Mike Chen

Mike Chen is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood, Here and Now and Then, A Quantum Love Story, and other novels, as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine comics. He has covered geek culture for sites such as Nerdist and The Mary Sue, and in a different life, he's covered the NHL. A member of SFWA, Mike lives in the Bay Area with his wife, daughter, and many rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram: @mikechenwriter

A.J. Hackwith

A.J. (she/they) is a magpie of plots, bad ideas, and spite. She is a queer speculative fiction writer and the author of a number of novels, including the acclaimed Hell’s Library fantasy series. Her writing has appeared in Uncanny Magazine and various anthologies, and she's an alumni of Viable Paradise workshop. She's represented by Caitlin McDonald of Donald Maass Literary Agency.

A.J. lives in the deep woods just outside of Portland, OR with her husband, her hounds, and her ghosts. 

H. D. Hunter

Hugh “H. D.” Hunter is from Atlanta, Georgia. He’s the author of Torment: A Novella, the Futureland trilogy, and Something Like Right, as well as the winner of several international indie book awards for multicultural fiction.

Hugh is committed to stories about Black kids and their many expansive worlds. Connect with Hugh on Instagram (@hdhunterbooks), or his website: https://hughhdhunter.com

Laura Stienstra

Lauren Stienstra is an American novelist who enjoys writing about the intersection of duty, science, and humanity. She believes that fiction can encourage readers to re-think their roles, responsibilities, and relationships in our own present world.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Lauren now lives, works, and writes around Washington, D.C.

She holds advanced degrees in science and public policy from the George Washington and Johns Hopkins universities, and trained in creative writing at UCLA.

Jeff Somers

Jeff Somers began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has published nine novels (including the Avery Cates cyberpunk series and The Ustari Cycle urban fantasy series) and over fifty short stories, including “Ringing the Changes,” which was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2006 and “The Little Birds,” published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine in 2023. He writes about books for BookBub, the craft of writing for Writer’s Digest (which published his book Writing Without Rules), and everything else for Lifehacker. His  tenth novel Five Funerals will be published by Ruadán Books in Fall, 2025. He lives in Hoboken with his wife, The Duchess, and their cats. He considers pants to always be optional.

Bryan Young

Bryan Young works across many different media. He worked as a writer and producer of documentary films, which were called "filmmaking gold" by The New York Times. He's also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He's been a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider magazine, SYFY, /Film, and more. He co-authored Robotech: The Macross Saga RPG in 2019 and has written four novels in the popular BattleTech Universe. He’s also done work in universes such as Shadowrun, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. Currently, he serves as the Past President of the League of Utah Writers. Follow him on Twitter @swankmotron or visit www.swankmotron.com.

Valerie Valdes

Valerie Valdes is co-editor of the award-winning Escape Pod science fiction podcast. Her debut novel Chilling Effect was shortlisted for the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and her latest novel, Where Peace Is Lost, was named a 2024 Reading List Council honor title. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Magic: the Gathering and numerous anthologies. She lives in Georgia with her husband and children.

Sheyla Knigge

Highline Literary

Sheyla Knigge (SHAY-luh KUH-nig-gee) is a budding publishing professional who comes to the industry with a lifelong love of reading under her belt. Having worked under Victoria Marini since 2021 she has had the immense pleasure of perusing a variety of books that have gone on to do incredibly well and cannot wait to do the same for her own clients soon. What I'm looking for fluctuates as the seasons do, but something that I am steadfastly looking for at all times is immersive stories, the kind I can't stop talking about long after I have put them down. I'm particularly drawn to fantasy novels across genres, but stories that have a lot of heart are my sweet spot.

Daniel Niv

Olswanger Literary

I am looking for fantasy manuscripts, particularly romantasy! I also love new adult, magical realism, dark academia, historical fiction and retellings, and family sagas. For romance, I am more intrigued if the setting is historical or unique. The most important thing for me when reading a manuscript is to connect with the protagonist. I often find myself connecting to vulnerable protagonists who discover their strengths. Overall, I love stories with a compelling hook, an emphasis on character development, high stakes, and plot twists.

I welcome manuscripts with diverse voices from all backgrounds and marginalized communities.