2026 Nuts & Bolts
One-on-One Agent Meetings
Agent Details
Please view the bios of each agent carefully. We have provided links to their corresponding websites and wishlists, to best prepare you. When you sign up for your agent meeting, we will take the information you shared about your work on your registration form and pair you with the best match. We will notify you ahead of time of the exact time of your agent meeting (a ten-minute time slot between 10 am and 12 noon, on Saturday, February 28), as well as your assigned agent. We encourage you to “get to know” your agent with the information provided prior to your one-on-one meeting.
RACHEL BECK
Rachel Beck joined Liza Dawson Associates in 2020 after working at a boutique literary agency for four years. She has been in the publishing industry since 2009 and worked at Harlequin editing romance novels for nearly six years before transitioning her skills to the agent world in order to be an advocate and champion for authors. She lives outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, four young children, and endlessly entertaining cat.
View Rachel’s full profile, including her manuscript wishlist, on her agency website HERE.
MELANIE FIGUEROA
Melanie Figueroa is a literary agent at Root Literary and a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA). She holds an M.S. in Creative Writing & Book Publishing from Portland State University and a B.A. in English Rhetoric & Composition from California State University, Long Beach. She represents a selective list of award-winning and best-selling adult fiction and children’s literature. Off the clock, she is probably baking to unwind or walking her chocolate lab, Oakley.
View Melanie’s full profile, including her manuscript wishlist, on Publisher’s Marketplace HERE.
SAM HIYATE
Sam Hiyate is keen to discover new voices and help writers prepare their works for market, and to help them build lasting careers. In the past two decades with The Rights Factory, his hundreds of book deals have resulted in several bestsellers such as More, the memoir by Molly Roden Winter, This One Summer, the graphic novel by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, non-fiction such as Healthy AF (Ditch the Diet) by Oonagh Duncan and The Myth of Capitalism by Jonathan Tepper and Denise Hearn, and fiction such as Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close and The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer. Sam regularly appears at writers conferences and also teaches publishing (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Creative Writing (University of Toronto).
Sam is looking for: Voice-driven fiction or memoir, powerful and emotional stories, and works that defy categorization and are beyond traditional genres or combine them in a unique way.
View Sam’s full profile, including his manuscript wishlist, on his agency website HERE.
MARIE LAMBA
Marie Lamba is a Senior Literary Agent at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, where she represents fiction and non-fiction picture books, middle grade, YA and adult works, plus graphic novels and memoir. Her clients have garnered awards, starred reviews, film deals and New York Times bestseller status. Marie is also author of the picture books Green Green: A Community Gardening Story (Farrar Straus Giroux), and A Day So Gray (Clarion), and of the young adult novels What I Meant… (Random House), Over My Head, and Drawn. Her articles are in more than 100 publications, and she has been a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, and a book publicist, and has taught classes on novel writing and on author promotion.
View Marie’s full profile, including her manuscript wishlist, on her agency website HERE.
PAIGE WHEELER
Industry veteran Paige Wheeler has worked in publishing for over twenty-five years. After stints in editorial as well as tv and film, Paige moved to agenting, forming Creative Media Agency (CMA) in 1997, and cofounding Folio in 2006 before relaunching CMA in 2014. Paige is proud to represent best-selling and award-winning authors. She has launched the career and built the brand for New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors, as well as Agatha, Rita, Shamus, and other notable award-winning clients. Paige loves to represent commercial and upscale fiction, particularly mystery, thriller, suspense, and romance genres. She also represents narrative and prescriptive nonfiction by authors with a significant platform and new ideas. Paige is ultimately looking for unique stories, fresh voices, and unexpected twists. Paige is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents, the Women’s Media Group, and the Authors Guild. She can be found online at www.cmalit.com.
View Page’s full profile, including her manuscript wishlist, HERE.