Breaking In: A Writer’s Guide to The Publishing World

with Angelique Stevens

Thursdays, 6 – 8 PM, 4 Sessions: Feb 19, Feb 26, Mar 12, Apr 9

See the schedule below to see which sessions are hybrid and which are Zoom only.

Location: Writers & Books, 740 University Ave, Rochester NY
Price: (all four sessions) Members $200 | General Public $230
Price: (individual sessions) Members $55 | General Public $70
One need-based scholarship available (for all four sessions)

The path to publication can feel mysterious, but it doesn’t have to be. Getting published isn’t just luck—it’s craft, timing, and strategy. This four-part series pulls back the curtain on the publishing industry and gives writers the tools to share their work with the world. We’ll explore how to submit to journals, pitch agents, write book proposals, and understand the ever-changing world of the publishing industry.

SESSION 1, February 19: From Submission to Publication: Placing Short Stories, Essays, or Poems in Literary Magazines (In-Person and on Zoom)
SESSION 2, February 26: The Agent Equation: Queries, Representation, and the Book Market (Zoom only)
SESSION 3, March 12: The Book Proposal: A Practical Approach to Developing the Nonfiction Book Proposal (Zoom only)
SESSION 4, April 9: Publishing 360: Navigating the Industry & Building Your Platform (Zoom only)

Angelique Stevens lives in Upstate New York where she teaches creative writing, literature of genocide, and race literatures. Her nonfiction has been published in Best American Essays two years in a row: 2022, edited by Alexander Chee and 2023 edited by Vivian Gornick, Granta, LitHub, The New England Review, and a number of anthologies. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Bennington College and an MA from SUNY Brockport in Literature. Her other honors include fellowships from Bennington College’s MFA Program; MacDowell, Hedgebrook, Bread Loaf, Tin House, Kenyon Review, Sewanee Writers Workshops; a fellowship to the inaugural cohort of the Periplus Mentorship Collective; and a teaching fellowship to the Lighthouse Book Project. She is represented by Ayesha Pande at Ayesha Pande Literary. She is currently working on a collection of essays about poverty and the myth of the American Dream due out from Simon & Schuster.

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