writermag.com • The Writer | 41tion writer Kim Liao, whose essay
“Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejec-
tions a Year” went viral among writers
on LitHub (6/28/16), will talk about
the importance of rejection as an inevi-
table precursor to success, while
author Weike Wang will talk about
how she wrote and sold her award-
winning debut novel, Chemistry.
Writers attending the first day of
Gotham Writers Conference will learn
how agents select their clients in an
afternoon session titled “The Agent’s
View: What We Talk about When We
Talk about You.” The day concludes
with a happy hour and “The Agent
Game Show,” during which agent Jeff
Kleinman will ask a panel of three
agents fun and light-hearted questions,
such as “What’s the strangest thing
you’ve ever seen in a query letter?”
“He then lets all three agents answer,
and he chooses the best answer,” Sippie
explains. “The winner gets a goofy prize
for each question they get right. Then at
the end, he anoints an overall winner,
which I am just giddy to see.”
Writers applying for the second day
of the writing conference must submit
a query letter and the first 10 pages of a
manuscript before Sept. 24, or until
seats are filled. Two agents representing
each genre – nonfiction, mainstream
literary, genre fiction, and middle
grade/young adult – sit at a round table
with up to nine participants.
“Each writer talks about their query
and first pages, and then the agent
gives feedback,” Sippie explains.
“They’re there to teach, to share their
wisdom with prospective writers.”
Featured presenters
The agents at Gotham Writers Confer-
ence look for serious writers, people
who are ready to have an agent tomor-
row. The nonfiction table includes Jeff
Kleinman from Folio Literary Manage-
ment and J.L. Stermer of New Leaf Lit-
erary & Media. Suzie Townsend of
New Leaf heads the roundtable
devoted to middle-grade and young
adult literature, along with Jim McCar-
thy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
As of press time, two tables are
devoted to mainstream/literary fiction,
with insights from agents Kerry
D’Agostino of Curtis Brown, Jenny
Bent of The Bent Agency, Noah Ballard
of Curtis Brown, and Mitchell Waters
of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.
Kurestin Armada of P.S. Literary and
Alec Shane of Writers House head the
genre fiction table. “We asked for two
agents per table so they could bounce
ideas off each other,” Sippie explains.
“They’re always interacting on social
media; they already know each other, so
that’s going to make for a good time.”Advice for first-time attendees
While Sippie would love for people to
attend and pitch a manuscript and sign
with an agent, he asks writers to attend
the conference without that expecta-
tion but with a mind open to absorb-
ing information about both their
preferred genre and the business of
publishing. “We want to give people a
learning experience and a community
feeling rather than just this hope that
they’ll attend this conference, and their
life will change,” he explains.
During round-table discussions,
participants will be able to take notes
on what agents have to say about query
letters and sample pages from writers
working in the same genre. Sippie
urges attendees to have fun with the
agents and treat interactions with them
like a regular conversation. “They’re
people, too. We’re all supporting each
other,” he says. “At the conference,
we’re hoping to inspire a genuine con-
nection between writers and agents
that will last for years.”Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books
to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Accep-
tance in Tweens and Teens (Sasquatch, 2019.
Twit ter/Instagram @WildMelissaHar t.GOTHAMWRITERS.COMCreative Writing
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