Reada sampling of thepersonal success stories of authors who connected with their new agents at PitchFest:

I came back with a new book.By Colleen Winter

I am where I am today as an author because of Thrillerfest. I first attended Thrillerfest in 2015. I remember landing at La Guardia airport and being absolutely terrified to be in New York city alone and headed to a conference with some of the most successful authors in the worldRead More

She said no.By Don Bentley

She said no. Id attended PitchFest for the first time, found the agent I wanted, and pitched my newly completed manuscript. Wed hit it off during our five minute face-to-face and shed agreed to read the entire novel. I sent it and waited on pins and needles only to get the dreaded rejection letterRead More

I came to an agent and blanked.By Sarah Cain

I was a professional writer of speeches and direct mail and press releasesnone of which are things people clamor to read. I had written fiction for years, mostly short stories and flash fiction. Then there was my novel. I had worked on it for about eight years. I had even sent out queries, all of which had been rejected.Read More

I wasnt really a writer.By D.A. Bartley

I wasnt really a writer. A reader? Absolutely. The first grown-up book I remember getting my hands on was an Agatha Christie. Ive worked as a lawyer and an academic, so I read professionally. I guess I wrote, too, if you count legal briefs and academic papers well suited for curing insomnia, but I didnt think of myself as a writerRead More

Signed with four agents.By Lissa Price

I will always be a big fan of of ITW and Thrillerfest because I owe my career to this conference. It was here that I met and signed with four agentsone film, one foreign, two litand also found my writers group. When I went to the very first Thrillerfest in Arizona, I looked up at the debut authors panel, just a handful of authors back thenRead More

Crossroads.By Sheena Kamal

About two years ago, I was working as a TV researcher for a crime drama series when an idea began to form for a project of my own. A dark, psychological suspense novel. Id never written a novel before, but the idea wouldnt let go and I found myself at a crossroads. In a moment of righteous conviction, I took the least logical path available. I quit my jobRead More

I decided to get serious and give PitchFest a try.By Robert Beatty

I had been writing novels and attending writers conferences for many years, but it wasnt until I attended ThrillerFest / PitchFest that I found a real agent and received a publishing contract with a major New York publisher. Heres how it happened: In the past, I had been to a variety of writers conferences throughout the country, attending all sorts of workshopsRead More

A place where authors help fellow authors.By Jeff Wilson

To me Pitchfest embodies what ITW and Thrillerfest really are, at their hearts: a place where authors help fellow authors. I joined ITW in late 2011 and attended my first Thrillerfest in the summer of 2012. I had a debut novel from 2011 and a new novel just out and was thrilled to be a part of everything. I made some great friends, many of whom were authors I had read Read More

Never give up. Never say die.By Richard Goodfellow

Richard! Youve finished the manuscript for Collector of Secrets, so why arent you trying to find an Agent? Those were the questioning words spoken over lunch by my friend Keren Deere (www.writegirl.org) back in 2008. I regretted vaguely replying that it all seemed too daunting, as that prompted a blistering lecture (seize the day). Read More

You Cant Run From Loveby Shannon Kirk

Im a member of the 2015 ITW Debut class for my psychological thriller, Method 15/33 (Oceanview Publishing). But the truth is, my first novel was written and self-published in 1984, when I was in Fifth Grade. Only one copy of Sentimental Sweetooth was created, handwritten by me. Fortunately, my parents saved this one precious copyRead More

Thrillers Are a Rare Speciesby Leonardo Wild

I found ITW while doing research on the thriller genre, and joined two years before my first ThrillerFest. I live in Ecuador, where thrillers are a rare species, so I was surprised to find out that there was actually an organization dedicated to writers in the genre. Im probably the only thriller-writer in Ecuador with 10 booksRead More

Never Surrenderby Kevin Hurley

Thanks to Thrillerfest and some very extraordinary agents and authors who attended, my novel Cut and Cover will be available from Skyhorse Publishing through major retailers for the Fall 2015 season. I will be pitching the sequel to agents at ThrillerFest X. When I walked into the Grand HyattRead More

I Got the Agent (and Editor) I Wantedby Walt Gragg

Wow! Did that just happen? Exactly two weeks from the day I attended PitchFest, I hung up the phone after being offered representation. Liza Fleissig is going to be my agent. And the best news is not only did I get an agent, I got the agent I really wanted. Liza was my first choice going into PitchFest. Read More

What if no one likes it?by Lauren Francis-Sharma

I had never pitched a story before. What if no one likes it? I thought. I practiced my pitch before and after the luncheon. I practiced even as I stood in line waiting for the start of PitchFest, while other attendees chatted. My legs trembled and the suit I wore felt like heavy armor. I only need one to say yes, I said to myself. I had tried query letters with Read More

Thrill Rideby Glen Erik Hamilton

A roller coaster starts off slow, gathering potential energy, as it ratchets almost lazily up the long upward track. A writer may work for months or years on their first thriller, driven to tell that story, sweating every bit of dialogue and twist of plot. Building suspense. Then comes the tipping point. Read More

PitchFest Was Brilliant!by Vaughn Ripley

My 89,000 word cyberthriller was complete and I was ready to run to the highest mountain, or at least a hilltop, and scream, I did it! I have no illusions about books and publishing You see, a few years ago, I self-published my memoir, Survivor: One Mans Battle with HIV, Hemophilia, and Hepatitis C. Read More

The Trick is to be Preparedby Simon Gervais

When I registered for the 2013 ThrillerFest last February, never in my wildest dreams did I think Id be signing with an agent before the event was over. I was confident the agents would like my pitch but never did I expect to hear from one of them only a few hours later. It was surreal Read more

