James Abbate
Editor
James Abbate is an Editor at Kensington Publishing, the largest independent and family-owned publisher in the nation, based in New York, though he lives in Las Vegas. A graduate of SUNY Binghamton and Pace University, he has been working at Kensington for over a decade in both the editorial and sales departments. He actively acquires books in nonfiction (biography, memoir, pop science, music, culture, true crime, Mafia, film/TV, and military history), with a particular emphasis on World War II and Holocaust fiction and nonfiction.
The books he has edited include thriller and mystery, as well as historical, thrillers and horror, holocaust memoirs, a history of the Pennsylvania crime family by Russell Bufalino’s nephew, and World War II stories. For more, in-depth info on this faculty member go to https://reedsy.com/james-abbate.
Meredith Bernstein
Agent
Meredith Bernstein has been a literary agent for over 30 years. Prior to becoming a literary agent, she worked as a story editor for film producers on both the East and West Coasts, as well as a freelance reader. In addition to being a literary agent, Meredith Bernstein has packaged two romance lines and co-authored SEXUAL CHEMISTRY with Julius Fast (M. Evans/Pocket). Her client list includes: Fiction— Commercial and Literary Fiction (women’s and men’s), Young Adult Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers (series and stand-alone), All Genres of Romance. Nonfiction—Memoir, Women’s Issues and, Health/Medicine, Parenting, Psychology, Business, Spirituality and Inspirational Works, Science, Travel.
In nonfiction, the agency seeks platform-driven works that shed new light on a given subject and is also open to any area of nonfiction that is well executed. We love personal memoirs that bring out heroic individualism and are further interested in writers of “special” projects and creative endeavors that supersede genre.
Meredith Bernstein also has been very successful in representing individuals who have accomplished memorable and outstanding achievements in their lives. Among such clients are Miep Gies (the woman who hid Anne Frank’s family and found her diary), Patricia Ireland, the former president of N.O.W., and Dennis Conner, of sailing fame. Most recently, David Carroll, a naturalist and environmental writer and illustrator, won the MacArthur Genius Award for his body of work. He was also a finalist in the nonfiction category for the National Book Awards in 2009.
ASSOCIATIONS: AAR; Sisters in Crime; Author’s Guild; Women’s Media Group; The Agents Round Table, and American Association of Literary Agents (AALA). Meredith Bernstein has created and given an annual writing award to her alma mater, The University of Rochester.
Sue Brown-Moore
Freelance Editor
Sue Brown-Moore is a sought-after book revision coach and one of LA Weekly’s 15 Book Coaches to Watch in 2023. She specializes in teaching experienced romance authors to craft their best stories in the fewest drafts. Known for being a tough editor with a soft touch, Sue approaches every session from a character transformation mindset, and her empathetic teaching methods break the traditional mold of plot-first story design. She is passionate about empowering writers to embrace what makes them unique and champions progressive, inclusive literature. Sue is the founder and host of the Wanna Write Romance conference, and her work as a former acquiring and freelance developmental editor has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly and recognized through industry awards like the Vivian, the Lambda, and the Golden Heart. But her true passion is guiding romance writers to nurture the spark within themselves and live out their own professional Happily Ever Afters.
Michael Carr
Agent
With a strong background in editing and writing, Michael enjoys teaching at workshops and conferences to help develop emerging writers. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French. Before joining Veritas, Michael had professions as diverse as programming simulators for nuclear submarines and owning an inn in Vermont.
Lori Culwell
Marketing Specialist
Lori Culwell is the founder and president of Get Creative, an internet consulting firm whose clients include Johnson & Johnson and Apple among others. She has contributed to Salon.com and the San Francisco Bay Guardian and divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.
Laurie Dennison
Agent
After earning her master’s degree from the University of Florida, Laurie Dennison began her career as an English teacher. She then spent over ten years working as a freelance writer and editor in desktop publishing, including serving as a Pitch Wars mentor for five years. In 2022 she attended the Denver Publishing Institute, leading to an internship at Creative Media Agency, Inc. before stepping into her role as an associate agent and internship coordinator at CMA.
