If you have to choose just one conference in 2009, choose the New York Pitch.

This writer conference event promotes aspiring authors writing in the genres of commercial and literary fiction, serious and light women's fiction, historical fiction, mystery/thriller and detective, high-concept young adult, as well as memoir and narrative nonfiction. Four times a year in New York City, this conference comes together to provide a unique opportunity for writers with completed manuscripts or works-in-progress to not only workshop their novel with professional fiction editors, but meet and pitch top acquisition editors from major publishing houses such as Berkley, Doubleday, Penguin, Random House, Viking, and more. Following the conference, on an average, one out of three projects are requested for a close read by publishers.

Stop by our NYC Pitch and Shop NEWS page for the latest updates on project requests and contracts signed, and read How It Works for more details on conference benefits. Simply put, the NYC Pitch and Shop goal is to set writers on a realistic path to publication by providing not only opportunity, but guidance on the novel from the best industry professionals in New York. If you're not sure if you or your novel belong at the pitch conference, peruse our Participants page to help with your decision.

Additionally, as needed, we will produce agent and further publishing contacts for writers who have very competitive manuscripts. If our writers succeed, we succeed. See our commentary by former attendees for a realistic assessment.

Is This Writers Conference Right For You?

Was it right for those who met with success as a result of the conference? See commentary by former attendees, and our news page, both noted above. Also, please review our criteria for who should participate in this conference and who should not. If this pitch conference is not right for you and you require craft instruction from professionals, we recommend Algonkian Writer Conferences and the New York Writers Workshop (NYWW).

The acquisition Editors attending the "NYC Pitch and Shop" writers conference represent a variety of genres. All of them have worked with top authors and most work with more than one genre. Their bios, as well as more information on the sponsors and the bios of the workshop leaders can be found here.

What Makes This Conference Different?

Algonkian Writer Conferences and NYWW have melded faculty, connections, and expertise to produce the first novel pitch conference in NYC (and the U.S.) that not only provides writers with sufficient time to properly pitch top editors from major publishers, but also three intensive "pitch workshops" designed to teach the art of the pitch and at the same time, work with writers to improve their novels.

Book Publicity Pros at NYC

Melissa Broder

Melissa Broder is a Senior Publicist at Penguin Group (USA) in the Berkley/ NAL/ Riverhead/ Perigee division. Most recently, she has worked with such bestselling authors as: Harumi Kurihara (HARUMI'S JAPANESE COOKING), Kate Jacobs (THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB) and Sloane Crosley (I WAS TOLD THERE'D BE CAKE). Melissa began her journey in literary publicity at Tor/Forge, an imprint of what was then Holtzbrinck publishers (now Macmillan). Melissa holds a BA in English from Tufts University and is currently getting her MFA in Poetry at The City College of New York, where she is the recipient of The 2008 Stark Poetry Prize in Honor of Raymond Patterson and The 2008 Jerome Lowell Dejur Award in Creative Writing.

Susan Schwartzman

Susan Schwartzman has been in the publishing field for more than 20 years. She began her career in book publicity in 1992 as a freelance in-house book publicist, working for major publishers, including Workman Publishing, William Morrow, Penguin-Putnam, Harcourt Brace, Villard, Wiley, Avon Books, Simon & Schuster, Warner Books, Red Dress Ink, New American Library, and Downtown Press. As an independent book publicist, Susan has promoted a wide variety of literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction titles. Her business, Susan Schwartzman Public Relations, has provided major media placements for her clients in major media throughout the country.

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ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS Traditional Novel, Fiction, and Non-Fiction Workshops Algonkian Writer Conferences New York Writers Workshop (NYWW)