Unlock Your Publishing Potential
The Books & Such Writing Intensive
February 10-12, 2026
Have you ever thought about how helpful it would be to work one-to-one with a literary agent on your book project? Having someone who knows what elements make a manuscript saleable to a publishing house would ease the hard work of writing your manuscript. And imagine how much progress you could make if you received individualized feedback about your work-in-progress!
At most writing conferences, attendees interact with an agent during a 10-minute appointment. And that time consists of the writer telling the agent what the book project is about. If you’re fortunate, the agent will provide you with an insight or two on how to make your manuscript better. But what if you could have the undivided attention of an agent who worked alongside you for three days to help your project reach its full potential?
Better yet, what if you had the chance to hear unique-to-you expert advice from a Mentoring Agent and an entire team of literary agents—all providing you with feedback customized to the needs of your individual project?
Cutting through the Confusion
The agent team of Books & Such knows how challenging the writing experience can be. You may be asking yourself questions like:
- Is my writing ready to be published?
- Would a publisher even be interested in my book?
- How do I write a proposal that captures the heart of my book and gets the attention of agents and editors?
- What do I need to do to make my project stand out from the competition?
- I’m stuck. How should I structure my book?
- I keep changing how I start my book. What’s the best way to grab the reader’s attention?
- What steps do I need to take, and in what order, to have a proposal ready to submit?
Who Is the Writing Intensive for?
- If you’re unagented and struggling with those questions, then the Books & Such Writing Intensive is for you.
- If you’re finding it hard to set aside concentrated time to focus on your project, then the Books & Such Writing Intensive is for you as well.
- If you’re writing nonfiction, fiction, a Bible study, or children’s fiction or nonfiction, our agents represent each of those book categories. Plus individual agents have written and published in these categories. (Some agents in more than one category.) Note: We work only in the Christian market and would not have sufficient expertise in the general market to provide the kind of helps that would be meaningful for someone writing for that market.
What Will the Virtual Writing Intensive Consist of?
Without having to travel, you can participate in the virtual Books & Such Writing Intensive.
Over three days, you’ll not only receive feedback on the work you’ve done but also direction on the next steps to take. Writing assignments will be given to you by your Mentor Agent during the Intensive. The writing you do over these three days will be reviewed by your Mentor Agent, and the two of you will discuss her feedback. No more wondering if what you’ve just written is ready to be viewed by an agent or an editor.
What to Expect Each Day
As an attendee you will:
- Meet once a day for a one-to-one session with your Mentor Agent. This meeting includes setting your goals for the Intensive, providing feedback on your project’s strengths and weaknesses, and helping you to make your project as saleable as possible
- Attend an agent-led workshop once a day that focuses on vital publishing topics with opportunities to ask questions and benefit from each agent’s wealth of industry experience
- Each day work in a group of four with your Mentor Agent that highlights specific aspects of a preparing to submit your proposal to agents and editors such as how to write the comparables part of a proposal; how to ready your author websites; starting the manuscript in the right place.
- Participate in three, small-group Roundtable brainstorming sessions led by various agents. Topics include: finding the right title for your work; creating a hook for your manuscript; critiquing your query.
- Receive writing assignments from your Mentor Agent to complete before your Mentor meeting the next day. The Mentor Agent will give you feedback on each assignment before the Intensive concludes.
Because the Intensive is designed to be personalized for each attendee, we can only accept the applications of a small number of applicants. This is not a conference with several hundred attendees but instead is a focused time with about 14 attendees at most.
Schedule
|
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
|---|---|---|
|
Writing Time |
|
|
|
One-to-One Mentoring Appointments |
One-to-One Mentoring Appointments |
One-to-One Mentoring Appointments |
|
Writing Time |
Writing Time |
Writing Time |
|
Workshop: The Life Cycle of a Book + Q&A with agents |
Workshop: Tips for Compelling Writing |
Workshop: Building a Platform that Leads to a Contract + Q& A with agents |
|
Roundtable Discussions. Small group brainstorming sessions such as titles, creating a great hook, building a platform, etc. |
Roundtable Discussions. Small group brainstorming sessions such as titles, creating a great hook, building a platform, etc. |
Roundtable Discussions. Small group brainstorming sessions such as titles, creating a great hook, building a platform, etc. |
|
Mentoring Groups. Discussions or critiquing work in small groups lead by mentor agent |
Mentoring Groups. Discussions or critiquing work in small groups lead by mentor agent |
Mentoring Groups. Discussions or critiquing work in small groups lead by mentor agent |
|
Keynote message |
Keynote message |
Closing: Taking Next Steps |
The Agent Team
The agents who will be guiding you through the three days have 160 years of publishing experience under their belts. Plus the majority of them are published authors themselves; they know what it’s like to be hopeful but nervous about finding a publishing home.
The team also has decades of experience selling thousands of projects to publishing houses. Knowing what publishers are looking for as well as what causes publishers to turn down projects are key elements to us successfully obtaining contracts for the authors we represent.
Now we’re making all that experience available to you for these three days.
The Mentor Agents include:
Janet Kobobel Grant
President & Agency Founder
Debbie Alsdorf
Literary Agent
Rachel Kent
Senior Literary Agent
Cynthia Ruchti
Senior Literary Agent
Barb Roose
Literary Agent
Jen Babakhan
Associate Literary Agent
Wendy Lawton
Vice President of the Agency
Pricing
Early Bird Special: Through December 31, 2025 the Writing Intensive fee is $900, payable when your application is accepted. After December 31, 2025, the fee is $950.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations made by November 30 will receive a 50 percent refund; those made by January 15 will receive a 35 percent refund. No refunds are available if cancellation is made after January 15.
Application Fee
As part of applying to attend the Intensive, we’re asking you to submit the opening pages of your manuscript as a writing sample and a brief bio. Because of the time we will invest in reading your application and writing sample, we’re asking for a small fee of $40. The fee is nonrefundable.
Have Questions?
Email us questions about the Writing Intensive at office@booksandsuch.com.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Space is limited, as the goal of the Books & Such Writing Intensive is to provide attendees with personalized and project-focused attention. We also will maintain a Waiting List.
- Submitting an application to attend the Intensive does not guarantee attendance due to space limitations. Applicants will be notified of their attendance status as soon as possible.
- Attending the Books & Such Writing Intensive does not guarantee an offer of representation from Books & Such Literary Management or a publishing contract. We are always on the lookout for promising new voices, but we consider many elements in deciding to offer representation.
Interested in Attending Future Writing Intensives?
If the dates for the current Intensive don’t work for you, or if you haven’t developed your project enough to benefit from the Intensive now, fill out this form. We’ll let you know when the next Intensive is scheduled.
Yes, I want to be kept up to date on future Writing Intensives. Subscribe me to your mailing list.
We won’t use your email for any other purpose and you can unsubscribe at any time.