U.S. BOOK SHOW PREVIEW
of Triangle House. She is a board member of the AALA and has worked closely with leading voices in contemporary literature over her decadelong publishing career.
Break 3:30–3:45 p.m. Breakout sessions 3:45–4:30 p.m.
Breakout I: How to Talk About Books
How do you get people not only to buy and read a book but also talk about it with friends and colleagues in a way that draws others to it? From op-eds to podcasts to BookTok, learn what makes book lovers and casual readers notice and care.
• Maiysha Kai is the lifestyle editor of TheGrio and host-creator of the literary podcast Writing Black. Her cultural commentary has been cited by the New York Times, Vanity Fair, the Guardian, and CNN. A Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and voiceover actress, Maiysha is a frequent on-air pundit who has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and CBS This Morning.
• Miwa Messer is a career bookseller and the creator, executive producer, and host of Poured Over, the Barnes & Noble podcast.
• Vanessa Mobley is op-ed editor at the New York Times, where she edits guest essays for the opinion section. Prior to working at the Times, she was a book editor. Her authors included Samantha Power, Clint Smith, Sheri Fink, and Ronan Farrow.
• Felicity Vallence, an Australian in New York, has worked in publishing for nearly 20 years and in digital marketing for more than a decade. She works in the young adult category, helping authors develop their online presence and creating strategies to reach young readers.
agent MODERATOR: and v-p of Soumeya foreign rights Bendimerad at HG Literary. Roberts is a literary
Breakout II: All About Auctions
Agents and editors compare notes about best practices for structuring and executing successful auctions.
Caitlin Blasdell has been a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates since 2002 with a focus on commercial fiction. Before becoming an agent, she was a senior editor at HarperCollins.
Heather Jackson vaulted over the desk to the agent side in 2016, after a career as a trade editor for dozens of bestselling authors including Tim Ferriss, Jillian Michaels, Steven Gundry, and Mallika Chopra.
Serena Jones, v-p and executive editor at Henry Holt, joined Holt in 2010 after working at HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and NAL. Serena has worked with, among others, Stacey Abrams, Jimmy Carter,
Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Skip Hollandsworth, Gretchen Morgenson, Bill O’Reilly, and Walter Isaacson.
• Tanya McKinnon founded McKinnon Literary in 2014. Previously, she was an editor at South End Press before becoming a scout at Mary Evans, Inc, where she spent nine years as an agent. She has represented National Book Award winners and numerous bestsellers. She teaches in the publishing certificate program at City College.
• Eric Nelson is executive editor at Harper and v-p, editorial director of Broadside, HarperCollins’s conservative imprint. Since joining Harper in 2017, he has published numerous bestsellers. Prior to HarperCollins, he worked for Penguin and Wiley.
• Connie Hsu is editorial director at Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan. Books she’s edited include Caldecott Medal winner The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat and Caldecott Honor book Leave Me Alone by Vera Brosgol. She is a founding member of the Children’s Book Council diversity committee and member of the Brooklyn Book Festival planning committee.
MODERATOR: David Moldawer is the president of Bookitect.
Break 4:30–4:45 p.m. When the It Hits the Fan 4:45–5:30 p.m.
A panel discusses the impact of cancel culture, book banning, and what the industry can and should do about them. PANELISTS:
• Charlotte Clymer is a writer, communications consultant, transgender activist, and military veteran. She writes Charlotte’s Web Thoughts, a Substack newsletter about politics, religion, and culture. In 2023, she was named a finalist for Outstanding Blog at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards and Best Blog & Micro-blog at the 15th Annual Shorty Awards.|
• Lisa Sharkey, director of creative development at HarperCollins, joined in 2007and has since published numerous bestsellers. Sharkey is also a social media expert and oversaw the company’s video initiatives and its Facebook and Instagram programming for more than seven years.
• Adrian Zackheim joined Penguin Group in September 2001 as founder and publisher of Portfolio, where he is responsible for multiple bestsellers. He founded the conservative imprint Sentinel in April 2003.
MODERATOR: Monica Odom is the president of Odom Media
Management.
5:30–6:30 p.m.: Cocktail reception and networking