Free Event Replays
Every few months, we ask our faculty to do a free event–this way, everyone can join together, learn, and find a community to support them along the way.
Wonder what it’s like to be a member of The Manuscript Academy? These replays will give you a good sense of what’s available–and our upbeat, energetic style.
All Fantasy Panel
We can’t wait! This panel is all about what agents want *within* genres–and each agent guest has an activity (a short class, a query critique, a writer who exemplifies just what they’re looking for) to share with our members.
Join us for a day celebrating manuscripts and the agents and editors who love them. At 2:00pm ET, see agents go over their wishes, share craft lessons, and ring in the new year of manuscripts–all while defining what kind of works they want within this genre.
Our featured agents:
- Eric Smith, P.S. Literary
- Bridget Smith, Jabberwocky Literary
- Jenissa Graham, Bookends Literary
- Kelly Van Sant, KT Literary
The theme for this event is Fantasy.
This was be recorded in front of our MSWLMA members, then turned into a podcast and video clips for everyone.
There’s also a live Q&A. If you want your question to be super-duper anonymous, or if you can’t make it live, you can send a question ahead here.
We can’t wait. As always, here if you need us!
Memoir Panel
We can’t wait! This panel is all about what agents want *within* genres–and each agent guest has an activity (a short class, a query critique, a writer who exemplifies just what they’re looking for) to share with our members.
Our featured agents:
- Taj McCoy, Laura Dail Literary Agency
- Katharine Sands, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary
- Stephanie Winter, KO Literary Management
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative & More
Join us for a panel all about what agents want within genres–plus a Q&A, and presentations from each agent.
We’re so pleased to welcome:
- Agent Caitlin McDonald, Donald Maass Literary, with a trivia quiz
- Agent Samantha Wekstein, Thompson Literary, with a query critique
- Agent Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, with a visual #MSWL
- Agent Taj McCoy, Rees Literary, with a class on dialogue (good for all genres!)
Whatever your genre, this is a great way to see how agents approach what they find in their inboxes.
You’re finally ready to get your book out into the world—and you’re probably hoping for that “Big Five” traditional publishing deal. What can you do to improve your chances? Are there shortcuts? Landmines to avoid? And is “Big Five” really the option that will bring you the most personal satisfaction? Or are there particulars about your book or personality that make another one of today’s many publishing options the right one for you?
In this class, we’ll talk about the many paths to publishing—big five, still-big, university, small, self, hybrid, and more—and the rewards and frustrations of each. We’ll look at how your goals, your personality, and your book’s genre can help decide which option is most likely to bring you personal satisfaction, and we’ll show you what success could look like, both in our personal experiences, and with examples from all paths to publication.
Come with your preliminary ideas and questions, and leave with a publishing roadmap that’s right for you.
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Shirin Yim Leos has coached writers who have secured multibook deals from Big Five publishers, and film and television options from major entertainment companies. She is the author of twenty-one children’s books, a developmental editor, and a former publisher. Leos also leads writing retreats and teaches writing and publishing for universities and conferences internationally.
Over the past decade, Lisa Manterfield has self-published four novels, two works of non-fiction, and five non-fiction ebooks, and coached many other authors to self-publishing success. Through her blog and podcast, she has created an online community of more than 6,000 members worldwide. Her work has been published in Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, Huffington Post, and The Saturday Evening Post.
Our kindergarten teachers taught us to play nice, but then we grew up and our writing teachers told us to raise the heat on conflict.
What’s a nice writer to do? Confronting another person takes courage. How can we help our characters to muster that courage, and what form will it take?
In this session, we will slowly unpack a confrontation scene from Elizabeth Bowen’s novel The Death of the Heart, exploring the battle tactics used in a pivotal argument. Perhaps what is important is not why characters fight, but how. The confrontation scene is a great way to reveal aspects of character that are otherwise invisible—and perhaps discover mettle (or vulnerability) you did not know was there.
Anne Elliott is the author of The Artstars: Stories(Indiana University Press) and The Beginning of the End of the Beginning (Ploughshares Solos). Her short fiction can be found in Story, A Public Space, Crab Orchard Review, Witness, Hobart, Bellevue Literary Review, Fifth Wednesday Journal, and elsewhere. Elliott is a veteran of the New York spoken word circuit, with stage credits including The Whitney Museum, Lincoln Center, PS122, and Woodstock ’94. Her fiction has been awarded support from The Story Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, The Normal School, Table 4 Writer’s Foundation, and The Bridport Prize. She holds an MFA in fiction writing from Warren Wilson College, and lives in Portland, Maine. Learn more at https://www.anneelliottstories.com.
One challenge of writing through “the saggy middle” of books, films, and television can be that the early stakes of the story were poorly set up — and later in the narrative, the stakes are not raised effectively. If you have ever enjoyed writing the beginning of your character’s journey… but then struggled with everything after that feeling either flat or unrealistic (flip sides of the same “problem with the stakes” coin!) — odds are you can benefit from this free workshop by TV writer Derek Santos Olson.
Derek Santos Olson is a screenwriter who has worked in both film and TV.
He wrote on the final two seasons of NBC/DirecTV’s FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and was nominated for WGA Awards for both seasons. His other TV credits include ABC’s THE UNUSUALS and CBS’ HAWAII FIVE-O. In film, he has sold original pitches and has done rewrite assignments in a variety of genres.
He attended Yale University and has enjoyed teaching or tutoring in one capacity or another since shortly after his graduation.
Are you tired of Zoom happy hours? Missing real, creative, spontaneous connection? Us too. Author Kat Vellos is here to help!
Kat says:
Welcome, friend! If you know anything about me, you know that I’d rather be greeting you from amidst a giant bear hug… in a cozy room full of artsy conversation-provoking installations… with a table of cheese-based snacks in the corner.
Instead, we meet here, in this small box made of metal, glass and touchscreens. Because COVID. If you’re here because you want to build bridges of meaningful connection to others, you’re in the right place. Lemme help you with that.
In this talk, we’ll delve into issues of community, loneliness, belonging, technology, and how to find the real connections that make the creative life satisfying and meaningful.
Kat Vellos is an author, speaker, and expert community builder from The San Francisco Bay Area. Kat is the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships, the founder of Bay Area Black Designers and Better than Small Talk, and has two decades of experience creating powerful, positive communities where people find belonging and authentic connection.
In this talk, we’ll delve into issues of community, loneliness, belonging, diversity, technology, and how to find the real connections that make the creative life satisfying and meaningful.
She’s spoken at Stanford, LinkedIn, General Assembly, Americorps, Social Good Tech Week, Young Women Empowered, and many, many more.
Hope you can join us!
Hear About New Live Events
Replays are wonderful, but there’s something extra exciting about being there live.
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