CAT RAMBO

Author

Cat Rambo’s 300+ fiction publications include stories in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In 2020, they won the Nebula Award for fantasy novelette, Carpe Glitter. They are a former two-term President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Their most recent works are space opera Rumor Has It (Tor Macmillan, 2024) and upcoming fantasy Wings of Tabat (Wordfire Press, 2025). For more about Cat, as well as links to fiction and popular online school, The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, see their website at catrambo.com.

FIONA KENSHOLE

Literary Agent at Transatlantic Agency

“I love the midwifery of being an agent, from getting your debut published to doing the movie deal. I specialize in children’s and YA from picture books to older teenage.”

Fiona came to agenting after nearly a decade as VP at Laika Studios, creating a development slate of new projects for the Academy Award winning animation studio including the Oscar-nominated THE BOXTROLLS and CORALINE.

Previously she was a senior publisher in the UK where she published authors including Michael Bond (Paddington Bear), P.L Travers (Mary Poppins) and the Laureate Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) and was UK editor for Beverley Cleary, Lois Lowry, Bruce Coville, Gary Paulsen and Cynthia Voigt. She was nominated for “Editor of the Year” at the British Book Awards.

Fiona enjoys being on faculty as a conference guest speaker throughout the US and in Europe. She has taught publishing at Oxford Brookes University and Portland State, organized events for the Oxford Literary Festival and is herself a published author. A British citizen, Fiona now lives in Portland, Oregon.

She joined Transatlantic in 2013. Her clients’ recent successes include Rosanne Parry’s MG A WOLF CALLED WANDER (Andersen Press/Greenwillow) which has spent 37 weeks in the NYT bestseller list and sold in 11 languages, and Vicki Grant’s YA romcom, 36 QUESTIONS THAT CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT YOU (Running Press), which sold in 22 languages and is optioned for TV.

Literary Agent at Trellis Literary Management

Elizabeth Pratt joined Trellis Literary Management after 1.5 years at Park & Fine Literary and Media. Prior to that, she worked at Universal McCann and The Wylie Agency. A graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied history and English, and the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford, Elizabeth currently supports Michelle Brower and Stephanie Delman while actively building her own client list. Originally from East Lansing, Michigan, Elizabeth now lives in New York. She looks for fiction from diverse perspectives and emerging voices that takes something familiar and turns it on its head, recounts history from a different point of view, sheds light on something previously unnoticed, or makes us think about the world in a different way. Of particular interest to her are intergenerational family sagas, historical fiction, literary thrillers, books with surreal elements, and deep dives into the inner workings of human relationships. For a more detailed manuscript wish list, please click here.

JEN NEWENS

Vice President and Senior Literary Manager, Martin Literary Management

At different phases of her publishing career, Jen has been an author, editor, and publisher, giving her experience in all sides of the book business. She is the former publishing director at West Margin Press and Alaska Northwest Books, where she acquired a number of titles with Alaska subject matter. In her role as Vice President at Martin Literary, Jen applies her 360-view of the publishing business, seeking out fresh, original voices and working with seasoned talent. Jen is interested in picture books with sharp writing and compelling messages; MG/YA stories that resonate with the challenges faced by today’s youth; and graphic novels with quirky narration and original art. She is especially committed to championing underrepresented voices.

CRAIG MARTELLE

Craig is a million-selling author of science fiction, thrillers, and non-fiction. He has nearly 200 publications (novels and novellas, mostly), with seventy-five of those achieving Amazon's bestseller tag. He ran the largest independent author conferences in the country until his heart tried to give out on him. After recovery, he slowed down (not much, really). He runs smaller events now, all around the world, supporting authors in their journey to become professionals, earning good money from their words. Craig continues to write and publish.

KARI MARTINDALE

Kari Martindale (M.A., Linguistics) is a poet, spoken word artist, and teaching artist who has read at Arts guilds across Maryland and performed at the White House. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and received honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Kari recently relocated to Alaska but continues to sit on the Board of Maryland Writers’ Association. She has served on judging panels for Maryland State Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud, and League of Utah Writers; as a volunteer judge for slam competitions; and on judging and selection committees for a number of anthologies. She is the former co-editor of Pen in Hand. Kari is a features writer for the Frederick News Post, is multilingual, and has visited all 50 States and over 40 countries.

JILLEEN DOLBEARE

Jilleen Dolbeare is the author of the Shadow Winged Chronicles, an urban fantasy series about a shape-shifting bush pilot in Alaska and the Splintered Magic Series about a Woman starting over and discovering magic with the help of her cat.

She started her love of reading at the age of two. She was an experiment by a father who was starting his career as a teacher. She gained her love of science fiction and fantasy in middle school by reading The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, The Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl, and The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey among others.

She discovered her deep love of urban fantasy after reading Steven Spruill's Rulers of Darkness, and her love of writing while finishing her English composite (English and Literature) degree at Brigham Young University.

Jilleen lives with her husband and two cats in Petersburg, Alaska.

KAREN KIELY

Karen Kiely is a lifelong Alaskan, former librarian of 30+ years, and writer of contemporary and paranormal romance. After decades of promoting fiction at the public library, now her days are spent keeping her three cats off her keyboard. She has been a presenter at conferences for Alaska Writers Guild, Alaska Library Association, and Pacific Northwest Library Association.

ELIZABETH ALLYN-DEAN

Adventure; romance; spunky, kick-ass heroines; hunky, take-charge heroes; a dash of humor… Elizabeth Allyn-Dean writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy stories that blend these elements to get to a happily ever after. From the first time she lost herself in a fantasy novel while in her self-built treehouse, Elizabeth knew she wanted to be an author. After a detour into the world of archaeology, she returned to her true love--writing. Elizabeth still enjoys losing herself in a good book, as well as exploring her artistic side, gardening, beachcombing for interesting treasures, indulging her inner nerd, and playing with her two dogs and cats. For the last twenty years, she has called Alaska home, enjoying the adventures, gorgeous scenery, and fascinating people and places it offers. You can follow Elizabeth at elizabethallyndean.wordpress.com.

M.A. NICHOLS

Born and raised in Anchorage, M.A. Nichols is a lifelong Alaskan, though she did take a hiatus for a few years in Utah to get a fancy university education. Currently, she writes sweet historical romance and fantasy, but as a lover of many genres, she'll eventually write in more. Since starting in 2016, she has published over 25 novels and sold over 300,000 books. During that time, she taught classes at the Storymakers Conference, American Night Writers Conference (ANWA), the APEX Writers Group, SMIAH Conference, and Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium (LTUE).

LYNN LOVEGREEN

Lynn Lovegreen is a longtime Alaskan and writer. She is a chapter leader for Authors against book bans. Lynn will be joined by Rebecca Moorman.