Download Agents - Women Writing the West

EDITORS AND AGENTS
Agents
Samantha Bremekamp (Corvisiero Literary Agency) has a background in English
literature, communications, and Spanish, and is currently working on her Master's
Degree in MLIS. She started her career in publishing in 2008, but quickly realized
that she preferred working directly with authors from the other side of the
industry. She loves books for all ages, specifically, diverse books with multicultural
characters (especially those who have mixed backgrounds) in several genres:
mysteries, romantic thrillers, action-adventure, quirky romance (sports, cowboys,
strong characters with heart and wit). She also handles YA and graphic novels. Originality is key!
Kerry D’Agostino started working at Curtis Brown, Ltd. in 2011 as assistant to Tim
Knowlton and Holly Frederick in the Film and Television Department. Before Curtis
Brown, she received her certificate in publishing from the Columbia Publishing Course,
her masters in Art in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her
bachelors from Bowdoin College. Kerry currently assists Peter Ginsberg, handles audio
rights for Peter and Katherine Fausset, and is actively seeking literary fiction and
upmarket commercial fiction that is voice-driven, accessible, and authentic. Above all,
she is drawn to work that either introduces her to something new or makes her see
something old in a new way.
Before becoming an agent, Shannon Hassan was the Acquisitions Editor at Fulcrum Publishing, and prior
to that, a corporate attorney at Arnold & Porter in New York, having received her JD
from Harvard and her BA from George Washington University. Now at Marsal Lyon
Literary Agency (www.marsallyonliteraryagency.com) Shannon brings a depth of
business and editorial experience to her role as agent. She represents authors of
literary and commercial fiction, young adult and middle grade fiction, and select
nonfiction. With respect to fiction, she is drawn to fresh voices, compelling
characters, and crisp prose, and enjoys both contemporary and historical
settings. For nonfiction, she is interested in exceptional narratives from authors with
strong platforms. Based in Boulder, Colorado, she is also eager to hear from authors with a unique
perspective on the New West.
Prior to founding her literary agency in 1994, Angela Rinaldi (Rinaldi Literary) held
editorial and management positions at NAL, Bantam Books and Pocket Books. She also
started the book publishing program for The Los Angeles Times. She has been a member
of the Literature Panel for the California Arts Council in addition to the board for PEN
and the membership committee for AAR. She is actively seeking novelists writing literary
fiction that can cross over into the commercial arena, commercial fiction and up-market
women's fiction. In the non-fiction category she is looking for authors who have
platforms and marketing savvy who are writing in the areas of narrative non-fiction,
memoir, business, health, lifestyle, parenting, cooking, food and travel narratives, psychology and
and relationship. She does not represent screenplays, poetry, westerns, fantasy, horror, science fiction,
techno or spy thrillers, self-published books, or books on politics or religion. For further information go
to www.rinaldiliterary.com.
Elizabeth Trupin-Pulli has been involved in publishing for forty-five years, beginning
in the contracts department of New American Library. That was followed by a brief
stint as an editor at Fawcett’s school division, Premier Books. In 1975, she and thenhusband Jim Trupin founded JET Literary Associates, Inc. in New York. As of 2002,
their offices have relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico and Vienna, Austria. JET has
had great success with mystery writers, including Edgar-award-winning Robert
Campbell, Harry Whittington, Charles Willeford and RWA award-winners for
romantic suspense, Beverly Bird and Gennita Low. In addition to suspense, Liz is looking for historical
and literary fiction as well as strong narrative non-fiction. She does not handle sci-fi/fantasy, poetry,
how-to books or material for the children’s or YA markets. Most recent bestseller: ROCK WITH WINGS
by Anne Hillerman.
