 ABOUT THE AGENT:
Natalie Sun is a junior agent with HG Literary. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia reading as many fantastical adventures she could get her hands on. After graduating from New York University with a major in English and a minor in psychology, she joined HG Literary to assist Carrie Hannigan. She is thrilled to now be open to queries herself! Natalie is primarily interested in fantasy of all kinds, but will read almost any genre of fiction. She loves found family, original magic systems (particularly those that utilize aspects from underrepresented cultures), complex dynamics, retellings, and romance. She has a soft spot for anything with horses. Keep reading to see if Natalie is your dream agent!  FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!
First Page Contest #6 of this year is for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy. If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on [EXTENDED] Feb. 10, 2026. Here’s how it works: We invite an awesome literary agent to judge the contest. The agent picks the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules! There are three other contests happening right now in 2025-2026 -- one for writers of Middle Grade Fiction, one for writers of Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Suspense, and one for writers of Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy.  FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!
Welcome to First Page Contest #5 -- for writers of Adult Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Suspense. If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on Feb. 10, 2026 [extended]. Here’s how it works: We invite an awesome literary agent to judge the contest. The agent picks the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules! There are three other contests happening right now in 2025-2026 -- one for writers of Middle Grade Fiction, one for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy, and one for writers of Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy. First Page Contest #4: Middle Grade Fiction -- Judged by Agent Morgan Hughes of Fineprint Literary1/11/2026
 FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!
Welcome to First Page Contest. Contest #4 -- for writers of Middle Grade Fiction (all types). If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on Feb. 10, 2026 [extended]. Here’s how it works: We invite an awesome literary agent to judge the contest. The agent picks the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules! There are three other contests happening right now in late 2025 into 2026 -- one for writers of Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Suspense, one for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy, and one for writers of Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy.  FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!
Welcome to a First Page Contest. Contest #7 is for writers of Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy. If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on Feb. 10, 2026 [extended]. Here’s how it works: We invite an awesome literary agent to judge the contest. The agent picks the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules! There are three other contests happening right now in 2025-2026 -- one for writers of Middle Grade Fiction, one for writers of Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Suspense, and one for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy.  Ritu Anand is a literary agent with D4EO Literary Agency.
Ritu Anand has been a passionate storyteller since childhood. Caught and admonished for writing under her desk during a math class, she recalls being highly inconvenienced. Inspiration had struck from within and there was little else she could have done to curtail it. Today, Ritu has earned the recognition of being an award-winning author of Kara's Dreams, a picture book about being resilient in the face of adversity. She gives tremendous credit to the various teachers at Mater Dei Convent, who, in the formative years of her life, laid an impression upon her. No good story should ever be filed away but be shared, she believes. That is why, she has chosen to champion voices yet unheard. Ritu is excited to represent writers of kid lit, literary fiction, general fiction and historical fiction. She joined D4EO Literary Agency in Spring 2023. Her clientele has been growing. Soon, she will share some good news about two of her clients catching the interest of two different publishers. Keep reading to learn more about Ritu Anand and see how to query.  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Lindsey Aduskevich is a Literary Manager with Martin Literary Management. Lindsey is excited to build her list with passionate, kind, and hard-working authors. As an avid reader, she is open to a wide variety of genres, including picture book, middle grade, young adult, and new adult. After graduating with a B.A. in English from the University of Connecticut, where she developed a love for books that inspire empathy and foster a deeper understanding of the world in which we live, Lindsey became determined to carve a career in the publishing industry. She attended her first SCBWI conference in 2019, and later joined several critique groups, became a member of Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge, and a member of Inked Voices. She interned with Senior Literary Manager Kristen Terrette before starting her career as an agent. As an agented kidlit writer herself, Lindsey is familiar with the ups and downs of the query trenches and submission process and hopes to emulate the same compassion and quick communication she found in several agents who helped guide her own writing journey. Residing in Southington, CT with her husband and two girls, Lindsey enjoys borrowing unusually tall stacks of picture books from the local library, snakeboarding in the basement with her family, hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter, and celebrating all the “wins” with her favorite critique partners. Keep reading to see if Lindsey is your dream agent!  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Ann Rose of The Tobias Literary Agency is open to queries now. Ann is a California native who left her heart in San Diego, and now resides in Texas after a stint in Florida. Her degree is in Communication from San Diego State University, and her resume runs the gamut from Lifeguard to Business Systems Analyst, but books have always been her passion. Ann is excited to finally merge her love of literature with her past professional experiences as a literary agent with The Tobias Literary Agency after starting her career with Prospect Agency. She looks forward to helping authors build successful, sustainable careers. Keep reading to see if Ann Rose is your dream agent! Worried about agent pet peeves? Wondering if you're inadvertently making errors that will sink your submission and query? Look no further. We've quickly collected 13 quick #QueryTip tweets from established agents, each sharing a great nugget of advice. Read on!   Hi, writers! In January 2026, Writing Day Workshops is hosting four free writing contests here on the WDW blog. All four contests are open the whole month and end as of Feb. 10, 2026. Submit for free, and get an agent critique if your work is chosen as a winning entry. Good luck! JANUARY 2026 CONTEST HOME PAGES: 1. Contest for writers of Middle Grade Fiction 2. Contest for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy 3. Contest for writers of Adult Thriller / Mystery / Suspense / Crime 4. Contest for writers of Adult Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy  |