A Gold Mine of Learningby James R. Hannibal

I was angry for a long time as my insanely patient wife and a bloodied punching bag in my garage will attest.In 2008 I was Gods gift to covert ops thrillers, a Stealth Bomber pilot with a Top Secret clearance and a gift for writing (were in my head here, not reality, so parts of that sentence arent really true). Read More

I Was Surrounded by Kindred Writersby Donna Owczarek

Shortly after completing the first draft of my novel, I somehow stumbled upon ThrillerFest while researching places to submit my work. It sounded great, especially because several of the agents I planned to query were going to be there listening to pitches, but I had some concerns. While I usually can manage to string together Read more

Prepare for Contingencies and Adapt Quicklyby Tom Shawver

This past July I attended my first ThrillerFest. I went in with a game plan that proved ineffective, but for reasons that I had not anticipated, ended up with an agency contract.The initial idea was to get an agent for a military thriller that I felt very strongly aboutstill doand had carefully revised over many years. Id had several almosts following numerous Read More

Next Stop: Publicationby Gustavo Florentin

PitchFest 2011 was the first time I had ever pitched anything to professionals in the business. I was told I had a good pitch. But I was a little shaky telling the story after my one-liner. I managed to pitch my thriller to seven agents. Of those, three asked for partials and two asked for full manuscripts. Most of these agents replied Read more

Ready, Ames, FireBy Daniel Ames

At PitchFest, anything can happen. Lives can change in less than three minutes. When Daniel Ames met Scott Miller from Trident during PitchFest, he was staring at his dream agent. Little did Dan know that shortly after ThrillerFest ended, he would sign with Scott. Although things happened fast when Dan met Scott, its the preparation that Dan did beforehand Read more

Face to Face Makes all the Differenceby Mike Stewart

PitchFest 2011 wasnt my first attempt to garner the attention of an agent. And, if Im any measure, Id bet many of the authors who attended tried for years before deciding to see if meeting agents face to face makes a difference. Ive been writing for seven years. Graphic novels, novels, new media writing and in several genres. Ive really committed. And submitted. Read more

The First Two Said Noby John Dixon

The first two said no. They were both really cool about it, explaining they werent actually repping young adult titles anymore, and both offered referrals to agents who did rep YA. I jotted down the recommendations, thanked them, and moved on, turning once more to the daunting yet oh-so-exciting event that was PitchFest. Read More

You Wont Be Sorryby Martha Pound Miller

Martha Pound Miller was born and raised on the Arizona desert. She married an architect, had three children and went on to become the Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects Society in Arizona for 20 years. Writing was always of primary interest but with a family and job, there was never time. Much later came retirement Read more

PitchFest Changed My LifeBy Boyd Morrison

Attending PitchFest can change your life. I know that sounds like some corny advertising promo, but it was literally true in my case. At the first PitchFest in 2007, agents met authors during the lunch session, with one agent at each table. Who you were sitting with was totally random. I was talking with author Jon Land Read more

Something Did HappenBy August McLaughlin

So youre going to fly across the country to one of the most expensive cities to attend a pricy conference? What if nothing happens? a friend asked after I registered for PitchFest. Im going. Something already is happening, I replied, sensing that his skepticism was geared more toward his stay-in-Los Angeles plans Read more

Success From Down UnderBy Mark Dapin

As a journalist and author, I am quite well known in the eastern states of Australia. This is a bit like being a household name in your own house. A couple of years ago, I wrote a thriller, King of the Cross, about the rise and (of course) fall of a Jewish gangster in Sydney. It won the Crime Writers of Australias Ned Kelly Award for First Fiction, I optioned the movie Read more

Never Have to Query AgainBy A. J. Colucci

Im a writer, not a salesperson. Id rather work on my novel every day for a year than spend one hour writing query letters. As it turns out, thats about the ratio I set while writing my novel, THE COLONY. After working on the book for five years, I sent out a meager 26 letters and received seven flat-out rejections, 14 requests for Read more

It Could Happen to YouBy Graham Brown

Ironically, Graham Brown almost missed the Thrillerfest 2007 Agent luncheon. Thanks to a flight delayon the red-eye, no lesshe arrived late at JFK and made it to the Hyatt just as the event was about to begin. I was completely wiped out at that point, and decided to skip the lunch. All I wanted was to check into my room and get some sleep. Graham confessed.Read more

It Could Happen to YouBy Jaime Freveletti

Ironically, Graham Brown almost missed the Thrillerfest 2007 Agent luncheon. Thanks to a flight delayon the red-eye, no lesshe arrived late at JFK and made it to the Hyatt just as the event was about to begin. I was completely wiped out at that point, and decided to skip the lunch. All I wanted was to check into my room and get some sleep. Graham confessed.Read more

Success!By Ron and Richard Goulding

Two brothersone a lawyer, one a doctorcombined forces in the 90s and decided to try their hand at writing novels. They jokingly call themselves cavemen, as they started out using typewriters and long hand to record their imaginings, sending their work to each other via snail mail. Then came the fax, which dramatically increased their speed ofRead more

PitchFest is designed to put authors and agents together for the purpose of pitching projects. This will be an unprecedented opportunity for those writers looking to get or change agents. And where better to have this event than in the heart of publishing, New York City? PitchFest is set up like a speed-dating event. You pitch your novel to an agent for a few minutes, get the agents reaction, and then move on to a different agent.

Please note: PitchFest is available only in a package with CraftFest. There are no one-day passes for Wednesday or Thursday only. Registering for ThrillerFest alone does not qualify you to attend PitchFest.

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Success Stories - ThrillerFest