 ABOUT THE AGENT:
Danai Christopoulou is an Associate Literary Agent with Tobias Literary Agency. Danai is a Pushcart Prize nominated SFF author and editor. After a long career as a journalist and copyeditor (their articles and opinion pieces have featured in magazines such as Glamour, House & Garden and Marie Claire since 2004), Danai has been a freelance editor and new talent mentor for mentorships such as QueeryFest. Danai edits for Hugo-nominated magazine khōréō, and reviews short fiction for HavenSpec. Originally from Greece, Danai currently resides in Sweden.  Congratulations to the Winners of the First Pages 8 - 11 Contests!
Selecting the winners was no easy task and our judges were deeply impressed by the exceptional quality, creativity, and promise shown across all submissions. Every first page demonstrated real talent, and it was truly inspiring to see so many strong voices emerging from the Writing Day Workshops community.  In the messy, beautiful trenches of writing a novel, doubt and impatience are constant companions. For many of us, the slow crawl of a work-in-progress can trigger shame, impostor syndrome, and quiet grief over how little outsiders understand the journey.
In this candid Q&A, author Radu Paun opens up about his own path through these struggles—from his epic-length first manuscript and the querying trenches to the hard-won lessons in patience, self-worth, and creative surrender. With refreshing honesty and hard-earned wisdom, Radu shares what it really takes to keep writing when progress feels painfully slow, and how to find joy and value in the process.  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Katie Ferriello is the newest agent to join the Mansion Street Literary Management team. Her focus is on romance and fantasy, as well as children’s fiction. She particularly loves fantastical worldbuilding, deeply emotive characters, and strong voices. Katie earned her BA in English from Manhattan University and a M.Ed. from Fordham University. Motivated by her love of reading, she taught middle school English for sixteen years. Later, her passion for books and business led her to intern at multiple agencies. Grateful for her English degree, business experience, and contract/negotiation knowledge, she is excited to apply those experiences to helping writers navigate their literary careers. Though born in New York, she currently lives in Utah where she spends her free time camping, mountain biking, and skiing. If you're feeling gung-ho and motivated, consider one of our 2026 writers conferences. We are planning many around the country and also online (where anyone can join from anywhere). See the graphic in this post for our official list of events for 2026. Our events have over 170 success stories of writers who signed with agents following meeting them at an event. That's the best proof we can offer. Go to writingdayworkshops.com to sign up now.   (A guest column by literary agent (and author) Mike Nappa of Nappaland Literary.)
The woman asked a sensible question; she deserved a practical answer. I was sitting on an “Agents & Editors” panel at a writer’s conference when she took the microphone. “I’ve been working on revising my manuscript,” she said to all of us in the crowded ballroom, “and I think it’s getting better. But how do I know when I should stop revising and start sending it out? How do I know when my book is done?” Good question, I thought. And one with an easy answer.  I love pickleball! I love pickleball so much that I’ve started writing about it to celebrate that love. Let me share some of my books with you.
As of fall 2025, my new Pickleball books are out (and they make great gifts)! One is a picture book from Running Press Kids, the other a calendar from Sellers Publishing. Thank you for considering getting a copy for yourself or friends. Every sale and review truly helps. They make great holiday gifts. GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL got a buy from Target and is a USA Today best-selling book. Find GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL on Amazon here. Find GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL at Barnes & Noble here. You can buy it online from B&N, or use the “Find in Stores” button to see if it’s at a physical store around you. Find GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL at Target here. You can buy it online from Target, or click the “Pickup” button to investigate if it’s at a store around you. As of fall 2025, it’s in about 1/3 of Targets nationwide. Find GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL through Bookshop here (formerly called IndieBound) to support local independent bookstores, which is always an amazing thing to do.  In this generous Q&A for Writing Day Workshops, Tamatha Cain opens up about the grace we so easily forget to give ourselves, the inner critic that never quite quiets, and the surprising gifts that come from staying at the keyboard even when no one seems to be reading.
Whether you’re wrestling with self-doubt, stalled mid-plot, or wondering if your manuscript will ever find its way into the world, her honest reflections offer the kind of encouragement every writer needs to hear.  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Phoebe Schmidt joined Britt Siess Creative Management after working as an independent scout and a book-to-film agent at Paradigm Talent Agency. She works primarily with upmarket science fiction and fantasy. She is a hands on agent with a developmental approach, and loves projects that turn everyday life upside down.  Grigory Lukin still remembers the exact moment he first dared to call himself a writer. It wasn’t after he finished his first novel or landed an agent. It happened the day he sold a short story. The pay was purely symbolic, but there it was: his name and his words, sitting on actual bookshelves.
That win cracked open something in him, and he hasn't stop writing. Now, the sales keep racking up, he's won multiple awards, been honored at film festivals, traveled the world ... and more. In this candid interview, Grigory shares what the journey has taught him, and why “indefatigability” might be the only word a writer truly needs. |