Laurie is open to queries and actively building her list. In adult fiction, she is seeking romance (like Emily Henry), book club and women’s fiction (like Kiley Reid and Ann Napolitano), domestic suspense (like Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins), and commercial mystery/thriller (like Jesse Sutanto). In nonfiction, Laurie accepts memoir, narrative nonfiction, and books related to women’s issues, pop culture, education, and social science. She also accepts all of these genres and fantasy/light sci-fi in young adult.
Websites: https://ladennison.com/ and https://cmalit.com
Sam Hiyate
Agent
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.
The Host of the podcast Agent Provocateur, Sam regularly appears at writers conferences and also teaches publishing (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Creative Writing (University of Toronto). Before The Rights Factory, Sam ran the literary division of The Lavin Agency in 2003, building a client list and completing his first deals. Sam also worked as editor and publisher for the small press, Gutter Press, from 1993 to 2002, and worked at the literary magazines Blood & Aphorisms and The Quarterly in the 90s.
Michael Jamin
Script Writing/Producer/Author
Michael Jamin has been a television writer/showrunner since 1996. His many credits include King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-Head, Just Shoot Me, Wilfred, Maron, Rules of Engagement, Out of Practice, Brickleberry, Glenn Martin DDS, Lopez, and Tacoma FD. He lives in Los Angeles
Tavia Kowalchuk
Marketing Specialist
Tavia Kowalchuk, Executive Director of Marketing, develops the marketing strategy for Mariner Books, directs marketing campaigns for big books across all Morrow imprints, and oversees a team of four. Tavia has run #1 New York Times bestselling campaigns for The Fireman by Joe Hill, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Mississippi Burning by Greg Iles, all of Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman cookbooks, Magnolia Table (volumes one, two, and three) by Joanna Gaines, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, and To Rescue the Republic by Bret Baier. She has also spearheaded bestselling campaigns for the first Read with Jenna book club pick The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin, Homecoming by Kate Morton, the Wicked Years novels by Gregory Maguire, My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman, multiple thrillers by Patricia Cornwell, and science fiction by Neal Stephenson. Tavia is on the faculty of New York University’s Center for Publishing and the board of Majuscule literary magazine.
La Sheera Lee
Agent
La Shera Lee, serves the writing community as a literary agent, literary event planner, moderator, social media-strategist, educator, podcaster, magazine contributor https://anchor.fm/la-sheera-lee
Connie Mableson
Legal Expert
Connie J. Mableson, Esq., practices Copyright and Trademark law. A former big-law attorney, she has been in practice for almost 42 years and has represented hundreds of NYT best-selling authors, along with songwriters, recording artists, television and film producers, and music publishers. Ms. Mableson received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, cum laude, from Gonzaga University in 1982.
She routinely represents authors with Publishing contracts, ghostwriter agreements, copyright issues and all publishing industry agreements. In addition, she performs pre-publication legal reviews (vetting) of non-fiction manuscripts. www.literaryattorney.com.
For over 10 years, she was an Adjunct Law Professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University teaching “Entertainment Business Contracts”. Ms. Mableson is the author of the DMCA Handbook for Online Service Providers, Websites, and Copyright Owners, published by the American Bar Association. Lexis-Nexis recently engaged her to write the Practice Note for Trade Book Publishing Agreements, as a part of its Lexis Practical Guidance Series.
Rhonda Penders
Publisher
The Wild Rose Press, inc., TWRP, as it is affectionately nicknamed, is a traditional royalty paying publisher of adult fiction as well as Young Adult, was started in May 2006 by authors RJ Morris and Rhonda Penders. Morris and Penders believed there had to be a better experience for authors wishing to publish. They wanted no closed doors, immediate communication, and 30 days responses to queries. Their mission was a kinder, gentler publishing experience. To this date, that mission remains. With over 3500 active titles and authors worldwide and in every state in the U.S., they continue to cultivate and grow quality books.
