Pitch Only Agent Appointments
Registration for agent pitch appointments is open!
You must be registered for the conference to attend agent appointments.
2026 Pitch Appointments !
Why Pitch to an Agent?
Agents get hundreds of written proposals and query letters on a daily basis. A face-to-face conversation with an agent will help your project get better attention.
You will get professional feedback as to the direction you might want take your project. The agent will have a face to put with your name if you follow up with a submission.
What is a Pitch Session?
This is a 10-minute personal meeting with an agent or an editor in which you “pitch” your book project.
For nonfiction writers, a pitch session is an oral proposal in which you lay out the basic idea of your project and its structure in the hopes of piquing the agent’s interest.
If you write fiction, you will pitch the idea of your novel to an agent with the goal of interesting the agent to see your manuscript.
Plan ahead what you want to ask and to say, so that you put forth an image that reflects the quality of your project. Have questions ready. This is your time to get insider answers. Use it.
How it Works
Subject to availability of time slots, you may sign up to pitch your idea to as many agents as you choose. Once you are a registered attendee of the conference, you may pick agents and use our secure online registration to sign up for a 10-minute pitch session. Please do not sign up for the same agent more than once.
You may also bring your query and opening page to the appointment, if you like.
Refunds
Please make your selections carefully. Once purchased, there will be no refunds given.
On a limited basis we can make changes…if needed.
Your schedule of pitch sessions will be given to you along with your SBWC conference badge when you check-in at registration.
If you need to designate AM or PM for your appointments, you can do that via email to info@sbwriters.com. We will do our best to accommodate. But understand, by the day of the appointments, all the slots will be full and you cannot assume you can meet at another time.
Pitch Session Fees
The cost for each 10-minute pitch session is $50.
Appointment Day: June 23
All appointments with agents will take place on June 23 between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Click on a photo for each agent’s information:
Andy Ross Agency
For nonfiction, Andy Ross looks for writing with a strong voice, robust story arc, and books that tell a big story about culture and society by authors with the authority to write about their subject.
In fiction, he likes character and voice-driven stories about real people in the real world. He also represents literary, commercial, historical, and upmarket women’s fiction, as well as YA and middle grade fiction.
He’s eager to work with projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership.
For literary, commercial, and children's fiction, he looks for writing that reveals the terrain of that vast and unexplored country of the human heart.
His agency represents books in a wide range of nonfiction genres including: narrative nonfiction, science, journalism, history, popular culture, memoir, and current events.
Andy Ross opened his literary agency in 2008. Prior to that, he was the owner of the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley for 30 years. His agency represents books in a wide range of non-fiction genres including: narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, popular culture, memoir, and current events. He also represents literary, commercial, historical, and upmarket women’s fiction, and YA and middle grade fiction.
He has participated and taught classes in numerous writers’ conferences including: San Francisco Writers Conference, Kauai Writers Conference, San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference, Nebraska Writers Conference, and more. He has organized and conducted writing intensive workshops with Linda Watanabe McFerrin in Santa Fe, Provence, and in Scotland.
Andy is the author of The Literary Agent’s Guide to Writing a Non-Fiction Book Proposal
Authors Andy represents include: Daniel Ellsberg, Fritjof Capra, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Susan Griffin, Leonard Shlain, Gwen Strauss, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Anjanette Delgado, Mark Goldblatt, Tawni Waters, Randall Platt, Mary Jo McConahay, Gerald Nachman, Michael Parenti, Paul Krassner, Milton Viorst, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Michele Anna Jordan, and Scott Ostler.
The Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency
Literary Agent Charlotte Gusay’s love of the literary has deep roots. She has come to be known as the “Diane Keaton” of agents - eclectic, quality, and very selective in choosing projects to represent. Founded on the basis of her hands-on experience in the book business (as a bookseller for many years,) Charlotte Gusay (founder-owner of The Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency) represents both fiction and nonfiction books, selected young adult books with movie potential, entertainment rights, books to film, selected screenplays and screenwriters and she often partners with WGA film agents. The Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency is looking for those books – both fiction and nonfiction that are both quality and commercial. For example, the Agency is particularly interested in innovative, unusual, eclectic, literary, historical, humorous books and those on any issues or topics, timely or socially important. Selection always comes down to the writing. The writing must be superb; the voice, seductive. The Agency welcomes queries from any writer about any project, by email or snail mail. The Agency Website: www.gusay.com
Queries: gusayagency2@gmail.com. Please use "Santa Barbara Writers Conference" in the subject line.
