PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

These in-person one-on-one meetings at the 2026 Kentucky Writing Workshop are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind. More 2026 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open. We have seen many, many writers sign with agents after connecting after our conferences.

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Amanda Wooden is a literary agent with SBR Media. “I am open to all sub-tropes of Romance (contemporary, sports, new adult, suspense, etc.), Romantasy, Romantic Thrillers, Cozy Mysteries, Young Adult (would prefer it to have some YA romance elements), and upmarket women’s fiction.” Amanda found her love for reading when her husband was deployed in 2013, and it has continued to grow over the years. She has been a book reviewer, blogger, Author PA, graphic designer, and more. Learn more about Amanda here.

Laura Crockett is a literary agent with TriadaUS Literary Agency. “In adult fiction, I love character-driven stories first and foremost, with beautiful writing, emotional investment, and interesting, unique circumstances. With fantasy, I enjoy incredible world-building with lush settings and authentic characterization, historical fantasy, horror fantasy, gothic fantasy, dark academia, and fantasy inspired by fairytales and other cultures’ mythology (though please, not Greek or Roman). In women’s fiction, I’m looking for something heartfelt with complex moral dilemmas. I also adore historical novels that spotlight unique points/women in history and/or meatier topics. Ultimately, I want the book club, upmarket fiction that readers will pick up again and again for years to come. YA Fiction: She seeks fantasy, as well as contemporary realistic fiction. Learn more about Laura here.

Brandi Bowles is a literary agent with United Talent Agency (UTA). Brandi began representing authors in 2007, transitioning from Penguin Random House to represent a wide array of idea and platform-driven nonfiction, from memoirs and essay collections to cookbooks, comedy, pop culture, parenting, science, business, health & wellness, and narrative nonfiction. On the fiction side, Brandi also represents authors of select children’s fiction and upmarket genre fiction, particularly those with a focus on magical realism or psychological / scientific themes. Learn more about Brandi here.

Trinica Sampson-Vera is a literary agent with New Leaf Literary & Media. Trinica is accepting children’s and adult fiction and nonfiction. Across age groups, she loves adventurous, character-driven stories with largely emotional stakes. Trinica is passionate about championing diverse and marginalized voices. Some of the things she is specifically seeking include: speculative fiction (especially horror, cozy-to-high fantasy, hopepunk, and near future science fiction); romance and romcoms (especially featuring sapphic/queer relationships); Caribbean (especially Trinidad & Tobago) characters/settings; reality TV premises; and retellings. Learn more about Trinica here.

Alice Speilburg is a literary agent and founder of Speilburg Literary. In fiction, she’s looking for genre novels — historical, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, or adventure. Within that, she’s interested in historical novels from fresh and unique perspectives, women’s fiction that has thriller and/or horror elements, high-stakes mystery novels with female protagonists, fantasy that imagines fresh worlds with non-Western roots or fantasy that springs from newer American folk magic (especially Appalachian), sci-fi that explores the line between progress and corruption. “I like darker elements, especially when they’re woven deeply and subtly into the atmosphere of a novel.” In nonfiction, she’s looking for cultural narratives, as well as paradigm-shifting books that explore how we live and think from a fresh perspective. Her favorite subgenres in nonfiction include microhistory, nature, and pop science written by journalists and academics. “I’m also interested in untold histories of incredible women, travel/adventure narratives, culturally-engaged history narratives that look at how we came to be where we are, music books that go beyond the basic biography narrative, environmental/conservation narratives, true crime.” Learn more about Alice here.

Sarah N. Fisk is a literary agent with The Tobias Literary Agency, and is open to pitches for young adult of all genres, middle grade of all genres, adult romance, science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, and select nonfiction (see wishlist for more specifics). They also take pitches for mysteries and thrillers via conferences only. Sarah especially loves fiction that is compulsively readable and social justice issues woven into commercial plots. Particular areas of interest include atmospheric fantasies, speculative mysteries, books that challenge societal norms, especially gender norms. Learn more about Sarah here.

Vicky Weber is a literary agent with Creative Media Agency. In adult and young adult fiction, she seeks: horror, psychological suspense, thrillers, commercial, upmarket, historical, women’s fiction, romance, fantasy (dark/high/epic), magical realism, speculative, and paranormal/supernatural. In middle grade and picture books, she seeks highly giftable, commercial fiction with a strong voice—stories that feel like they always should have been on the shelf. Learn more about Vicky here.

Sandra Foreman Sutter is the owner and editor (“top gnome”) at Gnome Road Publishing. Gnome Road books are for readers age 3 and older. Presently, we are only publishing picture books. Our audience attention levels and reading interests are particularly important factors in what we choose to publish. We want stories that are engaging, fresh, and fun, that enrich readers’ narratives about self and others, and that beg to be read time and time again (without causing an eye roll from caregivers). We focus heavily on RE-READABILITY. We highly recommend you browse the books on our website to see what we have published so far and what is on upcoming lists in order to avoid sending material that is too similar to those titles. For example, we will not be looking for books about farms, stuffed animals, baking/cooking, early reading/writing skills, pianos/violins, baseball, grandparent relationships, pet adoptions, alpacas, moose or caves. We also recommend sending material that fits into one of the categories on our wish list: sports, earth sciences (other than caves), poetry collections, holiday themes, and unique storytelling formats. Learn more about Sandra here.

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ADDED ONLINE PITCHING: To ensure that writers have a robust and diverse lineup of agents & editors to pitch, 2026 Kentucky Writing Workshop attendees will have the ability to also pitch literary agents at a specific Writing Day Workshops *online* event that follows the 2026 KWW on our calendar.

That event is the 2026 (Online) New England Writing Workshop, July 24-25, 2026, which will have 30-40 agents taking one-on-one Zoom virtual pitches.

This means that 2026 KWW attendees can have access to pitching all those online New England WW agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online July 2026 event. (That said, if you want to formally register for the July 24-25 New England Writing Workshop and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Kentucky attendees.)

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Kentucky. Following the conference on April 24, 2026, we will be in touch with all Kentucky attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2026 NEWW (July 24-25). At that time, you can communicate your pitch requests and purchase meeting time.

        More 2026 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open.

These one-on-one meetings are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind.

(Please note that Agent/Editor Pitching is an add-on, separate aspect of the day, for only those who sign up. Spaces are limited for these premium meetings, and pricing/detail is explained below.)