If you are looking for a large publishing experience with a small press review their submission guidelines and visit them at www.thewildrosepress.com.
Follow TWRP on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheWildRosePress/
Twitter – @wildrosepress
Instagram – Thewildrosepress
Twitter – @wildrosepress
Instagram – Thewildrosepress
Randall Platt
Author
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and those who don’t know which they are. Platt’s historical fiction has been awarded the Keystone State Reading Award, has three times received the WILLA Literary Award and twice the Will Rogers Medallion for Best Young Adult fiction. Platt been a finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award. Three of Platt’s more recent novels – Liberty’s Christmas, The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, and Professor Renoir’s Collection of Curiosities, Oddities, and Delights – were finalists for the Washington State Book Award. Platt’s first novel, The Four Arrows Fe-As-Ko, was filmed by Sullivan Entertainment as Promise the Moon. Platt is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops and plays a mean game of handball.
James Rollins
Author
James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestseller of international thrillers, sold in more than forty countries. His Sigma series has topped charts around the world and has been lauded as of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and the “hottest summer reads” (People Magazine). His latest Sigma thriller—Arkangel—was published in August 2024. He is also a practicing veterinarian who still spends time underground or underwater as an avid spelunker and diver. In addition, his charitable work with veteran organizations earned him the coveted Silver Bullet Award by the International Thriller Writers.
Recently, Rollins also returned to his roots, debuting an epic new fantasy series that opens a riven world trapped between ice and fire, merging his fascination with the natural world, his love of adventure, and his knowledge of the wonders found at the evolutionary fringes of scientific exploration. The first book in the Moonfall Saga—The Starless Crown—was an instant international bestseller and was selected by the editors at Amazon as one of the “Best Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2022.” The second book—Cradle of Ice—debuted in February of 2023. And the third book—A Dragon of Black Glass—hit shelves in February 2025.
Amanda Skenandore
Author
Amanda Skenandore is an award-winning author of historical fiction and a registered nurse. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and garnered accolades from the American Library Association, Reader’s Digest, Silicon Valley Reads, and Apple Books. In 2024, she was awarded the Nevada Arts Council Literary Fellowship. Amanda’s writing explores lesser-known corners of history, often weaving in themes of medicine, justice, and belonging. Amanda lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their pet turtle, Lenore.
Latoya C. Smith-Wharton
Editor
Latoya C. Smith-Wharton started her editorial career as an administrative assistant to New York Times bestselling author, Teri Woods at Teri Woods Publishing while pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree at Temple University. She graduated Cum Laude from Temple in August of 2005. She then attained a full-time position at Kensington Publishing in March of 2006. In October 2006, Latoya joined Grand Central Publishing, an imprint at Hachette Book Group. For the span of her eight years there, Latoya acquired a variety of titles from hardcover fiction and non-fiction, to digital romance and erotica. She was featured in Publishers Weekly, Forbes and USA Today, as well as on various author, book conference, and book blogger websites. In early 2014, she appeared on CSpan2 where she contributed to a panel discussing the state of book publishing. From August 2014 to February 2016, Latoya was Executive Editor at Samhain Publishing where she acquired short and long-form romance and erotic fiction. She is the winner of the 2012 RWA Golden Apple for Editor of the Year, 2017 Golden Apple for Agent of the Year, and the 2017 and 2021 Literary Jewels Award for Editor of the Year. Latoya is the founder of the company and provides editorial services as well as literary representation to authors. Contact for Ms. Smith-Wharton. https://lcsliterary.com/
Bruce Wawrzyniak
Marketing Specialist
Now Hear This President Bruce Wawrzyniak has been promoting for many years. A cum laude graduate of Medaille University in Buffalo, New York, his background runs the gamut from marketing to broadcasting to public/media relations and promotions. He has served industries such as sports/entertainment, radio/TV (on-air positions in both), and full-service (advertising/public relations) agencies. He also taught a Promotions Techniques course to college juniors and seniors. Bruce has dealt with (and been quoted by) national and international media. Some of his successful story placements include USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Sports Illustrated, to name just a few.