

Matt Belford
Literary Agent at The Rights Factory
Matt Belford is an agent at The Rights Factory, with more than a decade of experience in publishing. Once upon a time, he he thought he wanted to be a writer, but he’s since learned the error of his ways and is thrilled to instead be working with authors to help bring their ideas to life. He is primarily looking for nonfiction projects but is open to science fiction & fantasy, as well as graphic novels; he wants to laugh and cry with your characters. Matt is looking for under-represented voices.
Teaching:
Publishing Math, What's in a Publishing Contract
Shauna Brock
Queer SLC based writer, editor, community organizer, and TTRPG nerd.
Shauna Brock is an award winning writer who has been featured in 15 Bytes Magazine and on their podcast. She has been part of the SLCWG (Salt Lake City Writers Group) for over 18 years, and has been coordinating the group for the past 15. SLCWG meets regularly with crit groups, discussion sessions, and “stitch & bitch meetings” and has produced writers such as Sofia Pasternak, Rebecca Allred, and Joy Lisonbee.
Teaching:
Beyond the Bloomsbury Dream: What Does it Mean to Build Writing Community, Witches and Spells, Oh My! - Writing Pagan Characters, It’s More than Drag Race: Writing Queer Characters
Katie Chambers
Author of two guidebooks for authors and professional editor
Katie Chambers, a developmental editor, copy editor, and owner of Beacon Point LLC, helps indie authors shape powerful fiction and nonfiction. With a background in teaching middle and high school English and formal public speaking training, Katie brings clarity, enthusiasm, and a teacher’s heart to every presentation. She loves editing and running her business. Still, teaching is at her core, so give her a mic and a room of writers, and she's right at home. She’s passionate about helping authors strengthen their writing and better understand the editing process. And as part of that mission, she published two self-editing guidebooks for authors in January 2026.
Teaching:
Beauty of Beats and Free Indirect Speech, Beneath the Surface: Deepening Character Interiority, Make Your Nonfiction Book a Page-Turner
Emma Faye
audiobook narrator, award-winning narrator, clean reads, audiobooks producer
Emma Faye is an award-winning audiobook narrator and CEO of Cats Meow Productions. She is known for her passion for clean reads and wholesome stories. Working with Indie authors and publishers, her fave genres to narrate include YA Fantasy, Sweet Romance, Middle Grade, and Christian Non-Fiction. She has narrated over 150 books in her home studio and is excellent at bringing worlds and characters to life. Outside of narrating, she enjoys snuggling her many cats, performing on stage, rock hounding, and cosplaying.
Teaching:
What Every Author Should Know About Audiobooks, Why Are Audiobooks So Expensive? Demystifying the Cost of Production, The Power of Audiobooks: Continuing the Oral Tradition
Katie Ferriello
Agent with Mansion Street Literary Management
Katie Ferriello is the newest literary agent to join the Mansion Street Literary Management team. Her focus is on romance/romantasy (adult and new adult) as well as children’s fiction (picture books through young adult). She particularly loves fantastical worldbuilding, emotive characters, and strong voices. Having worked as both an English teacher and a realtor, Katie has strong editorial and negotiation skills to help authors throughout their careers.
Teaching:
Panels
Rachelle Funk
Owner of Rachelle Funk Editing
Rachelle Funk is a freelance editor who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. She works most often with independent authors to refine their writing in the copyediting and proofreading phases of composition. Rachelle is serving as president of the Utah Freelance Editors chapter of the League of Utah Writers, sits on the board of the San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/PEN), and is a lifetime member of ACES. She is a part of the editing team for Inkpot online literary journal and is affiliated with Pique Publishing in San Diego, CA and Eight Moons Publishing in Utah.
Teaching:
Editing Service Contracts and Rates, Gray or Grey: Building an Exceptional Author Style Sheet
Ronald Gerber
President, Lowenstein Associates
Ronald Gerber is President at Lowenstein Associates, where he has been a literary agent since 2019. His clients include Daniel Kenitz, whose debut thriller THE PERFECT HOME was published by Scribner in 2025, and Lorissa Rinehart, author of feminist biographies FIRST TO THE FRONT (2023) and WINNING THE EARTHQUAKE (2025) with St. Martin’s Press. Ronald is always on the lookout on cinematic stories with strong hooks and relatable characters. He resides in Queens, New York.
