April 21, 2022
Hello, writers!

If you can believe it, the 2022 Agents & Editors Conference is only two months away. We hope you're as excited for the big weekend as we are.

We have so much in store and lots of information we want to make sure you've got as you prepare for the main event, so please read this email closely. We'll be sending you updates like this one on a regular basis from now until the conference – be sure to keep an eye on your inbox. (And if you ever worry you've missed something, you can find all of the conference mailers on the website here).

In this mailer you'll find:
  • Information on one-on-one consultations
  • A registration link for the Saturday Keynote Luncheon
  • A reminder about hotel room reservations
  • Details on where you can find interviews with our visiting agents & editors, and more!

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
If you registered for the conference before the April 5th cut-off you 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.

In order for us to assign your consultation, you will need to first fill out the consultation preference form. This form was sent to you as an email from wltconference@writersleague.org. It will ask you to rank your top choices for your consultation appointment. If you did not receive this form and you registered before the cut-off, please let us know as soon as possible.

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 Thursday, May 5.

Beginning on Monday, May 9, we will be opening up consultations for purchase ($50 each) to all registrants who signed up after the April 5th cut-off and anyone else 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.
Save the date! On Tuesday, June 14th at 7:00 PM CDT we are excited to host a pre-conference virtual event. We're bringing back the "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" presentation with WLT Executive Director Becka Oliver and Lance Fitzgerald. Plus, after the presentation, we'll be hosting a virtual pitch lab.

All conference registrants will have access to this session. And if you can't make the live event, don't worry! The "Practice Makes Pitch Perfect" presentation will be recorded and a link to the recording will be shared with you the day after the event takes place. More information will be coming your way soon.
Our 2022 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!
The 2022 Agents & Editors Conference Keynote Speaker is Jami Attenberg, author of the memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself HomeShe'll be giving a speech on "How to Carve Out a Creative Life for Yourself" and we cannot wait to hear her advice and insights. Plus, all keynote luncheon registrants will receive a copy of Jami's memoir.

ABOUT OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Jami Attenberg is the author of seven books of fiction, including: Instant LoveThe Kept Man, The Melting SeasonThe MiddlesteinsSaint Mazie, and All Grown Up. Her most recent novel is All This Could Be Yours (2019). She is also the author of the memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home (2022). Attenberg has written about food, travel, books, relationships and urban life for The New York Times MagazineThe Wall Street Journalthe Sunday TimesSlate, and others. Her work has been published in a total of sixteen languages. She lives in New Orleans, LA.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
From New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg comes a dazzling memoir about unlocking and embracing her creativity—and how it saved her life.

In this brilliant, fierce, and funny memoir of transformation, Jami Attenberg—described as a “master of modern fiction” (Entertainment Weekly) and the “poet laureate of difficult families” (Kirkus Reviews)—reveals the defining moments that pushed her to create a life, and voice, she could claim for herself. What does it take to devote oneself to art? What does it mean to own one’s ideas? What does the world look like for a woman moving solo through it?

As the daughter of a traveling salesman in the Midwest, Attenberg was drawn to a life on the road. Frustrated by quotidian jobs and hungry for inspiration and fresh experiences, her wanderlust led her across the country and eventually on travels around the globe. Through it all she grapples with questions of mortality, otherworldliness, and what we leave behind.

It is during these adventures that she begins to reflect on the experiences of her youth—the trauma, the challenges, the risks she has taken. Driving across America on self-funded book tours, sometimes crashing on couches when she was broke, she keeps writing: in researching articles for magazines, jotting down ideas for novels, and refining her craft, she grows as an artist and increasingly learns to trust her gut and, ultimately, herself.
Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring story of finding one’s way home—emotionally, artistically, and physically—and an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their own creative calling.

Keynote Luncheon tickets are $50 per registrant. This includes entrance to the luncheon, a 3-course meal, a copy of Jami's memoir, as well as access to the book-signing following the luncheon. Seating is limited, so make sure to secure your spot as soon as possible.
The 2022 conference venue is the Hyatt Regency Austin on Lady Bird Lake. The hotel has set aside a block of discounted rooms for A&E Conference registrants for dates before, during, and after the event. Rooms will fill quickly, so book now if you want to be assured a spot.

Rooms are $185/night plus tax. The cut-off date to register under the group block is June 9, 2022.

To reserve your room at the Hyatt Regency, click here