Do you have an idea for a book? A manuscript you're trying to publish? This is your chance to put your creativity to the test! Come give a one-minute elevator pitch to a panel of experienced editors and agents for real-time Shark Tank-style feedback, or just come to watch how it’s done!
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Our judges:
Brenda Copeland is an editor with more than twenty years’ experience at the big five publishers and over ten years’ experience as an adjunct professor in the graduate publishing program at NYU. She has published a robust list of fiction and non-fiction, quality books with strong commercial appeal, including The Good House by Ann Leary, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks, and A Big Little Life, Dean Koontz's first non-fiction book. Now an independent editor, she works closely with authors through all stages of the writing and publication process, helping them reach their creative potential.
An award winning writer, editor, and teacher, Kaylie Jones grew up in Paris, France and Sagaponack, New York. In 2012, she started Kaylie Jones Books, an imprint of the highly respected indie press, Akashic Books, that publishes two literary novels a year. Kaylie helped found the MFA Program in Writing at Long Island University's, which is now SUNY Stony Brook Southampton Campus, and the MFA Program in Writing at Wilkes University. She teaches memoir, literature and fiction writing at both universities. Her highly acclaimed books include Lies My Mother Never Told Me, The Anger Meridian, and A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries.
Tina Jordan has been a publishing industry professional for over 20 years, most recently having held the position of Vice President for the Association of American Publishers, the country’s leading trade association for the book publishing industry. While at AAP she was responsible for Trade Publishing activities, with a mission to create and support national efforts which advocate reading, increase book buying, and heighten awareness of the contributions of book publishing. Ms. Jordan is a native of Connecticut and a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in history. When not reading (which is rare), she is an avid rock climber, surfer and skier.