This event has already taken place.
Date: November 24, 2024
Time: 11:00 - 16:00 EST
Location: Online (gain access to Reedsy’s event space when you register)
📚 Overview
Securing representation by a literary agent is an essential step for fiction authors who hope to be traditionally published.
During this one-day event, you’ll hear directly from literary agents, editors, and authors who will shed light on the querying process through presentations, panel discussions, and Q&As.
If you’re ready to take the next step toward landing a book deal, join us for this first-of-its-kind Reedsy event and get exclusive access to insights from industry experts.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
✅ Exclusive Access
During breaks, agents and editors will host Q&As to answer your questions. You’ll also receive a free e-book, The Insider’s Guide to Querying, which takes you through each step of the querying process. And to help you put your best foot forward, you’ll get post-event guidance on hiring an editor through the Reedsy Marketplace and $25 credit to put toward a collaboration.
⏱️ Schedule
11:00 - 12:15 EST
How to Know When Your Book is Ready
How long should your book be? How much editing should you do before querying? When should you get beta readers involved? Tom Bromley, author and former Little, Brown commissioning editor, answers all these questions and more in this session on what to consider before querying. It includes an open Q&A at the end.
12:15 - 13:30 EST
How to Write a Query Letter + Live Editing
Literary agent and fiction editor Kathleen Foxx breaks down the different stages of writing a query letter, from the hook that will grab an agent’s attention to the synopsis that will reel them in. Foxx will also give live feedback on query letters submitted by attendees in advance. Register for instructions on how to submit your query letter for consideration.
13:30 - 14:45 EST
How I Got a Literary Agent
Hear from published authors who have successfully navigated the querying process and received an offer of representation in this panel discussion. Find out how they got their publishing deal, and what they learned along the way. With Angel Di Zhang (The Light of Eternal Spring), AY Chao (Shanghai Immortal), and Natalie Adler (Waiting on a Friend). Jon Michael Darga, a literary agent whose clients include Angel Di Zhang, will moderate the panel and offer his perspective.
14:45 - 16:00 EST
Q&A with Literary Agents
During this live panel, you’ll have the opportunity to have your questions answered by literary agents who are experts in their field. What do they look for in a query letter? What are some things you absolutely shouldn’t do? Literary agents Jon Michael Darga (Aevitas), Kathleen Foxx (The Rights Factory), and Nicole Cunningham (The Book Group) will share their insider knowledge.
Speakers
Tom Bromley
Writer, Editor, and Ghostwriter
Tom Bromley is an author, editor, creative writing instructor, and ghost (not the scary kind). He has published twelve books and ghostwritten fifteen more, including prize-winners and international bestsellers. As a commissioning editor for Little, Brown, and a founding publisher of Pavilion’s imprint, Portico, he has edited and commissioned over 150 titles. Tom is currently Reedsy’s Head of Learning, where he teaches How to Write a Novel.
Jon Michael Darga
Senior Literary Agent
Jon Michael Darga is a senior agent at Aevitas Creative Management who represents titles across a diverse range of genres, including, most recently, the memoirs Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero and I Can't Save You by Anthony Chin-Quee; the cookbook Chili Crisp by James Park; and the New York Times bestsellers How to Piss off Men by Kyle Prue and How to Save a Life: The Untold Story of Grey's Anatomy by Lynette Rice. Prior to Aevitas, Darga was an editor at Penguin Random House, and a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Kathleen Foxx
Literary Agent
Kathleen Foxx is a literary agent at The Rights Factory in Toronto, Ontario, an agency celebrating 20 years of representing clients from anywhere in the world. She’s also a professional fiction editor at Foxx Editorial, host of the #badasswriters podcast (currently on hiatus), a founder/organizer/host of #MoodPitch (also currently on hiatus), and former audio editor for The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast. She’s been engaged with the writing community on Twitter/X and Instagram for several years and also writes thrillers and supernatural horror. Kat is building her list of exceptionally talented writers!
Nicole Cunningham
Literary Agent
Nicole represents a range of adult fiction and select nonfiction. She works with writers who share a sense of wonder, curiosity, and tenderness about the world. Nicole joined The Book Group in 2016. Prior to joining the agency, she worked as the Manager of Author Relations at a book discovery website and as an assistant in the publishing department of ICM Partners. She studied English and American Literature at New York University, with a minor in Gender and Sexuality studies.
Angel Di Zhang
Author
Angel Di Zhang was born in northeast China, and raised in China, England, Canada and the United States. She was educated in the joint BA-MIA program at Columbia University, and is a painter and an internationally exhibited fine art photographer. Her debut novel, The Light of Eternal Spring, published with Random House Canada in 2023. She is the founder and host of the Angel Reading Series which showcases authors who have a recent or forthcoming book. Her literary agent is Jon Michael Darga at Aevitas Creative Management.
AY Chao
Author
Alice is a Taiwanese Canadian fantasy writer resident in the UK who enjoys exploring the intersections of identity and belonging in her writing. A recovering lawyer and xiaolongbao enthusiast, Alice now lives in London with her family. Her debut Shanghai Immortal was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller, and its sequel, Paris Celestial, is out in July 2025. Her literary agent is Jamie Cowen at Ampersand Agency.
Natalie Adler
Author
Natalie Adler is a Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil 2022-2023 Emerging Writer Fellow. Her debut novel, Waiting on a Friend, is forthcoming from Hogarth in 2026. She is a founding editor at Lux, a feminist magazine of politics and culture. She has an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Brown University. Her essays have appeared in BOMB, LitHub, Catapult, Autostraddle, Paper, and more. She lives in New York and is from New Jersey. Her literary agent is Julie Barer at The Book Group.
