A Different Way of Pitching

On March 1, I’ll be moderating a panel at the Gotham Writers Genre Fiction Conference. Something that makes this conference different is its innovative approach to pitching your novel to agents and editors. Organizer (and fellow Gotham teacher) Stuart Pennebaker stopped by Miss Demeanors to explain. Stuart is also the author of the debut novel Ghost Fish.

From Stuart:

Does the world need another writing conference? I’m biased—as the Director of Publishing Guidance at Gotham, I spend a lot of time, along with the rest of our team, plotting how to make our genre fiction writers conference impactful, worthwhile, and hopefully even fun. It’s one of my favorite events of the year. But if you’ll allow me a moment, I have a story about why I think our conference is special…

A few years ago, I was nearing graduation from an MFA program. I loved being back in school and even managed to eke out a first draft of a novel. I loved it so much, in fact, I’d gotten a job working in the department’s office. Unfortunately, this meant I was tasked with helping organize the annual agent pitching night, an event I was planning to skip. Talking to intimidating agents?! About my novel? Noooo, thank you.

Scary!

But part of my job was to help organize the event and I couldn’t figure out how to gracefully get out of it. So I signed up. And then the agent I was scheduled to meet got sick, so I was assigned to someone else. The pitching took place in a crowded, hot room and a gong was clanged each time it was time for a new session. It was all somehow worse than I imagined. That is, until I sat down to meet the agent. It turns out literary agents are people, lovely people, who are just as enthusiastic about books as us writers. I was so nervous I can’t remember what I said but I pitched something, then we had a nice chat about books. A few months later, I signed on with that agent, and this summer my first novel will be published.

An event I almost skipped was a success—agents who attend these events truly are looking for books to represent. But here’s why Gotham’s conference is even better. We worked with literary agents to reimagine the traditional pitching event and came up with a roundtable format: eight writers and two agents sit around an in-person or virtual table. Writers present their query letters and first pages without the pressure of a gong or beeping timer. And the agents aren’t there just to consider your project. They’ll be offering feedback in real time, so you’ll gain valuable insight into what agents are thinking when they read your query letter, insight you immediately put to use.

The pitching roundtable is just part of our conference focused on genre fiction writers. There will also be (virtual) panels about topics such as crafting a suspenseful story (moderated by Miss Demeanor’s own Susan Breen!) and the art of publicity. I really hope you’ll join us, March 1st and 2nd. Learn more here: https://www.writingclasses.com/genre-fiction/writers-conference/index

What do you think?

SUSAN BREEN is the award-winning author of The Fiction Class and the Maggie Dove mystery series. She is the 2024 winner of the Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition. Her new novel, MERRY, is forthcoming from Alcove Press in Fall 2025.

19 comments

  1. Stuart, thank you for sharing this very personal story. I hope your conference is a huge success and kudos to you for thinking of a new format to help relieve the pressure of Writers. And congratulations on your novel!
    I’m certain Susan’s suspense panel will be excellent and hope writers will take advantage of this grand opportunity to hear from a master at her craft.

    1. Thanks, Marni, this is so kind! Made my day. We are huge Susan Breen fans at Gotham. I’m very much looking forward to her panel on the art of suspense!

  2. Stuart, thanks so much for sharing this insider view of the conference. It sounds like a great opportunity to get real feedback about our work. And congrats on your debut novel!

  3. Wow that really sounds like an improvement on the pitch session! I’m going to recommend this to anybody I know who is in the query trenches now.

    1. So so nerve-wracking! I hope reframing it as an opportunity for writers to put their work out there while also receiving feedback and meeting other writers helps. I’m always completely blown away by the projects our writers are presenting—it really is such a fun day that reminds me that one of the best things about being a writer is getting to meet other writers! We’re really excited to have Susan joining us for Day 1 too.

  4. I’ve participated in Gotham Writers Pitching Roundtable–twice ( ; I loved the experience. If you’re looking to connect with agents and improve your work, sign up.

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