About this Event
At this intimate, small-room event, we bring together industry experts—literary agents, acquiring editors at major houses, independent and hybrid publishers, and acclaimed bestselling authors and book collaborators—to help you elevate your work to industry standards and build lifetime, career-defining connections with industry insiders and an ambitious, welcoming community of writers.
What You’ll Walk Away With
Writers leave the Symposium with a rare behind-the-scenes look at the expectations shaping acquisition decisions today. Here’s what you can expect to gain:
- Greater Confidence and Momentum: Move forward with clear next steps and conviction, whether you are preparing to query, revising a manuscript, or clarifying your strategy.
- Direct Access to Decision-Makers: Learn directly from literary agents, editors, bestselling authors, and collaborators through workshops, panels, and networking events.
- Professional Pitch Feedback: Receive guidance on your hook, concept, and pitch. Learn to communicate the heart of your project with confidence and precision.
- Clarity for Your Publishing Ambitions: Insight into how agents evaluate submissions, editors approach acquisitions, and what makes a manuscript market-ready.
- Sharper Submission Materials: Strengthen the documents that matter most—whether you are refining a query letter, book proposal, synopsis, or verbal “elevator pitch.”
- Real-Time Insight: See firsthand how industry professionals respond to your pitches and pages, and refine your book’s hook immediately in the room.
- Meaningful Professional Relationships: Build genuine connections with writers, agents, and editors in an intimate environment designed for conversation and long-term community.
Agenda
Session 1: Agent Workshop
Info: This small-group workshop gives attendees the opportunity to receive direct editorial and strategic feedback on their idea or writing from literary agents in an intimate setting.
Participants submit materials in advance for discussion focused on manuscript readiness, positioning, and the project’s viability within today’s publishing market.
Session 2: Submissions Lab: The 6 Foundations of an Agent-Ready Manuscript
Info: Access: Premiere + Virtual Premiere
This live presentation and Q&A walk attendees through the core elements of a strong submission package. Topics include refining the hook, identifying comparative titles, strengthening platform, and clarifying market positioning.
Designed to make the submission process more transparent, the Submissions Lab helps writers understand how to present their work professionally–and position it effectively in a competitive marketplace.
Session 3: The Publishing Insider Panel
Info: Access: Standard + Premiere + Virtual Premiere
This moderated conversation brings together literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals for a candid discussion about the current state of traditional publishing. Attendees will hear directly from industry decision-makers about market shifts, common submission missteps, and the qualities that help projects stand out.
Questions are submitted in advance so the discussion can address the topics writers are often most eager – and nervous – to ask about.
Session 4: Meet & Greet with Publishing Insiders
Info: Access: Standard + Premiere
Following the panel, attendees are invited into a more relaxed networking environment designed for meaningful conversation with publishing professionals and fellow writers. Unlike large industry conferences, the Symposium prioritizes intimacy and access, creating space for genuine dialogue and relationship-building throughout the evening.
For many writers, these informal conversations often become one of the most valuable parts of the experience.
Session 5: The Agent Pitch Studio
Info: Access: Premiere + Virtual Premiere
The Symposium concludes with a live pitch session where attendees present book concepts before a panel of literary agents and receive immediate feedback on how the idea is being received in the room.
While the Agent Workshop focuses on submission materials already on the page, the Pitch Studio examines the project at its earliest and most essential level: the concept itself. Agents respond in real time to the premise, positioning, and framing of the book, offering insight into what immediately feels compelling — and what may still need refinement before a project is ready for submission.
While educational in nature rather than a formal audition for representation, the Pitch Studio is designed to sharpen one of the most critical components of the publishing process: communicating your book with confidence and precision.
Event venue & nearby stays
The River Club of New York, 447 East 52nd Street, New York, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.