Editors
Joanna Hill has been involved in publishing for over forty years. She started as a
production assistant at the University of North Carolina Press and from there went on to
become the Production/Design Manager of the University of Texas Press and then
Louisiana State University Press. After a few years as a freelance designer, Joanna moved
into marketing and acquisitions, and then served as Executive Director of Templeton Press
and of the Swedenborg Foundation, where she oversaw the publishing division. Design
awards have been bestowed on her work by various organizations, such as the Association
of American University Presses, Type Directors Club, Chicago Book Clinic, to name just a few. Joanna is
also the co-author of three books and author of one. Now a resident of Santa Fe, she is the Marketing
Director of Terra Nova Books and is doing general consulting work in the publishing industry. (Please
note that Ms. Hill is the Marketing Director for Terra Nova and is taking pitches on behalf of its editor,
who was unable to attend.)
Elise McHugh is the humanities acquisitions editor at the University of New Mexico
Press. She acquires in several fields, including poetry, fiction, memoir, pop culture,
cultural and literary criticism, and art, photography, and architecture. She is a
native New Mexican and holds a BA in English and a MA in poetry. Elise has served
as managing editor of Blue Mesa Review and taught poetry workshops. Her work in
publishing includes university press and nonprofit literary publishing as well as
literary and scholarly journals. Elise is particularly interested in work that focuses on
the larger American West and the U.S.-Mexico border and is actively seeking fiction,
poetry, literary nonfiction (including memoirs and essay collections), and popular nonfiction for a
general audience. In addition, she is actively seeking scholarly work in the fields mentioned above. She is
not currently seeking children’s book projects.
Anna Michels is an Editor at Sourcebooks, an independent publisher located outside
of Chicago. Over the course of the four+ years she has been at Sourcebooks she has
worked on a wide variety of projects, most recently focusing on acquiring adult
fiction and nonfiction. She is looking for commercial literary fiction with interesting
settings and a strong narrative voice; mystery (particularly historical and crossover
literary—think Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger), literary thriller, and psychological suspense;
and memoir by writers who connect the events of their lives to readers through incredible storytelling,
as well as a wide variety of prescriptive nonfiction, gift books, and history.
Tiffany Schofield joined Five Star Publishing in 1999. She is Senior Editor for Five
Star Publishing, Thorndike Press and Wheeler Publishing, which are all imprints of
Gale/Cengage Learning, overseeing the acquisition of forty-eight unpublished
Western and Frontier Fiction manuscripts annually for Five Star, as well as
acquiring the large-print reprint rights for eighty Western novels and forty-eight
crime/thriller novels. She enjoys working with writers, agents and other industry
professionals in her pursuit to discover exciting new voices in fiction publishing for the library market.
Under Tiffany’s editorial leadership, several Five Star Publishing novels have been selected as award
finalists and winners. In 2013, Five Star Publishing was awarded the Western Writers of America® Lariat
Award, which is given to companies and/or individuals who have achieved distinction in their support of
Western Writers of America and the literature of the West. Five Star has also received the honor of
being named Best Western History Book Publisher (2015) by True West Magazine. Five Star Publishing is
looking for traditional Western stories as well as various Frontier Fiction subgenres that are set in the
pre-1920s American West (examples: frontier thriller, historical fiction, frontier romance, pioneering,
fictionalized biographies, etc.). Also of interest are coming-of-age stories with strong YA crossover
potential.
Jennifer Urban-Brown is an editor at Shambhala Publications, an independent
publisher of books on Buddhism, psychology, and self-help. On the Shambhala side
of the list, Jennifer primarily acquires books that focus on creativity, including art
therapy and creative writing, as well as literary memoirs that provide insights into
universal experiences. Her main role is to acquire titles under the Roost Books
imprint, a lifestyle imprint that features uplifting books that point to ways we can
live our lives more positively and with greater intention. The books on the Roost list
represent cookbooks and food writing, crafts and creativity, home and garden,
parenting and family activities, and nature writing—each title offering activities and ideas for deepening
our lives by engaging with the natural world, making things with our hands, and connecting with
ourselves, our families, and community. Shambhala just moved back to Boulder after spending the last
thirty years in Boston. We are delighted to be joining the community of Western writers and publishing
professionals.