Event Description
Ever wonder what goes into finding an agent and selling a book? Authors Rita Zoey Chin and Jessica Martin will be in conversation with their literary agent, Maggie Cooper, to discuss the ins and outs of just this topic! From successfully querying, to going on submission with an agent, to the acquisitions process, to working with a publisher, you’ll get valuable insights into what goes on behind the scenes of the author-agent relationship, and practical advice for how you might approach taking the next step with your own manuscript.
NOTE: Zoey, Jessica, and Maggie will be signing their latest books after the event. Copies will be made available on site by our partner bookstore, Porter Square Books. Attendees are also welcome and encouraged to mingle in our event space!
About the Presenters
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 weirder, kinder, more joyful or all three. 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. Based in Boston, Maggie is seeking funny, sharp literary fiction; weird and/or cozy genre-bending and speculative fiction; and quirky feminist romance. She is also a writer; her prose chapbook, The Theme Park of Women’s Bodies, was published by Bull City Press in 2024.
Rita Zoey Chin is the author of the novel The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern, called “a work of literary excellence” by the Southern Literary Review and “an imaginative debut” by the New York Times, and of the widely praised memoir, Let the Tornado Come. Some of her other writings can be found in Tin House, Orion, The Boston Globe, Marie Claire, LitHub, Electric Lit, Flash Fiction America, and elsewhere. Zoey is also a bestselling ghostwriter and holds an MFA from the University of Maryland. She lives in Massachusetts, where she teaches creative writing and pets all the dogs.
Jessica Martin is a lawyer by trade, a writer by choice, and a complete smartass by all accounts. Based in the suburban wilds of Boston, Jess shares her life with a finance geek, a small sass-based human and a pair of dogs named after Bond characters.
This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood.
Covid-19 Update:
GrubStreet's space will be mask-optional when Boston's Covid-19 Community Level is low or medium. When the Covid-19 Community Level is high, our space will require masks. Please check GrubStreet's Covid-19 page for the latest info on masking and Community Levels before visiting in person.
Space Accessibility:
Our space is ADA accessible with automatic door openers, ADA-compliant restrooms, desk and table spacing, braille signage, and elevator. Our classrooms can be equipped with ALS for hard of hearing individuals. We cannot guarantee a scent-free environment. For more accessibility requests, please contact our Operations team at [email protected] or (617) 695-0075.