The return of Philly publishing meetups, new query tips, and more!
Oh hello, dear writer friends.
I'm really excited to say that my in-person publishing brain picks are making a return. Back in 2019, I was hosting these regularly at Indy Hall, my beloved coworking space here in Philadelphia. When the pandemic hit, they shutdown the space for a while, but now that they are back... I suppose, so am I.
On June 26th, we'll be meeting at their new space with literary agent and author Jennifer Herrera. Jennifer wrote an astonishing adult thriller called The Hunter that I absolutely devoured, and she'll be joining us for an hour and a half long brain pick starting at 6:30PM. You can get all the details here on my website. Make sure you RSVP! You'll need the door code to get in.
The concept of these things is simple. Me and the guest have a quick convo so you get to know them, and then off we go with tons of questions from the audience. Get your most specific questions answered about your projects! This is the place for that. And of course, it's entirely free.
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Two weeks ago, Kate Fussner's beautiful Middle Grade in-verse novel, The Song of Us, was published with Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins. It's a really stunning retelling of Orpheus, about two young girls who fall for one another over poetry.
Kate was generous enough to share her query letter with the public, so, if you're looking for a new guide to crafting a pitch (and curious what you should do when following up with editors or agents), here's a great guideline. I hope it helps you in your publishing journey.
And don't forget, you can access over eighteen pitch letters and some book proposals here too! Thank the authors by buying their books.
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Tomorrow the YA anthology BOUNDLESS publishes with Inkyard Press / HarperCollins. It's a really lovely collection put together by Ismée Williams and Rebecca Balcárcel, centering and celebrating the multiracial and multicultural experience.
I've got a complicated adoptee story in there that I'm really proud of, and it's the first story I've published set in my hometown. Hi Elizabeth!
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And hey, speaking of local things like that brain pick meetup, I've launched the Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl, a yearly event (at least, I hope, let's see how this goes) that brings together two dozen bookstores in the Philadelphia region for a day of events, deals, giveaways, and more.
You can learn more about it on the official website, and please follow along on Instagram for updates! Mark your calendars for August 26th. It's going to be so much fun.
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That's all for now. Go write good things.