Backspace Members / Forum Subscribers receive up to an additional $100 discount.

CLICK HERE for information on how to join Backspace to get great savings!

The schedule for the May 24 Agent-Author Seminar Day small-group workshops has now been posted. CLICK HERE for details!

The schedule for the "Ten Minutes, Ten Pages" editorial critiques has now been posted. CLICK HERE for details.

CONGRATULATIONS to Raymond K. Wong, who attended the November 2011 Backspace Agent-Author Seminar. This week, Raymond signed with Sandy Lu of the L. Perkins Agency!

CONGRATULATIONS to Derek Sherman, who attended the 2011 Backspace Writers Conference last May, where he met his agent, Rachel Vogel of the Mary Evans Literary Agency.

Derek's untitled novel about two brothers -- one an ultramarathoner living in a cult-like running community and the other working in biotech in Silicon Valley -- who must come together after years of estrangement to save a child with a genetic lung defect that will most surely kill her unless a cure is found, sold this week to Denise Roy at Plume.

Derek says, "I debated if a conference could be worth the costs of attending. There’s no doubt that was. I spoke with real, powerful agents, happy to offer their advice, critique, and email addresses. I got advice and feedback. I met my agent. And my book is being published. Attending the Backspace Conference got my novel sold. Also, I had the best Korean food of my life. If you feel like you’re ready, go for it. It’s real."

Thanks, Derek! And we completely agree about the Korean food. Best place for lunch is right next door!

CONGRATULATIONS also to Cecy Robson, who attended the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar last May, where she met and signed with her agent, Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency!

Cecy’s sexy urban fantasy series, WEIRD GIRLS, in which four sisters embrace their ‘curse’ to protect the Tahoe region and unsuspecting humans from dark supernatural forces, sold this week to Jhanteigh Kupihea at Signet Eclipse in a three-book deal for publication in early 2013!

This year, in addition to our small-group workshops on Thursday, Backspace is offering pre-scheduled 10-minute one-on-one editorial critique sessions with select literary agents and editors on Friday, May 25.

Participating agents include: Jeff Kleinman (Folio Literary Management), Janet Reid (FinePrint Literary Management), Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary Agency), Katharine Sands (Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency), Josh Getzler (Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency), Carrie Pestritto (Prospect Agency), Jennifer Laughran (Andrea Brown Literary Agency), Victoria Marini (Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents), Sarah Levitt (The Zoë Pagnamenta Agency), Rachel Vogel (Mary Evans, Inc.)TBA

Participating editors include: Christina Rodriguez (Associate Editor, Little, Brown), Abby Zidle (Senior Editor, Gallery|Pocket Books)

JUST ADDED! #1 New York Times bestselling author Lorenzo Carcaterra, whose career spans more than twenty years of writing for the diverse fields of fiction, non-fiction, television, and film, and David L. Robbins, bestselling author of 9 literary thrillers and creative writing instructor at the College of William and Mary, will conduct a limited number of Ten Minutes, Ten Pages One-on-One Editorial Critiques on Friday afternoon.

CLICK HERE to learn more!

Not sure if Backspace's "No Pitch" format is right for you? Read: Why Writers Conferences are Rethinking Pitch Sessions

"I love attending the Backspace conference as an agent, because they let us do the most effective workshops that you don't necessarily see at other conferences." -- Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency, about Backspace's small-group workshops.

Maybe you're a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo.

Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel -- one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.

Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share -- regardless of genre -- then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.

For advanced fiction writers, or those who aspire to be!

"RUN sign up for the Donald Maass workshop. I took his workshop in May and it was, hands down, the BEST workshop on writing I have ever taken in 25 years! LOVED IT! - Stef Ann Holm

"If you never attend another writing workshop in your life, you definitely should attend this one." Helen Dowdell

"Chiming in to say: yes, his workshop really is THAT good. Seriously." - Keith Cronin

Read what Backspace Conference attendees have to say about their experience!

If You Want an Agent, You Need Backspace by Lori Dyan

What I Learned From the Two Pages Critiques at Backspace by Kourtney Heintz

What I Learned from the Query Critique At Backspace by Kourtney Heintz

Backspace Writers Conference - Totally worth it!!! by Annabelle R. Charbit

Falling Into Place – Or, What I Learned at the Backspace Writers Conference by Madeline Claire Franklin

A Writer's Banquet: The Backspace Conference by Sharen Ford

Epic Giant Conference Write-Up: Backspace Writers Conference by Riley

Read the stories of authors who met their agent at a Backspace event!

Kim Stagliano
L.R.
Helen DePrima
Naseem Rakha

Meet the people who make our affordable conference prices possible!

Find out more about conference sponsorship HERE.

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