You will have ten minutes alone, face-to-face, to pitch your work to one of the agents listed below. We will do everything we can to link you up with the agent of your choice. The earlier you register, the easier it will be to give you your first choice.

At the time you register for the conference, you may add up to two agent pitch sessions ($25 each).

Agents at the 2012 Conference

Felicia Eth

Felicia Eth has been an agent for 25 years–ten in N.Y. at Writers House, and fifteen or so in the SF Bay area, with her own agency, Felicia Eth Literary Reprsentation. She started working in the movie business in N.Y, in the Story Departments of Palomar Pictures and Warner Brothers, where properties were selected. She was the conduit for NY. publishers and worked with sub rights people and agents who mostly handled movie/tv rights. Felicia found she was much more interested in books as books than as properties with potential for being translated to the screen.

She is a New Yorker on the West Coast, so she brings both sensibilities to anything she works with. She’s a one person office, but as someone who knows the business for many many years, she works with books of diverse interest–from quirky narrative nonfiction to literary fiction. She tries to be ahead of the curve in terms of what’s hot, but not avant-garde.

Felicia would like to find more literary writers who knew how to write incredibly compelling stories, i.e., stories with dramatic drive and narrative and a plot that keeps you riveted, even as you are held by the writing. She would love to see more narrative nonfiction that is less memoir about someone’s life and more about someone’s foray into exploring something that impacts all of us.
Felicia is looking for: Fiction – an incredibly interesting plot that moves like lightning by a writer whose prose dances off the page. Seems writers can either plot or write. Oh, to find someone who can do both! Nonfiction – some really leading-edge idea written in an exciting and understandable way. Or narrative nonfiction about some incredible real event.

Michael Larsen

Born and educated in New York City, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency co-founder Michael Larsen worked in promotion for Bantam, William Morrow, and Pyramid (later assimilated into Berkley). He and his wife Elizabeth Pomada started Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco in 1972. They are members of AAR and have sold books to more than 100 publishers. Mike is eager to find nonfiction books that will excite big and midsize houses: how-to’s, self-help, business, personal finance, popular culture, biography, current affairs, history, health, medicine, spirituality, inspirational books, trends, technology, the future, and other books with practical, social, or literary value. He is the author of the third editions of How to Write a Book Proposal and How to Get a Literary Agent. With Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and David Hancock, he is co-author of the second edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work. Mike also offers a consulting service for nonfiction writers who are not clients.

Mike is eager to find nonfiction books that will excite big and midsize houses: how-to’s, self-help, business, personal finance, popular culture, biography, current affairs, history, health, medicine, spirituality, inspirational books, trends, technology, the future, and other books with practical, social, or literary value. He urges you to bring the first page from your manuscript with you to the Agent Pitch.

Paul S. Levine

Paul S. Levine “wears two hats”: he is a lawyer (www.paulslevine.com) and a literary agent (www.paulslevinelit.com). Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for over 30 years, specializing in the representation of writers, producers, actors, directors, composers, musicians, artists, authors, photographers, galleries, publishers, developers, production companies and theatre companies in the fields of motion pictures, television, interactive multimedia, live stage, recorded music, concerts, the visual arts, publishing, and advertising. In 1998, Mr. Levine opened the Paul S. Levine Literary Agency, specializing in the representation of book authors and the sale of motion picture and television rights in and to books. Since starting his literary agency, Mr. Levine has sold over 100 adult, young adult, and children’s fiction and non-fiction books to at least 50 different publishers and has had many books developed as movies-for-television and feature films.

Paul’s unique combination of publishing industry savvy and entertainment legal services makes Levine a dynamic choice for both new and published authors alike. Leaning toward socially and politically important literature, he will consider fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and young adult manuscripts and proposals for non-fiction books. Highly aware of market trends and editors’ preferences, Levine limits himself to projects which believes in and feels certain he can sell.

Angela Rinaldi

Angela Rinaldi is President of The Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency in Los Angeles. After working at several publishing houses in New York in editorial positions and publishing books for The Los Angeles Times for ten years, connecting writers with publishers was a natural extension of Angela Rinaldi’s long involvement with publishing. The success of the agency is a reflection of their ability to recognize the authors who will capture an editor’s attention. They are dedicated writer’s advocates committed to guiding authors through the many levels of the publishing world which now includes digital publishing. They are proud to have represented books like the eight million copy bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson, Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game by Dr. Joseph Parent, Blood Orange and The Good Sister by Drusilla Campbell and From Seed to Skillet by urban gardener Jimmy Williams and lifestyle journalist Susan Heeger. Their vision is to continue to support distinctive voices. Angela is passionate about fiction, both commercial and literary, and look for engaging characters, a strong plot, good storytelling and lovely writing with a distinct voice. We love commercial novels with literary sensibilities.

Angela has been a member of the Literature Panel for the California Arts Council, on the board for PEN, and is currently on the membership committee for the Association of Author’s Representatives. She established her editorial expertise in New York as Executive Editor at New American Library and Bantam Books, Senior Editor at Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster), and was Manager of The Los Angeles Times Book Publishing Program for ten years. Her experience as an editor, publishing liaison and industry professional, including the time spent creating books for The Los Angeles Times, developed the strong foundation she built her agency on and has given her the contacts and resources to expertly advise authors about all traditional and state of the art publishing options.

We are actively looking for upmarket contemporary fiction, mainstream women’s fiction, multicultural fiction, as well as mysteries, suspense, literary historical thrillers, gothic suspense, and women’s book club fiction – novels where the story leads to discussion. We are also looking for young adult fiction and would like to find the next young adult crossover novel. We are not the best agents to represent humor, CIA espionage, drug thrillers, techno thrillers, category romances, science fiction, fantasy, horror/occult/paranormal, poetry, film scripts, magazine articles or religion. Submissions from non-fiction authors with an original idea who have a national platform will always get our attention, as will authors who have big ideas and can spot trends; authors who can explain the way we live, take the mystery out of everyday occurrences or have life transforming messages; authors who have brands and strong media contacts. We are very interested in narrative non-fiction, memoir, women’s issues/studies, current issues, biography, love/relationships, psychology, health/medical/wellness, business, parenting, cookbooks/food narratives/lifestyle/wine, personal finance and books written by established journalists, academics, doctors and therapists.

Gordon Warnock

Senior Agent at Andrea Hurst and Associates, Gordon combines industry knowledge with a sharp editorial eye and experience as a college-level tutor to provide friendly and thorough aid with polishing manuscripts and book proposals. From his start as an intern, he has since worked his way up to becoming a full agent and an integral part of Andrea Hurst Literary Management. He frequently participates in conferences and workshops and speaks throughout the community. He is an honors graduate with a B.A. in Creative and Professional Writing.

With a zest for fresh, new writing and a deep love of the classics, Gordon always has his eye out for works which will not only thrive in the current market but will also withstand the test of time, bringing joy to readers for years to come. In that spirit, he seeks to establish involved, long term working relationships with talented and dedicated authors of many genres.