Are you a local author or freelancer looking for a chance to pitch your ideas or services to Twin Cities book and magazine publishers? Join Minnesota Book Publishers’ Roundtable and MN Publishing Tweet Up for a FREE professional speed pitching event! Attendees will have 5 minutes to pitch their ideas or services to each publishing representative. The pitches will go from 5:30-6:30pm; additional networking will be from 6:30-7:30pm. There will be over 15 publishing companies present, including representatives from editorial, production, and design departments, as well as delegates from three local magazines (Minnesota Monthly, Paper Darts, and Hazel & Wren). Learn more about the organizations and representatives who will be taking pitches at the Brew/Pub Social: Augsburg Fortress/sparkhouse Representative: Andrew DeYoung Andrew DeYoung has worked at Augsburg Fortress Publishers for six years in a variety of roles, most recently as Director of Operations for the sparkhouse business division, which publishes religious books and videos for the children’s market. He and his team oversee multiple book, video, and interactive projects, and they’re always on the lookout for great local freelancers: editors, designers, typesetters, illustrators, animators, voice actors, and web designers. Beaver’s Pond Press Representative: Alicia Ester Alicia Ester is an editor and project manager at Beaver’s Pond Press, an independent publishing company that has been mentoring writers and helping them become published authors since 1998. Beaver’s Pond Press hires freelancers for ghostwriting, editing, proofreading, book design, and e-book conversion work. Capstone Representatives: Beth Brezenoff & Eliza Leahy Beth Brezenoff is the editorial director of Capstone’s trade imprints, Capstone Young Readers and Switch Press. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Steve, who is a writer, and their two children. Beth would love to hear about (complete!) middle grade or YA novels, especially contemporary fiction, and Capstone is always looking for Americanizers, Anglicizers (we publish to the UK market as well), copyeditors and proofreaders. Capstone is always looking for work-for-hire authors for both its fiction and nonfiction library offerings (especially for kids in grades 1-6), and Beth would be happy to discuss that process as well. Eliza Leahy is an associate editor at Capstone, where she edits children’s books for the trade and consumer market, ranging from board books to young adult novels. She liaises with freelance proofreaders, work-for-hire authors, and literary agents. Free Spirit Publishing Representative: Meg Bratsch Meg Bratsch is acquisitions manager (and erstwhile editor) at Free Spirit Publishing, the leading publisher of learning tools—from picture books to teacher guides—that support young people’s social-emotional health and educational needs. Popular Free Spirit titles include Hands Are Not for Hitting, How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger, The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD, and Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom. She previously edited for Pearson Education, AGS Publishing, and Llewellyn Worldwide. Meg lives in St. Paul with her husband, baby girl, and two colossal black cats. Free Spirit works with educators, counselors, or youth workers. They are always looking for freelance content and copy editors who have experience with teacher resources and/or children’s picture books. Graywolf Press Representative: Lucia Cowles Lucia Cowles is the editorial and administrative assistant at Graywolf Press, which she joined in March 2014. She writes book reviews for the online publication Bookslut and previously has worked as a bookseller. Graywolf is a non-profit press that publishes approximately thirty titles a year in contemporary literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Our authors include Per Petterson, Kathryn Davis, Claudia Rankine, Tracy K. Smith, Leslie Jamison, Eula Biss, and Percival Everett. We do not publish genre writing (crime, romance, fantasy, young adult, etc). I’m on the look-out for singular projects that reflect rigorous intellectual inquiry, and that engage or experiment with the form of the story, in addition to its content. Hazel and Wren Representative: Melissa Wray Melissa Wray is cofounder and executive director of literary community Hazel & Wren, which provides free writing resources and literary mischief. Melissa is also a poet, freelance writer, and assistant to the director at Northrop at the U of MN. Melissa would love to hear article or column pitches with a literary or review focus. Hazelden Publishing Representative: Kate Kjorlien & Don Freeman Kate Kjorlien is the Director of Publishing Technology Management at Hazelden Publishing. She is always recruiting writers, editors, proofreaders, and designers – especially those with experience in both print and digital worlds. Don Freeman has been in the publishing industry for nearly 30 years, primarily as a managing editor. His current position is Director of Design and Editorial Production. He manages a staff of production editors and an art director and works with contracted freelance copyeditors, proofreaders, typesetters, and designers. Hazelden publishes trade books and curriculums, both print and digital, in areas of wellness, recovery from addiction, and behavioral health. Leabhar PR Representative: Kevin Finley Kevin Finley runs Leabhar PR, which is a book PR firm. As a publicist, he’s been fortunate to work with a wide range of authors from bestsellers to first time self-published authors. You can learn more about Leabhar PR at: www.leabharpr.com Kevin is hoping to hear from freelancers who are working in PR or looking to get into PR. He can offer advice on how he got into PR and/or maybe offer freelancers work if they are a good fit. He would also be happy to offer authors some quick PR advice. Lerner Publishing Group Representative: Domenica Di Piazza Domenica Di Piazza is the Minneapolis-based editorial director of Lerner Publishing Group’s Twenty-First