PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

These in-person one-on-one meetings at the in-person 2026 Pittsburgh Writing Workshop are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind. More 2026 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open. We have seen many, many writers sign with agents after connecting after our conferences.

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Jon Michael Darga is a literary agent with Aevitas Creative Management. He seeks some fiction — specifically select commercial fiction primarily in the romance, mystery/thriller, and horror spaces. Jon represents titles across a diverse range of nonfiction categories, including memoir (most recently, the New York Times bestselling Vagabond by Tim Curry), pop culture (New York Times bestsellers How to Save a Life by Lynette Rice and Your Favorite Scary Movie by Ashley Cullins), platform-driven (New York Times bestseller How to Piss Off Men by Kyle Prue), and cookbook (Family Thai by Arnold Myint, named a Best Cookbook of 2025 by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times). Learn more about Jon here.

Bethany Hendrix is a literary agent with Spencerhill Associates. Bethany is looking for middle grade and young adult fiction in all genres, as well as adult romance. She would love to see all types of fantasy, but especially diverse worlds from underrepresented voices, historical fantasy/alternate history, gothic/spooky/horror/and thrillers, and rom coms. In adult, she is interested in romance, especially rom coms and historical romance, as well as fantasy. She also loves romance with a dash of magic. She loves voicey writing and worlds that hook you in. Bethany is always looking for new voices and diverse perspectives. Learn more about Bethany here.

Dr. Uwe Stender is a literary agent — the Founder and President of TriadaUS. In adult nonfiction, he particularly seeks narrative nonfiction, popular science, and pop culture, with favorites including A Place for Everything and The Jazz Men. In adult fiction, he loves suspense, thrillers, and mysteries, enjoying works such as Cabaret Macabre (A Spector Locked-Room Mystery), and the Reacher series. He is also eager for more adult romance, with a particular fondness for the Maxton Hall series and One Day. In contemporary YA fiction, he looks for romance, rom -oms, boarding school settings, and thrillers with a hint of horror, referencing favorites like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love at First Sight. He also has a keen interest in YA Graphic Novels, listing The Fox Maidens, The Magic Fish, and Pumpkinheads among his top reads. Learn more about Uwe here.

Dean Krystek is a literary agent at Wordlink. Dean is looking for authors with distinctive voices whose narratives invoke a strong sense of time and place and whose stories create a memorable reading experience. He’d like to see mysteries (whodunit, cozy); sci-fi (space opera, dystopian, alternate history, time travel); psychological suspense; thrillers; military fiction (character-driven pieces; favoring post-WWII. **Vietnam**). In YA he would like to see mysteries, paranormal, sci-fi, coming-of-age, and suspense with writing that stirs the imagination and caters to the young reader’s sense of wonder and adventure. Learn more about Dean here.

Lauren Bajek is a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates. Lauren represents adult science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as upmarket fiction, mystery, and romance with speculative elements. She represents very select science/nature nonfiction, but she does not represent children’s books or YA. Across the board, she is drawn to literary prose, queer and trans elements, puzzle and discovery plots, and an ambitious sense of imagination. She is particularly interested in translation, ecology, and werewolves. Learn more about Lauren here.

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ADDED ONLINE PITCHING: To ensure that writers have a robust and diverse lineup of agents & editors to pitch, 2026 Pittsburgh Writing Workshop attendees will have the ability to also pitch literary agents at an Writing Day Workshops *online* event that follows the 2026 PWW on our calendar.

That event is the 2026 Online Writing Workshop of Chicago, December 4-5, 2026, which will have 30-40 agents taking one-on-one Zoom virtual pitches.

This means that 2026 PWW attendees can have access to pitching all those online Chicago agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online December 2026 WWOC. (That said, if you want to formally register for the December 4-5 WWOC and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Pittsburgh attendees.)

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Pittsburgh. Following the PWW conference on November 14, 2026, we will be in touch with all Pittsburgh attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2026 WWOC (Dec. 4-5). At that time, you can communicate your pitch requests and purchase meeting time.

       

More 2026 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open.

These one-on-one meetings are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind.

(Please note that Agent/Editor Pitching is an add-on, separate aspect of the day, for only those who sign up. Spaces are limited for these premium meetings, and pricing/detail is explained below.)