We are thrilled that we will have a number of editors and agents joining us at the upcoming conference! Before registering for an editor/agent appointment, please check to see what are the interests of the respective editors and/or agents. Thank you!
Agents
| Michelle Grajkowski | 3 Seas Literary |
| Eva Scalzo | Speilburg Literary |
Editors
| Sabrina Flemming | Hachette Forever Yours |
| Julie Sturgeon | Tule Publishing |
| Melanie Billings | The Wild Rose Press |
Please click here to download information on the submission guidelines for the editors and agents or see below.
To sign up for the editor/agent appointments, please click here or visit https://www.libertystatesfictionwriters.com/editor-agent-appointments/.
If you have additional questions about Editor/Agent appointments, please contact us at contact at lsfwriters.com.
Editor/Agent Biographies and Wish List
AGENTS:
Michelle Grajkowski – 3 Seas Literary
From the moment Michelle Grajkowski first opened the doors to the 3 Seas Literary Agency in August of 2000, she has been living her dream. (What could be better than surrounding yourself with amazing authors and their exciting and imaginative books?) Since then, her agency has sold more than 900 books to all the major publishing houses, and has grown from one agent to five!
Michelle’s client list includes New York Times Bestselling Authors Katie MacAlister, Cathy McDavid, Kerrelyn Sparks and C.L. Wilson.
She primarily represents romance, women’s fiction, and cozy mysteries, along with select non-fiction projects with a terrific message. She is currently looking for fantastic writers with a voice of their own.
When not curled up with a great manuscript, Michelle loves to spend time with her husband, children, and her crazy puppy who refuses to grow up.
Eva Scalzo – Speilburg Literary
Eva Scalzo was born in New Jersey, but has lived in Houston, Buenos Aires, San Juan, and Boston before settling down outside of Binghamton, New York. She has a B.A. in the Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico and a M.A. in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College. Since graduating in 2002, she has spent her career in scholarly publishing, working for Houghton Mifflin, Blackwell Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, and Cornell University in a variety of roles.
She is looking for: Commercial Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, LGBTQ, Literary, Middle Grade, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult
Her Favorite sub-genres are: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary YA, Diversity, Domestic Suspense, Feminism, Multicultural, Multiple POV, Regency Romance, Romantic Suspense, Urban Fantasy, YA Fantasy, YA Science Fiction.
You can read more about Eva at: Eva Scalzo – The Official Manuscript Wish List Website
EDITORS:
Sabrina Flemming – Hachette Forever Yours
After graduating from Georgia State University’s creative writing program and gaining editorial experience with publishing internships, I landed in my role as an Editorial Assistant in the Forever team in 2019. I’m a big lover of romance books that have paranormal characters, explore cultural identities, contain plenty of steam, or all of the above. When I’m not reading, I’m coming up with new dinner recipes in the kitchen or watching my latest K-drama obsession.
SABRINA IS LOOKING FOR ROMANCE AND ONLY ROMANCE.
She is seeking fantastic writers who tell a story we can’t put down, characters that captivate us, and if you can make us blush, laugh out loud, or shed a tear—even better.
We’re interested in all styles of romance, particularly contemporary, diverse reads, romantic suspense, cowboys, historicals, and paranormal.
We’re not looking for any YA, fantasy, mystery, general fiction, or nonfiction.
Julie Sturgeon – Tule Publishing
Julie Sturgeon has more than thirty years of professional editorial experience, with the last dozen years dedicated to fiction development.
She specializes in romance, women’s fiction, and mystery/thriller. She is currently the executive editor of Tule Mystery, with experience in writing blurbs, sourcing artwork for covers, acquiring manuscripts, creating film decks, and myriad author management roles. But her favorite role is development editor.
She is looking for:
Cozy Mysteries: a strong personality-driven series where readers like the character’s comments, observations, hobbies, even if those don’t change throughout the books. Crimes fit the cozy parameters: not descriptive, plot does not produce an uncomfortable fear for readers. Emphasis is on whodunnit puzzle-solving, and the overall experience is joyful, engaging, comfort reading. 50k-70k words
madcap adventure action
groups of friends solving mysteries
travel themes
unusual occupations being drawn into solving the crime (for instance, a journalist would be expected to dive into someone’s background—a lifeguard would not).
Mystery: a strong blend of sleuthing with character growth elements (think women’s fiction style), where the character’s life and goals are as interesting and compelling as their crime-solving. Within the story, these characters should grow in their decisions, values, careers, and relationships, which could hold the story with the B-line if no mystery occurred.
The crime directly puts a strain on their goals/lifestyle/relationships more than merely threatening their lives. Crime is described in detail, although it doesn’t have to be a gory description. Reader may feel a sense of personal fear from events in the book. Language may be strong at times. 70k-90k words
police procedurals
serial killer crimes
locked rooms
military-based mysteries
inspirational/Christian mystery
paranormal mysteries involving psychics or vampires or shifters.
Thrillers: Action-packed survival where we can’t figure out how the character will survive, but the solution is a practical one born from ingenuity and guts and decision-making, not a sudden helicopter swooping in or a hidden sniper fires the saving bullet out of the blue.
Psych twists that delve into a deep emotional level for the characters and engage readers’ sympathies. Realistic explanations for events within the story parameters (no sudden turn into astro projection or space alien to resolve when there wasn’t a hint of paranormal activity in the book).
Unreliable narrators where you don’t want the protagonist to be the bad guy because they’ve hidden it that well and bonded with the reader on some emotional level. 70k-90k words
domestic settings/situations
medical themes
psychics/paranormal
mixed media themes
a way to tie together one-off thrillers by location, by theme, etc.
Diverse characters always welcome.
At this time, we are not looking for political themes, international spy, or crime stories where the reader knows who the villain is and the story focuses on how bad he can be and what it takes to catch him. We also are not looking for romantic suspense.
Melanie Billings – The Wild Rose Press
Melanie joined the editing team of the Wild Rose Press at the end of 2014. While she does edit a little on every line, her favorite genres are: Fantasy, Sci-fi, YA, Mystery/Thriller, and Historical Romance.
Since 1998, Melanie has worked in various aspects of Ebook publishing. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from Roberts Wesleyan College in 1997 having majored in both English Literature and Communication. In addition to editing, she loves to write and enjoys participating in various writing challenges throughout the year.
You can find Melanie on Facebook and X.
She is looking for: Science Fiction, Fantasy, YA, Historical, All Mystery Genres, All Romance Genres, LBGTQ+ Fiction