August 25, 2021
Hello, writers!

If you can believe it, our 2021 Agents & Editors Conference is only four weeks away. Whether you'll be joining us in-person in Austin or tuning in virtually from your home, we can't wait to see you in September.

We have so much in store and lots of information we want to make sure you've got as you prepare for the big weekend, so please read this email closely. We'll be sending you weekly updates like this one from now until the conference, so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox.

In this mailer you'll find:
  • Information on pre-conference virtual events
  • Information on one-on-one consultations
  • An RSVP link for the Saturday Keynote Luncheon
  • A reminder about hotel room reservations
  • Details on where you can find interviews with our visiting agents & editors

The conference will be here before you know it, so if you have any questions about the information in this mailer or anything else, please feel free to reach out to us at wltconference@writersleague.org.

See you soon!
WLT Staff
This year, for the first time, we are excited to host several pre-conference events that are open to all registrants, whether you're attending the conference in-person or virtually. These pre-conference live webinars will take place in the evening during the week prior to the big weekend, on Monday (September 13), Tuesday (September 14), and Thursday (September 16). If you've attended our A&E Conference in the past, these events may be familiar to you because they were previously held in person at the conference venue. In order to include our virtual registrants, we decided to move them to the virtual world this year which has given us the opportunity to do some pretty exciting things.

Our pre-conference virtual events include eight genre sessions, a "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" presentation, and the pitch lab. Our genre sessions are extra special this year because, for the first time ever, they'll include a conversation with a published author and their book editor.

We hope you'll join us for as many of these virtual events as you can. All conference registrants, regardless of whether they are attending in person or virtually, will have access to these sessions. And don't worry! If you can't make a session, we've got you covered. Each session will be recorded and a link to the recording will be shared with you the day after the session takes place.

Check out the virtual pre-conference schedule below and please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. In next week's mailer, we'll share details on the special author and editor guests we have lined up for each session. Links for these sessions will be sent your way before September 13.

Monday, September 13
  • 6:00 PM CDT on Zoom: General Fiction Genre Session
  • 6:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Memoir Genre Session
  • 7:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Romance Genre Session
  • 7:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Mystery/Thriller Genre Session

Tuesday, September 14
  • 6:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Science Fiction/Fantasy Genre Session
  • 6:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Nonfiction Genre Session
  • 7:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Historical Fiction Genre Session
  • 7:00 PM CDT on Zoom: Kid's Lit Genre Session

Thursday, September 16
  • 7:00 PM CDT on Zoom: "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" presentation with WLT ED Becka Oliver and Penguin Random House VP Lance Fitzgerald.
  • The Pitch Lab, including small group breakout sessions, immediately following the presentation.
All A&E Conference registrants - both in-person registrants and virtual registrants - are entitled to a complimentary consultation with an agent or editor.

Consultations are 10-minute one-on-one meetings, a great opportunity to verbally pitch your work to an industry professional. You will not be sharing material with these agents or editors ahead of time or during the meeting.

All consultations will take place during the conference weekend. If you are registered for the in-person event, you can opt to do your consultation in person or on Zoom. If you are a virtual registrant, your consultation must take place on Zoom. (PLEASE NOTE: Some of our agents and editors are doing virtual consultations only. They have been identified with (Virtual Only) on the preference form.)

In order for us to assign your consultation, you will need to first fill out the consultation preference form linked to below. This form will ask you to rank your top choices for your consultation appointment.

Consultations will be assigned in the order in which completed consultation preference forms are received. We recommend that you fill out and submit the preference form as soon as possible in order to have the best chance of receiving an appointment with one of your top choices. Please make every effort to fill out the preference form by Friday, September 3.

After Friday, September 3, we will be opening up consultations for purchase ($50 each) to all registrants who'd like to sign up for a second consultation. Details on how to purchase a second consultation will be shared at that time.

Any questions? Now's the time to ask! First, take a look at our FAQs. If you still have a question after you've read through the FAQs, give us a call at 512-499-8914, or email us at wltconference@writersleague.org.
Our 2021 A&E Conference includes notable literary agents who represent best-selling and award-winning authors and have sold books to big presses and indie presses alike, plus editors working at publishing houses that have published some of the most exciting books of the past few years.
  • To meet our agents, click here.
  • To meet our editors, click here.

We've started sharing interviews with the agents and editors on our blog, Scribe, and we'll continue posting additional interviews as they come in.
  • To read agent and editor Q&As, visit our blog, Scribe.

We also highly recommend doing your own independent research on the agents and editors by visiting their websites, following them on social media, or doing a Google search. In short: the more research you do, the better!
If you're attending the 2021 A&E Conference in-person, please let us know by Tuesday, August 31, if you'll be joining us for the Keynote Luncheon on Saturday, September 18. There is no extra charge for the luncheon, but we do need to get an accurate count to the conference venue as soon as possible. This is a plated luncheon with three courses, with a keynote address by author Courtney Maum (Before & After the Book Deal) to follow the entree course. Masks will be required except when at your seat and eating, so keep that in mind as you make your decision regarding whether you'd like to join us. Thank you!
The conference venue, the Hyatt Regency Austin, has set aside a block of discounted rooms for A&E Conference registrants for dates before, during, and after the event. Rooms are filling quickly, so book now if you want to be assured a spot. After August 26, any unsold rooms in our reserved block of rooms will become available to the general public which means there are no guarantees a room will be available if you try to book closer to the event.

The cut-off date to register and receive the special group rate is September 6.