Workshop Schedule
Here is the place for all information regarding 1st Page Critiques, Query Critiques, and Live Pitches! Due to the limited number of sessions available, we ask that you only sign up for either a 1st Page Critique *OR* a Query Critique, and not both. You may sign up for a Critique and a Live Pitch.
Before signing up for a Critique or a Live Pitch, we highly recommend reading the session information to ensure your genre/content is a good fit. Failure to do so may result in your spot being given to an attendee on the waitlist.
1st Page Critiques
The 1st page can make a huge difference in whether an agent or reader continues your story. Various WriteHive 2023 Speakers have volunteered to lead groups in critiquing 1st pages. Join in these workshops to gain insight on your 1st page, as well as to build your critiquing skills.
Attendees who sign up will be instructed to submit their 1st page (max 300 words). The group will have a chance to leave comments on each other’s work, then meet live during the conference to discuss. Please review the critique guidelines in this link for more information on giving and receiving critiques.
Please pay attention to the genre, audience, and content warning notes for the Speakers leading each workshop. Choosing a Speaker that does not fit with what you write may not give you the best critiques, and not listening to the content warnings may result in your spot being given to an attendee on the waitlist.
**REQUIRED: Please review the critique guidelines for more information on giving and receiving critiques.
1st Page Critique Time Slots
Presenter: Megan Bontrager
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Audio
Genre & Audience: Adult genres of all stripes would be great – most comfortable with Horror, SFF, and Thriller. I won’t be any help with is crime procedurals.
Trigger/Content Warning: No on-page animal death and graphic depictions of domestic violence.
Presenter: Patrick Dugan
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Audio
Genre & Audience: Sci-fi and Fantasy only. No horror please
Trigger/Content Warning: No restrictions on content. Please include trigger and content warnings as they may be relevant to other participants
Presenter: Lara Lillibridge
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Discord Text and Audio
Genre & Audience: Adult and Young Adult, all genres
Trigger/Content Warning: No restrictions on content. Please include trigger and content warnings as they may be relevant to other participants.
Presenter: Hannah Kates
Spots Available: 5
Genre & Audience: Adult and Young Adult, all genres
Trigger/Content Warning: No restrictions on content, but please include trigger and content warnings as they may be relevant to other participants
Query Critiques
Query writing is a skill, and one that’s necessary for authors pursuing traditional publishing. Various WriteHive Annual Conference Speakers have volunteered to lead groups in query letters. Join in these workshops to gain insight on your 1st page, as well as to build your critiquing skills.
Attendees who sign up will be instructed to submit their query letter. The group will have a chance to leave comments on each other’s work, then meet live during the conference to discuss.
These workshops are limited to 5 submissions per group. Only one group allowed per ticket for Query and 1st Page combined.
Please pay attention to the genre, audience, and content warning notes for the Speakers leading each workshop.
Choosing a Speaker that does not fit with what you write may not give you the best critiques, and not listening to the content warnings may result in your spot being given to an attendee on the waitlist.
** Required: Please review the critique guidelines for more information on giving and receiving critiques.
Query Critique Time Slots
Presenter: Hannah Kates
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Discord Audio & Text
Genre & Audience: Adult and Young Adult, all genres
Trigger/Content Warning: No restrictions on content, but please include trigger and content warnings as they may be relevant to other participants
Presenter: Megan Bontrager
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Discord Audio & Text
Genre & Audience: Adult genres of all stripes would be great – most comfortable with Horror, SFF, and Thriller. I won’t be any help with is crime procedurals.
Trigger/Content Warning: No on-page animal death and graphic depictions of domestic violences
Presenter: Patrick Dugan
Spots Available: 5
Critique Medium: Discord Audio & Text
Genre & Audience: Sci-fi and Fantasy only. No horror please
Trigger/Content Warning: No restrictions on content. Please include trigger and content warnings as they may be relevant to other participants
Live Pitches
Live Pitch Time Slots
WriteHive is excited to offer the chance for attendees to pitch their novels directly to an agent or acquiring editor this year! To qualify, attendees must be from a marginalized community, have a novel ready for submission, and the novel must fit the agent or editor’s MSWL. Attendees may apply for as many pitches as fit their story, however only one pitch will be awarded.
All attendees who register for a specific Live Pitch will be entered into a lottery for that session. If you are selected, WriteHive will reach out and request your query letter. WriteHive staff will check the query to confirm it fits the particular agent or editor’s MSWL. If it does, the attendee will be notified of their acceptance for the Live Pitch time slot. If the query does not match the agent’s parameters, then the opportunity will be given to another on the waitlist.
During the sessions, attendees will have 5 minutes in which to deliver their pitch and 10 minutes for the agent or editor to ask questions or discuss the pitch further. You may have up to 15 minutes time for your pitch. We ask that you respect the time limit as there may be sessions or other obligations prior to and after your time slot.
Presenter: Lauren Davila
Agency: Inked in Gray
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Discord
Genre & Audience: Adult, NA, YA
Presenter: Keir Alekseii
Agency: Azantian Literary Agency
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Discord Audio
Genre & Audience: YA & Adult SFF and YA contemporary. ONLY open to receiving queries from writers who identify as belonging to a marginalized or underrepresented group such as (but not limited to) BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrants, ND, folks who speak English as a second language, and DIS people
Trigger/Content Warning: No content restrictions.
Presenter: Keir Alekseii
Agency: Azantian Literary Agency
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Zoom
Genre & Audience: YA & Adult SFF and YA contemporary. ONLY open to receiving queries from writers who identify as belonging to a marginalized or underrepresented group such as (but not limited to) BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrants, ND, folks who speak English as a second language, and DIS people
Trigger/Content Warning: No content restrictions.
Presenter: Sangy Crowe
Agency: Inked in Gray
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Discord Text
Genre and Audience: Adult & YA fiction, fantasy, or sci-fi.
BIPOC protagonist, THE MORE TRANS REP THE BETTER, action-packed stories, mental health & disability rep, unreliable narrators, negative character arc, dark fiction, surrealism, stories centered around resilience, identity exploration, gothic and/or horror themes.
Please no romance-heavy stories, slow burns, or stories with domestic abuse or rape. No historical fiction or portal fantasy
Trigger Warnings: No rape or domestic abuse. Please include all trigger warnings as necessary.
Presenter: Amy Guiffrida
Agency: Belcastro Agency
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Zoom
Genre & Audience: See MSWL
Trigger/Content Warning: No content restrictions.
Presenter: Amy Guiffrida
Agency: Belcastro Agency
MS Wishlist: Click here
Spots Available: 5
Platform: Zoom
Genre & Audience: See MSWL
Trigger/Content Warning: No content restrictions.
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