Teaching:
Perfecting the In-Person Pitch

Stacy Graven
Stacy Graven author of Collecting Coconuts
Stacy Graven is a graduate of Weber State University with a B.A. in English Creative Writing. It all began with the love of books as a three-year-old ‘book-shopping’ in the family room, as her mother recalls. You will often find her with the dear people that she calls inspirations including colleagues, friends, neighbors, and the family God has granted her. Aside from writing, you will find her teaching piano, adventuring to her heart’s content in nature, serving in a church community, and dancing. Two of her other works are Ivory and Ink and Perhaps, Miss Hazel Ansbro.
Teaching:
Experimentalism: Writing like Music, Cinematic: The 'Mind's Eye' Writing, Poetic Ties - how the author's voice participates

Callie Hansen
Senior Acquisitions Manager for Shadow Mountain Publishing
Callie Hansen is Senior Acquisitions Manager for Shadow Mountain Publishing with a background in marketing and a lifelong passion for storytelling. A writer and avid reader with a soft spot for children’s and young adult literature, she thrives on discovering and shaping stories that captivate readers of all ages. When she’s not immersed in the publishing world, Callie plans Disney vacations for herself and others.
Teaching:
How to Make Your Query Package Stand Out
Lindsay Hiller
Enthusiastic, Cheerful, Encouraging, Positive
LINDSAY HILLER is a contemporary romance author, freelance editor, and president of the Typewriters chapter of the League of Utah Writers. She’s also the founder of Writing Inspired, an organization dedicated to teaching the craft of writing to aspiring authors. Lindsay lives in Utah with her husband and six children.
Teaching:
Epic First Chapters – How to Win a Contest or Catch an Agent!, Extreme Outlining – How to Combine Multiple Beat Sheets to Flesh Out Your Story, Writing Through the Pain: Crafting Powerful Themes Through Character Struggle
Angie Hodapp
Dir. of Literary Development, Nelson Literary Agency
Angie Hodapp is the Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency. A graduate of the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver, she has worked in professional writing, editing, and education for more than twenty years. A frequent presenter at writing conferences and events, and the author of Query Craft and Do You Need a Literary Agent, she loves helping writers improve their craft and learn about the ever-changing world of publishing.
Teaching:
Opening Pages That Lead to Yes, Writing Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Kollin Kennedy
Author of 'The Reincarnation of a Lovebird'
Kollin Kennedy is a writer in the Dallas area who graduated from the University of North Texas with his bachelor’s in Creative English Writing. He has self-published over five collections of poetry, including his 'A Blue Period, which has made it to #1 in Poetry, Poetry on Nature, & Poetry on Love on Amazon in January of 2024. He has also published his poems in other issues such as La Piccioletta Barca, The Ulu Review, & The Words Faire, and worked as a poetry editor for the magazine december and a reader for Flash Fiction Magazine.
Teaching:
Form as Freedom: How Structure Can Strengthen Your Voice, “Writing Through the Fog & Quieting the Inner Critic”, “Writing Through the Storm: Poetry as Emotional Processing”
Jodi L. Milner
Author of the Shadow Barrier Trilogy
Jodi L. Milner is the author of the award-winning Shadow Barrier Trilogy and cohost of Squirrel! The Podcast for Distracted Writers. Alongside publishing fantasy novels and short stories, she teaches at writing conferences and mentors fellow authors.
Her service within the writing community earned her the 2025 League Volunteer of the Year Award, recognizing her dedication to helping others thrive in their creative journeys. Jodi lives in the mountains of Utah, where she balances writing, family, and the occasional crocheted dragon. Learn more at JodiLMilner.com
Teaching:
Build your author website step-by-step, Turning Wonder into a Working Magic System, Writing Productivity for Distracted Writers
C.R. Langille
Timber Ghost Press
C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with her mom, a tradition that would eventually lead a queer, transgender woman to find her voice as an award-winning horror author. Langille is the founder of Timber Ghost Press, holds an MFA: Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, and serves as the DEI Chair for the League of Utah Writers, where she was also named Editor of the Year in 2024.
Teaching:
Just One More Step: The Brutal Psychology of Survival, Funding Your Dreams: The Author's Roadmap to Kickstarter Success
Caryn Larrinaga
Internationally best-selling mystery and horror author
Caryn Larrinaga is an internationally best-selling mystery and horror author whose chief obsessions are ghosts, cats, and Basque folklore. In addition to novels and short stories, Caryn has written for tabletop role-playing games, podcasts, and newspapers. She’s known for eerie fiction steeped in creeping dread, and her work has earned numerous honors, including the Cat Writers Association Muse Medallion. In 2021, she was named Writer of the Year by the League of Utah Writers. When she isn’t writing, she’s catering to her feline overlords and navigating life with epilepsy (because even her neurons enjoy a good plot twist).
