For those who live within commuting distance of New York City, the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar (November 3, 2006, Algonquin Hotel, NYC) offers an intense, one-day program of panels and workshops designed specifically to educate and assist authors in search of a literary agent to represent their work.

With only agents on the program, a full fifteen minutes between program parts, an afternoon mixer, small-group agent-author sessions, and an unusually high number of agents with a ceiling of 100 registrants, the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar offers plenty of face time with attending agents.

Does this high ratio of agents to authors mean that those who attend this event will walk away with an agent? Many conferences have various scripted ways of meeting agents, giving rise to the feeling that the agent will discover the author, wave a magic wand, and make all their dreams come true.

The reality is, this rarely happens. (Please see Folio Literary Management’s Jeff Kleinman’s excellent article on what writers can expect when attending conferences.) Because of this, the Backspace seminar does not include formal pitch sessions.

Instead, the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar offers the opportunity to network, ask questions, listen, and learn from the people who make their living selling books.

Participating agents include Jenny Bent, Rolph Blythe, Michael Bourret, Paul Cirone, Katherine Fausset, Irene Goodman, Scott Hoffman, Miriam Kriss, Dan Lazar, Sharlene Martin, and Jennifer Unter.

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