ERICK MERTZ

Author

Coming soon

SEAN MCCARTHY

Sean McCarthy Literary Agency

Sean McCarthy founded his own full-service literary agency in 2013 after working at Overlook Press and Sheldon Fogelman Agency and represents authors and illustrators across all age ranges in children’s publishing. His clients include Hyewon Yum, Dana Wulfekotte, Heather Ayris Burnell, Ariel Bernstein, Margaret Chiu Greanias, Gina Perry, and Junghwa Park, among others. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two pet rabbits (who aren’t much help when it comes to reading manuscripts, though they are excellent at shredding them). 

Aevitas Creative Management

Maggie Cooper is an agent with Aevitas Creative Management, representing adult fiction and select nonfiction projects with an emphasis on queer and trans stories and books that make our world kinder, weirder, more joyful, or all of the above. She holds a degree in English from Yale University, attended the Clarion Writers Workshop, and earned her MFA in fiction from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she served as an editor for The Greensboro Review. Maggie is also a writer; her prose chapbook, The Theme Park of Women’s Bodies, was published by Bull City Press in 2024.

JENNY XU

Senior Editor, Atria Books

Jenny Xu is a Senior Editor at Atria Books. She began her career at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and was most recently an Editor at Harper and Ecco. Jenny acquires a broad range of literary and commercial nonfiction, fiction, and the occasional poetry collection, with a particular focus on illuminating more overlooked aspects of history and culture, and work that balances the personal with broader narratives. Her authors include Tiana Clark, adrienne maree brown, Saeed Jones, Amanda Montell, Maggie Smith, and Pria Anand.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Co-founder, Writers Helping Writers®

Angela Ackerman is a story coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, and its many sequels. Available in ten languages, her guides are sourced by universities, recommended by agents and editors, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, and psychologists around the world. To date, this series has sold over 1.4 million copies.

Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop for Writers®, a portal to game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction. 

SEAN MCCARTHY

Sean McCarthy founded his own full-service literary agency in 2013 after working at Overlook Press and Sheldon Fogelman Agency and represents authors and illustrators across all age ranges in children’s publishing. His clients include Hyewon Yum, Dana Wulfekotte, Heather Ayris Burnell, Ariel Bernstein, Margaret Chiu Greanias, Gina Perry, and Junghwa Park, among others. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two pet rabbits (who aren’t much help when it comes to reading manuscripts, though they are excellent at shredding them).

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.

KAREN KIELY

Karen Kiely is a lifelong Alaskan, semi-retired librarian, summertime gardener, and enthusiastic cook and eater. While she generally writes contemporary romance, her first published book was a paranormal romance. Regardless of the sub-genre, you will always find heart, humor, and a happily ever after in her Alaska-set stories.

ELIZABETH ALLYN-DEAN

Fantasy, romance, adventure, and sass.... These are what Elizabeth's stories are made of.... An Alaskan author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance, she believes a story isn't complete without a dragon and a happily ever after. Having plied a variety of trades, from renaissance faire wench and chain-mail knitter to archaeologist, she now works as an editor and author. When not writing, Elizabeth loves losing herself in a great book, growing unique and edible plants, beachcombing for treasure, hoarding interesting trinkets, collecting Alaska folklore, and wrangling her cats (one of which might be a zombie).

LYNN LOVEGREEN

Lynn Lovegreen is a longtime Alaskan and writer. She is a chapter leader for Authors Against Book Bans.

ANN DIXON

Ann Dixon lives, writes, and reads in Homer, Alaska. She is the author of nine books for youth, as well as essays, articles, and poetry for adults. A retired school and public librarian, she helps manage and drive BOB (Books On Board) the bookmobile, an all-volunteer project of Friends of the Homer Library. Occasionally she reviews children’s books at kidlitnorth.blogspot.com. She is continually thankful for her family, for books, and for the beauty of nature.

JENA BENTON LASLEY

Jena Benton is a third generation Alaskan who grew up on the small island of Sitka. She writes poetry, children’s books, and interviews hundreds of picture book authors and illustrators on her blog. She is the Alaska Chapter of SCBWI Illustrator Coordinator. KAUAI'S CALL, her author debut picture book, published in May 2024. She now lives in Anchorage, Alaska where she lives with her husband and two cats.

BROOKE HARTMAN

Brooke Hartman is an Alaskan mom and author of fun books for kids. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and School Library Journal, been selected titles for Alaska’s Battle of the Books and the Redbud Read-Aloud award, and nominated for multiple best books of the year lists. This fall, she’ll release her tenth book, Help Me Find My Hamster! (Page Street Kids) with several more books on the horizon. Brooke is also an adjunct instructor of writing and publishing for Alaska Pacific University and has served as a member of Alaska Writers Guild’s board of directors for over a decade.

When she isn’t writing, you can find her flying, fishing, and having fun with her family, enjoying all the magic Alaska life has to offer. Follow her adventures at www.BrookeAHartman.com or on social media @BrookesBooksAK.

REBECCA MOORMAN

Rebecca Moorman is a librarian in Anchorage. She is Head of Technical Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and is active in the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Round Table. Rebecca is President-Elect of the Alaska Library Association.