (not LDS based)
  • Suspense (not LDS based)
  • Romantic Suspense (not LDS based)
  • Christmas Booklet
  • LDS Event Books (baptism, temple endowment, Easter, Father’s Day)
  • LDS Doctrine

We do not want to see memoirs, poetry, family histories, or personal journals.

Submit

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