2023 Speakers

Here is our growing list of authors, agents, editors, publishing professionals and other presenters who will be speaking at the 2023 San Francisco Writers Conference. We’re adding more all the time, so do check back here occasionally. To find out more about each of them, click on the underlined name.
The presenters are in categories: Presenters (including authors and some editors), Agents, and Editors. Please scroll down to see all of them.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Joyce Maynard began publishing her stories in magazines when she was thirteen years old. She first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1972, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose “Domestic Affairs” column appeared in over fifty papers nationwide, a regular contributor to NPR and national magazines including Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, and many more. She is a longtime performer with The Moth.

She is the author of eighteen books, including the New York Times bestselling novel, Labor Day and To Die For (both adapted for film), Under the Influence and the memoirs, At Home in the World and The Best of Us. Her latest novel, Count the Ways —the story of a marriage and a divorce, and the children who survived it— was published by William Morrow in July, 2021.

She is currently at work on a sequel to Count the Ways, tentatively scheduled for publication in 2024. Maynard is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.

Arielle Eckstut is co-founder of The Book Doctors and co-author of the definitive Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. She’s an Agent-at-Large at the Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency, one of the finest boutique agencies in the world, and has helped hundreds of talented amateurs become professionally published authors. She is also the author of ten books. In addition, she is an EP on two new TV shows currently in development with Silvergate/Sony and The Jim Henson Company. She’s spent the last fifteen year travelling presenting Pitchapaloozas and teaching workshops everywhere from Cape Cod to rural Alaska to Kauai. She’s been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio as well as countless other media outlets.

David Henry Sterry is the bestselling author of sixteen books that have been translated into a dozen languages. His last book graced the cover of The New York Times Book Review. His memoir, Master of Ceremonies, is currently being made into a TV series for which David serves as an Executive Producer. David was a professional actor for twenty years, appearing in dozens of movies and TV shows and over 2,500 commercials. He’s also the creator of Pitchapalooza, which has been presented hundreds of times all over the nation, helping countless amateur writers have become professional authors. He’s spent the last fifteen year teaching workshops everywhere from San Quentin Prison to Stanford University on how to get successfully published. He’s been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio as well as countless other media outlets.

PRESENTERS

Nina Amir,  author and inspiration to creation coach
Scott Anderson, journalist
Patrick Aylward, BookBaby
Jim Azevedo, Draft2Digital
Armand Baltazar, author/illustrator
Phil Beauman, screenwriter and producer
Jordan Bernal, author
Sheryl Bize-Boutte, author/poet/storyteller
Cara Black, author
Carole Bumpus, author
Kiffer Brown, founder, Chanticleer Reviews & Media
Sandra Cain, writer/editor/book coach
Elise Collins, author
Ying Compestine, author
E.J. DeBrun, animator and storyteller
Cristina Deptula, publicist
Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco Poet Laureate
Martha Engber, author/speaker
Alexis Fajardo, cartoonist/editor
Kate Farrell, author
Grant Faulkner, author, executive director of NaNoWriMo
Joey Garcia, author, book coach, editor and TV personality
Elizabeth Gonzalez James, author
Gini Grossenbacher, author
Andy Jones, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Davis, CA
Elisabeth Kauffman, indie editor, author, and SFWC Marketing Director
Rachel Kerr, BookBaby
Carla King, author/publishing consultant, courses,
C. S. Lakin, author, copy editor, and writing coach
Daniel J. Langton, poet
Deon McAdoo, IngramSpark
Isidra Mencos, author
Rick Mofina, author
Kendra Murray, audiobook narrator
Robert Pimm, Literary lawyer/book publishing consultant
Lissa Provost, poet, author, SFWC Co-Director
Anniqua Rana, author
Ann Richardson, audiobook narrator
Paul Roach, author/audiobook narrator
Steph Rodriguez, food editor for SFGate
Jordan Rosenfeld, author, editor, and coach
Ralph Scott, audiobook producer
Prartho Sereno, Poet Laureate Emerita of Marin County
Rusty Shelton, author brand guru, Founder & CEO of Zilker Media
Kim Shuck, Poet Laureate Emerita of San Francisco
Sharon Spaulding, author/feminist historian/researcher
Geri Spieler, author
Andrea Stewart, author
Tutti Taygerly, executive leadership coach
Amanda Traylor, mystery/suspense/thriller novelist
Julia Vee, author
Paige Velasquez Budde, CEO & Partner of Zilker Media
Penny Warner, author
Bruce Wawrzyniak, publicist
Bailey Yaeger, IngramSpark
Paul Zeidman, screenwriter and actor

AGENTS

Lisa Abellera, Kimberley Cameron Associates
Malaga Baldi, Baldi Agency (Had to cancel due to Covid)
Michael Carr, Veritas Literary
Karly Dizon, Fuse Literary
Melanie Figueroa, Root Literary
Maeve MacLysaght, Copps Literary Services
Dorian Maffei, Kimberley Cameron
Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary and Co-Director of SFWC
Stefanie Molina, Ladderbird Literary Agency
Natalie Obando, Ladderbird Literary Agency (also WNBA president)
Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary
Andy Ross, Andy Ross Agency
Katharine Sands, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
Gordon Warnock, Fuse Literary
Michaela Whatnall, Dystell, Goderich & Bourrett, LLC

ACQUIRING EDITORS/INDEPENDENT EDITORS

Ross Blaufarb, indie editor
Jacquelin Cangro, indie editor
Aya de León, Fighting Chance Books/SheWrites Press
Mara Delgado Sanchez, St. Martins Publishing Group
Tanya Egan Gibson, indie editor/author
Terry Ehret, Sixteen Rivers Press
Jodi Fodor, independent editor
Patricia Fors, Muse Literary (Had to cancel for personal reasons)
Diane Frank, Blue Light Press
B. Lynn Goodwin, indie editor
Georgia Hughes, New World Library
Jennifer Joseph, Manic D Press
Brenda Knight, Mango Publishing
Mary E. Knippel, indie editor, writing coach, author
Heather Lazare, independent editorial and publishing consultant
Loan Le, Atria/Simon & Schuster
Mary Rakow, indie editor
Asanté Simons, William Morrow/HarperCollins
Kristen Tate, indie editor
Kristen Tatroe, indie editor
Wendy Tokunaga, indie editor
Melissa Valentine, Lake Union/Amazon 
Brooke Warner, She Writes Press/Spark Press, author, coach
Jacob Weisman, Tachyon Publications
Monica Wesolowska, indie editor, children’s book author