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True Lit: Publisher & Agent Pitch Sessions

Are you ready to publish your writing? Join us for the opportunity to pitch your work to literary agents and publishers.

Writers may sign up for an individual one-on-one session with the publisher or literary agent of their choice. Writers will visit FPL's Walker Community Room where library staff will handle the technology used to connect virtually with agents and publishers. Pitches are verbal and are limited to 10 minutes.

Publishers and agents featured: 

Allison Blevins serves as the Director of Small Harbor Publishing. Small Harbor Publishing was formed in July 2020. Their goal is to publish unique and diverse voices. They are a feminist press and are committed to diversity and inclusion, striving to fiercely promote the work of our authors and to bring new voices to a devoted and expanding readership.

Jeanne Devlin is the founding editor of The RoadRunner Press, an award-winning traditional publishing house based in Oklahoma City. The RoadRunner Press is dedicated to bringing the best literary and artistic talent of our region to the world, along with kindred talents from farflung places. They believe all of us are better for having all the voices who call this planet home represented in their titles. RoadRunner specializes in thoughtful juvenile and young adult fiction, and also publishes select adult fiction and nonfiction titles. 

Alyssa Maltese is a literary agent at Root Literary seeking young adult fiction, adult fiction, and adult nonfiction. In the YA vein, she is interested in contemporary fiction with speculative, romantic, or light fantasy elements, and high-stakes horror imbedded with social commentary. For adult fiction, she is seeking commercial thrillers, horror, and domestic suspense, and speculative fiction with female-centric concepts and/or technology-related sci-fi elements. She is also open to prescriptive and research-driven narrative nonfiction from authors with an established expertise and audience, on topics such as psychology, mental health, death, sex, science pertaining to nature and animals, and pop culture. Alyssa joined the agency in 2019 and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and disobedient cat, though she will always be a Jersey girl at heart.

Caitlin McDonald joined Donald Maass Literary Agency in 2015. She represents adult and young adult speculative fiction, primarily science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and related subgenres. She is also seeking graphic novels along the same lines as above. Caitlin looks for diversity in all projects, and is most drawn to unique, evocative narratives and cross-genre works, with an emphasis on high-impact stories that have something powerful to say. Some of her clients include C.L. Polk, Caitlin Starling, A.J. Hackwith, Lara Elena Donnelly, and Emma Mieko Candon.

Eric Smith is a Young Adult author and literary agent from Philadelphia. As an agent with P.S. Literary he's looking for Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction and non-fiction, adult literary fiction that does a bit of genre blending, and non-fiction of all kinds, from pop history to wellness titles to essay collections. To get an idea of his list and the kind of books he works on, you can visit his website at www.ericsmithrocks.com. 

Ann Leslie Tuttle joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret in 2017 after working for 20 years at Harlequin Books where she most recently was a Senior Editor. She is actively acquiring women’s fiction, contemporary romance, rom coms, romantic suspense, Southern Gothics, thrillers, mysteries, narrative nonfiction and Middle Grade. She received her B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. Finding and nurturing talented new and established writers has always been Ann Leslie’s passion.

This event is part of the True Lit Fayetteville Literary Festival, now in its 9th year.  The festival is in collaboration with the Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation and Altrusa International of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

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