2018 Agents & Editors Conference  
Update 6/14/18 -  DEADLINES
Last chance to purchase consultations, register for the Saturday and Sunday luncheons, and book your hotel room at the special rate.
PLUS: The conference program is now online.

Hello, 2018 A&E Conference Registrants!

The conference is less than two weeks away (hard to believe, but it's true). In this mailer, you'll find the following:
  • A reminder about some important deadlines for purchasing consultations, registering for our Saturday and Sunday luncheons, and reserving your hotel room
  • A link to the conference program
  • Links to our podcast episodes on "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect"
  • Plus links to conference tips and FAQs, the BookPeople online store, and the Facebook event page (please join!).
Of course, if you have questions on anything here--or anything else A&E Conference related--give us a call at 512-499-8914. We're always happy to hear from you.

We're looking forward to seeing you in Austin soon!

-- WLT Staff

Last chance: If you'd like to purchase a consultation (or a 2nd consultation), deadline is 6/18

The last day to purchase consultations is Monday, June 18 (before midnight CST). For an up-to-date list of agents and editors with consultation spots remaining and a link to the Consultation Purchase Form, click here.

You should have heard from us with your consultation appointment schedule if you submitted your form by June 1. Anyone who hasn't heard from us yet (or who submitted after June 1) will hear by end of day June 21, latest.

At this time, all registrants for the A&E Conference are allowed up to two (2) one-on-one consultations with agents and editors
  • To meet our agents, click here.
  • To meet our editors, click here.
  • To read agent and editor Q&As, click here.
Don't forget: If you'd like to join us for the Saturday or Sunday luncheons, we need to hear from you by 6/21   

Saturday Keynote Luncheon Tickets
The last day to purchase tickets for the Saturday Keynote Luncheon (which includes a 3-course meal and a copy of speaker Alexander Chee's book How to Write an Autobiographical Novel) is midnight, Thursday, June 21. After June 21, tickets will be available for purchase at the WLT Information Desk at the conference ($50), if available. Save yourself $5 and buy your ticket now.

If you already purchased a ticket to the Keynote Luncheon you will be hearing from us shortly with some questions about any dietary restrictions. Please respond to us by June 21.
Sunday Closing Luncheon RSVP
The last day to RSVP for the Sunday Closing Luncheon ahead of the conference is midnight, Thursday, June 21. This event is free and open to all conference attendees, but you must RSVP by this deadline. After June 21, tickets will be available for purchase at the WLT Information Desk at the conference ($25), if available.

This closing luncheon is a buffet, and the food will be clearly marked for those with dietary restrictions.
Take a sneak peek: 
The conference program is now available online! 

We couldn't be more excited to share with you an early look at the conference program, including the full schedule (Friday through Sunday), bios and photos of our visiting faculty, information on preparing for consultations and the many networking opportunities, details about the Hyatt and dining & entertainment options nearby, and the full list of our panelists, presenters, keynoters, moderators, exhibitors, and more. Every registrant will receive a printed program in their welcome bag, along with additional goodies.

To get a sneak peak at the program, click here.
As you start to prepare your pitch...

Our next mailer will include details about the Friday events that are geared to helping you hone your pitch ahead of the big weekend. 

For now, we wanted to share with you some links that we think will be helpful. Check out our two podcast episodes focused on "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect."  Featuring a former literary agent and a current publishing sales director, these two episodes offer some great tips, tricks, and takeaway for anyone looking to nail that brief and compelling introduction to their work, whether you're meeting an agent in person (as so many of you will be at the conference) or sending a query letter at a later time. We hope you'll take the time to listen in and that you'll put what you learn into action throughout the weekend and beyond. Last year, dozens of attendees told us that this podcast had been essential to developing their pitches.
 
To listen to the 2016 "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" discussion, click here.

To listen to the 2017 "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" discussion, click here .   

In addition, we'll be focusing once again on pitching at next week's Third Thursday event in Austin, free and open to all. This event will include audience participation and will not be recorded. For details on that event (June 21), visit our event page.
Conference Tips and FAQs  

This is our 25th year doing this - we like to think we might have some valuable advice to share with you (especially if this is your very first conference or your first time joining us for this event). Check out our 20 great tips for making the conference a success: find them here.

And, we have compiled a long list of frequently asked questions: find it here .

Additional Information Coming Your Way Includes:
We've created a Facebook event page for the 2018 Agents & Editors Conference where we are regularly sharing updates, reminders, and more. If you're on Facebook, we encourage you to join the event by clicking here.

Presenter and Panelist Bios: Nearly 100 authors, publicists, booksellers, and other industry professionals will speak at the conference. We'll be sharing information about these participants on our website soon, but you can also visit the special BookPeople online bookstore to browse through the books you'll be hearing about (and the authors you'll be meeting) throughout the weekend.

What to wear and what to bring with you. A final mailer with some last details will be sent Monday, June 25.

Finally, be sure to visit our website for past conference mailers and check out the A&E Conference FAQs for the answers to questions you may not even know you have. (And, remember, you can also call us at 512-499-8914 anytime!)


This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

 
Writers' League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts - Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to  www.arts.texas.gov .  

 
This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
 
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