Teaching:
Ghosts and Spirits from Around the World, Writing Animals Your Readers Will Love, Funding Your Dreams: The Author's Roadmap to Kickstarter Success
A.M. Luzzader
Author of 500,000+ books sold
A.M. Luzzader is a children's author known for stories with wholesome values and humorous twists. She writes chapter books for ages 6 to 10 and middle-grade books for ages 8 and older. Amanda has sold more than 500,000 books, including 24 titles traditionally published with Sourcebooks, the fifth largest book publisher in the United States. Her most popular series include A Mermaid in Middle School, The Princess and the Unicorn, and Baxter Bean and the Misachievers. She was honored as Utah Writer of the Year for 2019-2020 by the League of Utah Writers. A devout cat-person, Amanda writes full-time from her home base in northern Utah.
Teaching:
Amazon Ads for Beginners, Advanced Amazon Ads, Getting Started with Facebook Ads
Sarah Maloy Bailey
Award-winning book editor
Sarah Maloy Bailey is a writer and freelance editor specializing in many genres with a soft spot for memoir and middle-grade fiction. She holds a degree in Writing and Rhetoric from the University of Utah and a publishing certificate from the University of Denver. In 2025, Sarah was named Editor of the Year by the League of Utah Writers for her work as editor-in-chief of Inkpot, the LUW’s literary magazine. When she is not editing or writing, she can be found either trying to keep up with her five children and two dogs or hiding from them in her bathroom.
Teaching:
The Author-Editor Relationship: Two Sides of the Same Coin, Navigating the Murky Middle Paradox, Taming Your Word Count

Lisa Mangum
Managing Editor of Shadow Mountain Publishing
Lisa Mangum has worked in publishing for more than twenty-five years. She has been the managing editor for Shadow Mountain since 2014 and has worked with several award-winning and New York Times best-selling authors.
Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels, several short stories and novellas, and a nonfiction book about the craft of writing based on the TV show Supernatural. Her most recent book, Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published.: A Master Class for Fiction Writers, was awarded Utah’s Best of State award for nonfiction in 2024.
Teaching:
Triangulating Your Characters: How Focusing on Character Relationships Drives Conflict and Plot, Write Stupid. Edit Smart: A Workshop to Write, Revise, and Whip Your Words into Shape, Streamlining Your Prose: How to Cut Your Words but Not Your Story
Chelsey Ortega
Award winning author of Bondwitch
Chelsey Ortega is a teacher by day, writer by night. Her award winning debut novel Bondwitch released in October 2023. Her short story To Sign Or Not To Sign is available in the Creepy Spooky Love anthology. Chelsey has her Bachelor’s in History Teaching with a Minor in TESOL from Brigham Young University. She currently teaches high school English Language Development in Spanish Fork, Utah. Chelsey lives in Springville, Utah with her husband, three kids, and two cats.
Teaching:
9 Questions for World Building, Most of Us are Plansters, Making Your Fictional High School Real
David Rodeback
LUW 2025 Writer of the Year
Before arriving in American Fork, Utah, where he has lived since 1998, David Rodeback spent about a decade each in Boulder, Colorado (his birthplace); rural southeast Idaho; and upstate New York. He serves on the board of the League of Utah Writers and is the League's 2025 Writer of the Year. His two self-published collections of short fiction won Silver and Bronze Quill awards in 2024 and were named Notable Reads by the 2025 Utah Book Awards. He writes most contemporary, realistic fiction. His first novel, a contemporary coming-of-age story, was released late last year.
Teaching:
Writing Faith in Fiction with Depth and Respect, Worldbuilding? You'll Need Some Goverment., Adding Layers to Stories of Any Length
Alexandra Rowland
Author of A Taste of Gold and Iron
Alexandra Rowland is the author of several works in the Chantiverse series, including A Taste of Gold and Iron, Running Close to the Wind, and Yield Under Great Persuasion, as well as a Hugo Award nominated podcaster -- all sternly supervised by their feline quality control manager.
