PITCH YOUR BOOK TO A LITERARY AGENT:

These in-person one-on-one meetings at the 2026 Portland 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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CoCo Freeman is a literary agent with Linda Chester Literary Agency. “I am a graduate of Bard College with a B.A. in Written Arts. Before joining Linda Chester, I worked for Tom Yoon Productions developing projects and editing existing material. I am very happy to have entered the world of my first love, books. I am looking for smart adult commercial fiction in a variety of genres, including mystery/thriller/suspense, fantasy, romance, women’s fiction and historical, Young/New Adult, Middle Grade and select picture books.” Learn more about CoCo here.

Kat Kerr is a literary agent with Donald Maass Literary Agency. Kat feels strongly about supporting programs like We Need Diverse Books and is passionate about creating space in this industry for those from historically marginalized communities. She is actively seeking to grow her client list and is particularly hungry for magical realism, literary leaning speculative (fantasy) and science fiction, women’s fiction, YA works with a lot of heart, and narrative nonfiction with something to say. In fiction, she seeks literary, upmarket, women’s, rom-coms, multicultural, speculative, magical realism, family saga, young adult, and select sci-fi and fantasy. In nonfiction, she seeks narrative nonfiction and journalistic nonfiction tackling current affairs and social justice issues, particularly covering topics of racism, immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, and poverty. She also represents select biographies and memoirs. Learn more about Kat here.

Kim Carson Bodie is a literary with Susan Schulman Literary Agency. Kim is a generalist, and interested in virtually all types of fiction and nonfiction. In fiction, she likes: BIPOC Literature, BIPOC Mystery, Bookclub, Caribbean Literature, Commercial, Contemporary, East Asian Literature, Family Saga, Fantasy, Folklore, General, Gothic, Graphic Novel, Horror, LGBTQ, Literary, Magical Realism, Neo-Western, New Adult, South Asian Literature, South East Asian Literature, Speculative, Speculative Literary, Upmarket Speculative, West African Literature, Western, Women’s Fiction. In nonfiction, she likes: Feminism and women\’s issues, Health, History, Journalism, LGBTQ, Memoir, Pop Culture, Relationships and family, Science, Self-help, Spiritual. Learn more about Kim here.

Alex Land is a literary agent with Mad Woman Literary Agency. She is seeking adult fiction, young adult fiction, and middle grade fiction in the areas of: Action/Adventure, BIPOC Literature, Fantasy, Folklore, Gothic, Historical, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ, Magical Realism, Mystery, New Adult, Psychological Thriller, Romcom, Science Fiction, South East Asian Literature, Speculative, Thriller. She is always enthusiastic about representing diverse writers. Learn more about Alex here.

Jennifer Chen Tran is a literary agent at Glass Literary Management. In nonfiction, she seeks cookbooks, memoir, narrative nonfiction, and prescriptive nonfiction. She loves nonfiction (narrative or memoir with a platform) that sheds light on an unseen corner in society or history. Prescriptive nonfiction with practical takeaways, cookbooks with a unique angle or narratives centered on culinary life (see David Chang’s Eat a Peach), lifestyle titles (see Kate Oliver’s The Modern Caravan), humorous or visually-driven projects, and business books that read like memoir. Big idea books that shift how we perceive or navigate the world. In fiction, she seeks: middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, bookclub fiction, commercial/mainstream fiction, and women’s fiction. She loves middle grade and young adult that has heart and humor or visually-driven elements (see Remy Lai’s Pie in the Sky). She gravitates toward contemporary fiction that braids together issues of social significance and identity (see Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek). Learn more about Jen here.

Roger Copenhaver is a literary agent with Yes & Literary. Yes & Literary is a literary agency dedicated to amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices and other marginalized storytellers. “While our primary focus is on amplifying queer voices, we’re always open to hearing from authors that feel like they have a story that makes an impact and has something to say about the world.” Roger enjoys books across a wide range of genres, from literary fiction to commercial and lighthearted reads, but what really resonates with them are those that dive deep into the human experience. Whether it’s something light and fun or serious and personal, they’re drawn to stories that are impactful and leave a lasting impression. Learn more about Roger here.

Sorche Fairbank is a literary agent and the founder of Fairbank Literary. Our tastes tend toward literary and international fiction; voice-y novels with a strong sense of place; big memoir that goes beyond the me-moir; topical or narrative nonfiction with a strong interest in women’s voices, global perspectives, and class and race issues; children’s picture books & middle grade from illustrator/artists only; quality lifestyle books (food, wine, and design); pop culture; craft; and gift and humor books. We are most likely to pick up works that are of social or cultural significance, newsworthy, or that cause us to take great delight in the words, images, or ideas on the page. Lately we have been doing extremely well in the humor/gift/pop culture category, international fiction, and children’s picture books by illustrator artists, and we’d love to take on more projects in those categories. Above all, we look for a fresh voice, approach, story, or idea. Learn more about Sorche here.

Rebecca Love is a literary agent with Booker Albert Literary. From a young age, she has been fascinated with epic worlds like LOTR and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Books with romantic elements like Ella Enchanted, The Goose Girl, and The Cruel Prince all have places in her top ten. She also adores historical fiction like The Wednesday Wars and iconic masterpieces like Monica Hesse’s They Went Left, but her all-time favorite novel has to be the grounded fantasy The Scorpio Races. Her favorite tropes are houses-with-personality (think House of Leaves or The Haunting of Hill House), zombie apocalypses like in the book World War Z, and underwater worlds. Regardless of genre, Rebecca is looking for stories that have good pacing, grounded worlds, and believable characters. She is interested in fantasy of all kinds and anything that has a good hook. She would love to see more scary YA and MG historical fiction. Learn more about Rebecca here.

Elisa Saphier is a literary agent at MacGregor & Luedeke. She is open to most fiction and memoir except for high fantasy & science fiction, series writing (she likes standalones), picture books, and probably chapter books “I am always most excited to find great writing and full characters, regardless of genre.” In adult fiction, she seeks: literary psychological thrillers/mystery; queer romance (especially but not exclusively friends to lovers and forced proximity); literary fiction; literary memoir; stories of marginalized people where the marginalization isn’t the story; dark academia; suburban malaise. In young adult fiction, she loves: found family; queer coming of age; emerging awareness of identity; amateur theater In middle grade, she enjoys: true to life fiction; questioning of self and belonging; amateur theater. Learn more about Elisa here.

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

That event is the 2026 (Online) Chesapeake Writing Workshop, August 14-15, 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 Chesapeake WW agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online August 14-15, 2026 event.

(That said, if you want to formally register for the August online Chesapeake Writing Workshop and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Portland attendees.)

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Portland. Following the conference on May 8, 2026, we will be in touch with all Portland attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2026 online CWW (August 14-15, 2026). At that time, you can communicate your pitch requests and purchase meeting time.

           More 2026 agents could 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.)