Writers Meet Agents
The League's first conference was held in 1944 when UVM was the location for the Summer Institute. Featuring workshops by respected professional writers, editors, and publishers, the Summer Institute lasted until about 1970. It would be 1990 before the League sponsored another conference. The three-day Dorothy Canfield Fisher Conference was held under the League's auspices from 1990 to 1993, spun off into a private endeavor, and ended in 1997.
In 2008, the League held a "sold-out" Writers Meet Agents (WMA) event in July, launching a new conference era for the group. WMA is set up as a day-long micro-conference, serving writers of all demographics and genres, published and pre-published, across the state to bring literary agents to our back door.
In 2010, a full-scale conference, "Timeless Craft, Timely Skill," featured the Vermont author, Chris Bohjalian, as the keynote speaker, sharing the bill with agents, editors, authors, coaches, and other presenters from around New England and the mid-Atlantic seaboard. This conference has now become the agent-centered event that occurs every other year.
This past summer’s conference included seven literary agents from the surrounding area, individual pitch sessions, several presentations, roundtable discussions, and a book-sale and cocktail hour. Additionally, beginning in 2014, WMA includes exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities for statewide and regional groups, businesses, and/or organizations.
Most importantly, WMA continues to be a huge hit every time we do it!
The next WMA is planned for 2018, but there is no time to waste! If you have ideas for the next WMA, want to volunteer, would like to sponsor or exhibit, please contact us.
We would love to have you be a part of our next WMA success in 2018!