Dana Newman Literary
Dana Newman is an LA-based independent literary agent representing authors of practical and narrative non-fiction and literary and upmarket fiction. She is interested in practical nonfiction (business, health and wellness, psychology, parenting, technology) by authors with smart, unique perspectives and established platforms who are committed to actively marketing and promoting their books. She looks for compelling, inspiring narrative nonfiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, pop culture, current affairs/women’s interest, social trends, and sports/fitness.
A favorite genre is literary nonfiction: true stories, well told, that read like a novel you can’t put down. She considers a selective amount of literary fiction and women’s upmarket fiction. She looks for character-driven stories written in a distinctive voice that are emotionally truthful. She’s always on the lookout for compelling voices, ideas and stories, and is a passionate believer in the power of books to connect and transform us.
Dana is also an attorney, focusing on publishing law and contracts. She’s a member of the California State Bar and the Association of Authors’ Representatives, and holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco. Before founding her literary agency she worked as in-house counsel in the entertainment industry.
Kimberley Cameron & Associates
Elizabeth Kracht joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates in the fall of 2010 and is the author of The Author's Checklist: An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist, and writer.
Elizabeth's eclectic life experience drives her interests. She appreciates writing that has depth, an introspective voice, and is thematically layered. Having lived in cities such as New York, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, she is compelled by multicultural themes and characters and is drawn toward strong settings.
In fiction, she represents literary, commercial, women's, thrillers, mysteries, historical, and crossover YA. In nonfiction, she is interested in high concept, health, science, environment, prescriptive, investigative, true crime, voice- or adventure-driven memoir, sexuality, spirituality, and animal/pet stories.
Elizabeth's career in publishing took root in Puerto Rico where she completed her BA in English and worked as a copyeditor and proofreader for an English-language newspaper. When she returned to the mainland, she found her "vein of gold" in book publishing. She thrives on working closely with authors to build their careers and is currently in graduate school earning her MFA in creative writing at San Jose State University.
Renaissance Literary & Talent
Jacklyn Saferstein-Hansen is originally from Omaha, Nebraska and studied English, Classical Civilization, and Screenwriting at Boston University.
She represents character-driven commercial and upmarket fiction with strong emotional stakes and narrative urgency. She is particularly drawn to women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance, mystery, and thriller/suspense centered on complex relationships and layered moral tension. She seeks novels with a distinctive voice and a fresh, market-aware premise. Her sweet spot is fiction that balances heart and propulsion.
She also represents cookbooks, lifestyle books, and narrative nonfiction focused on culture, history, politics, and Jewish issues. She’s drawn to projects that uncover hidden stories or reframe familiar subjects in surprising, illuminating ways. Across categories, she looks for work anchored by a strong, authentic voice and a clear point of view.
Worldwide Media Services
Steven Hutson is a native of Los Angeles, a child of the 1960s, and a storyteller almost from birth. But like most writers, he kept a day job in-between gigs. After having a couple of books published, he set up shop as a freelance editor, handling hundreds of projects in almost every genre. After a while he got drafted to direct a writers’ conference for several years, making many valuable contacts along the way. When an editing client asked him to broker several book deals, he resisted. But as it turned out, he enjoyed the dealmaking and contract negotiations.
With this newfound confidence, he hung out a new shingle as a literary agent in early 2011. Today his company employs three agents and serves 50 clients. He has placed their works with Harlequin, Dutton, HarperCollins, Tyndale, Hachette, Writer’s Digest Books, and others. Several clients have won prestigious awards for their works.
He is interested in:
Fiction: Action/Adventure, Children's, Crime, Fantasy, General, Graphic Novel, Humor, Middle Grade, Military, Mystery, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult
Nonfiction: Biography, Cookbooks, Crafts/DIY, History, Humor, Illustrated, Pop Culture, Psychology, Science, Sports, Travel, True Crime