Century Books (TFCB) imprint, whose mission is to provide intriguing and educational single-title YA nonfiction that helps readers better understand the world they live in and offers great, award-winning nonfiction fare at the same time. Domenica has degrees in French literature and started her 25-year publishing career as a proofreader, moving into nonfiction editing in the K-12 curriculum before taking leadership of the TFCB imprint in the early 2000s. As the editorial director of a YA single-title nonfiction imprint, Domenica is interested in nonfiction pitches on contemporary and/or controversial social issues, race in the twenty-first century, boundary-pushing science and technology, and narrative nonfiction (particularly related to historical teens who lived through a major world event; this is not biography, however, so much as the telling of a part of the teen’s life as it related to the world event). Mighty Media Press Representative: Josh Plattner Josh Plattner is the Managing Editor and Social Media Guy for Mighty Media Press, a division of Mighty Media. When not swooning over picture books, he can be found playing video games or devouring a novel into the wee hours of the morning. A lover of Amy Poehler and Bruce Norris, he believes that laughter is life’s only necessity. His spirit animal is a fox. His patronus is a giraffe. Josh works alongside Nancy Tuminelly, Publisher, to decide which submitted titles Mighty Media Press should acquire during the year. He reads and responds to every submission received, and is the gatekeeper for pending titles. Additionally, he edits and proofs manuscripts, and coordinates and chooses illustrators for current and future projects. Mighty Media Press is interested in adventurous and thoughtful picture books, and engaging middle grade fiction and nonfiction. Minnesota Historical Society Press Representative: Josh Leventhal A 20-year veteran of the publishing industry, Josh Leventhal is an Acquisitions Editor with the Minnesota Historical Society Press. He has previously edited and acquired titles in a range of nonfiction categories for Voyageur Press, MVP Books, MBI Publishing, and Timber Press. He is also the author of several books, ranging in topic from baseball to beer to tugboats. The Minnesota Historical Society Press is interested in writers on nonfiction topics relating to Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, including regional history and culture, Scandinavian studies, Native American studies, and environment and the land. MNHS Press publishes books for both general and scholarly audiences as well as the quarterly Minnesota History journal and the free, digital encyclopedia, MNopedia. Minnesota Monthly magazine Representative: Quinton Skinner Quinton Skinner is senior editor of Minnesota Monthly. He has written for numerous publications nationally and in the Twin Cities, and was previously senior editor of METRO magazine. He is author of the novels 14 Degrees Below Zero and Amnesia Nights, as well as non-fiction books on parenting and rock’n’roll. Quinton is looking for feature topics that fit into Minnesota Monthly’s front-of-book, profile ideas, and general stories. Paper Darts magazine Representative: Meghan Murphy Paradigm Education Solutions Representatives: Brenda Palo, Cheryl Drivdahl, Lori Ryan & Carla Valadez Paradigm Education Solutions (a division of EMC Publishing, Inc.) specializes in post-secondary textbooks, offering programs in computer technology, healthcare careers, biotechnology, accounting, business technology, and career management. Brenda Palo is the managing editor of the healthcare career line, Cheryl Drivdahl is a senior developmental editor, Lori Ryan is a senior production editor, and Carla Valadez is a production editor. This Paradigm team is most interested in speaking with the following professionals: -Computer and technology feature and assessment writers and testers -Medical/science writers and testers -Copy editors and proofreaders, especially those who have experience editing computer/technology and medical/science title Redleaf Press Representative: Jim Handrigan & Doug Schmitz As Creative Director for Redleaf Press, Jim coordinates, manages, and implements the design of all Redleaf non-marketing products. This includes design, layout, typography, and artwork selection for both cover and interior page design. In this position, Jim interacts with Redleaf managers and staff, outside designers, typesetters, artists, illustrators, photographers, stock photo vendors, digital content developers, authors, and IT/computer support vendors. As Managing Editor for Redleaf Press, Doug oversees and implements the production of all Redleaf Press publications. This includes books, e-books, and other products. As such, it is his job to meet all schedule, quality, and budget expectations from editorial transmittal through warehousing of the finished product. Red Line Editorial Representatives: Mari Kesselring & Patrick Donnelly Mari Kesselring is a senior editor at Red Line Editorial, a book and content development company. She routinely works with freelance, work-for-hire writers, editors, proofreaders, fact checkers, copy editors, layout designers, and typesetters. Patrick Donnelly is a senior editor at Red Line Editorial, a book and content development company. He also has been a freelance writer for the past 15 year, authoring books and providing content for newspapers, magazines, wire services, and broadcast media websites. Red Sofa Literary Representative: Jennie Goloboy Jennie Goloboy is a literary agent at Red Sofa Literary in St. Paul, MN. She’s also a historian, with a book on Charleston’s merchants, SUCCESS TO TRADE, forthcoming from University of Georgia Press. Jennie is particularly interested in representing unpublished science fiction and fantasy novels, for adults and kids. Fun non-fiction (no memoirs please!), or history books are also very welcome. Additionally, she would be happy to give advice about finding an agent, writing a query letter, or publishing in general. Wise Ink Representative: Dara Beevas