Teaching:
Keynote: Condemning Perfection, Embracing Flaws; Starting the Novel: From Idea to Story

Talysa Sainz
Award-winning author, editor, and poet
Talysa Sainz is a freelance editor and award-winning author who believes life’s deepest truths can be found in fiction. She runs her own editing business and spends her time at the library or with the League of Utah Writers. Always fascinated with the structure of words, she studied English Linguistics and Editing at BYU. She then went on to receive a Master of Science in Management and Leadership, focusing on nonprofit work, from WGU.
Teaching:
Writing with Dramatic Irony, Color-Coded Self-Editing
Jo Schneider
Award-Winning Author
Jo Schneider grew up in the wild west, and finds mountains helpful in telling directions. Goals include: traveling to all seven continents, becoming a Jedi Knight, and receiving a death threat from a fan. She’s still working on the death threat. Jo writes science fiction and fantasy with amazing characters that she’s not particularly nice to. Jo writes sweet and clean, curvy girl romcoms under the pen name Karly Stratford.
Teaching:
Frankensteining your own plotting system, Found Family FTW, Character Backstory vs the Murky Middle
Bernadette Marie Soehner
CEO 5 Prince Publishing / Bestselling Author
Bernadette Marie Soehner is an internationally #1 bestselling author of sixty titles written under Bernadette Marie. The owner of 5 Prince Publishing, Bernadette enjoys sharing her knowledge of writing and publishing with those who aspire to be part of the literary community. Along with her daily CEO duties, Bernadette is also a developmental editor and an industry educator. Currently, she is acquiring works of romance--contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, holiday, and series.
Teaching:
Building a Writing Career That Lasts, Traditional vs. Indie vs. Hybrid Publishing, Author Branding: Building a Brand Readers Trust
Callie Stoker
Owner and managing editor of The Manuscript Dr
Callie Stoker is an editor with almost two decades experience. Her business The Manuscript Dr offers coaching and editing services. We believe that writing is a skill that can be taught through the application of individual tools. We love helping our clients elevate their abilities and reach their publishing goals.Callie has three children on the Autism Spectrum and ADHD and is a champion for neurodiverse representation. She was a guest on Brandon Sanderson’s podcast Writing Excuses and is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, League of Utah Writers, and DFW Writers Workshop. She currently resides in the Dallas, TX area.
Teaching:
Storymaster Cheat Codes,
How to Write: According to Amazon Reviews
Jakob Tice
Author, Actor, Fight Choreographer, and Cosplayer
Jakob has been performing since he was a wee lad. While studying theatre at BYU, he stumbled into a stage combat class and was immediately hooked. He eventually earned “Recommended” status in many weapons through the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and Dueling Arts International (DAI). For over two decades, Jakob has worked as an actor, fight choreographer, martial artist, and writer, with professional credits in film, television, and theater. He’s a multi-Olive Wooley Burt Award winner and has a teaching degree in Theatre Arts from UVU. Currently, he is pursuing a Master’s in Creative Writing from SNHU.
Teaching:
"They Fight", Embrace the Violence, Dress for Success
Sunni Brown Wilkinson
Award-winning poet
Sunni Brown Wilkinson is a poet and essayist. Her newest poetry collection, Rodeo, won the 2024 Donald Justice Poetry Prize and was published in 2025 by Autumn House Press. Other books are The Marriage of the Moon and the Field (Black Lawrence Press) and The Ache & The Wing (winner of the Sundress Chapbook Prize). She teaches at Weber State University and lives in northern Utah with her husband and three sons.
Teaching:
Keynote: "Being Alive Twice": Imagery as Witness, Singing to Each Other
Michelle Witte
Agent at Mansion Street Literary Management
Michelle is a literary agent with Mansion Street Literary Management specializing in children’s fiction and nonfiction. As an agent, her tastes vary widely, and she represents authors across the spectrum of kids books, from illustrated board and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Michelle is always on the lookout for fascinating stories that are well told. Though she travels whenever possible, she mostly splits her time between Utah and New York.
Teaching:
Panels
Bryan Young
Author, Storyteller, Teacher
Bryan Young works in many different media. He's published in work for Marvel and Image Comics, Star Wars Insider, Huffington Post, SYFY, /Film, Script Magazine, Weird Tales, the Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Library Literary Magazine and many more. He’s worked in the Star Wars, Robotech, Doctor Who, Shadowrun and BattleTech universes, among others. He teaches writing at the University of Utah and Writers Digest’s Online University. His latest novel is BattleTech: Outfoxed. Follow him on social media @swankmotron or visit www.swankmotron.com.
Teaching:
Choosing the Right POV































