Presenters and Instructors for the 2024
In-Person Atlanta Writing Workshop
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Lauren Karcz is the author of the novel The Gallery of Unfinished Girls (HarperCollins / HarperTeen), which was a Junior Library Guild selection and ALA Rainbow List honoree.
Her surrealist short fiction and essays can be found in various literary journals, including Stanchion, JAKE, and the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.
She’s currently at work on a YA mystery as well as an upmarket historical novel. Lauren enjoys cycling, theater, and baking. She and her family live in Atlanta.
At the 2024 ATLWW, Lauren is teaching classes and also offering add-on manuscript critiques for attendees.
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Bob McGough is an author, podcaster, and indie tabletop game designer from south Alabama. As an author he has been published by a number of small presses in a range of genres, from steampunk to horror. He is best known as the author of his ‘Rural’ Urban Fantasy series, the Jubal County Saga. He also teaches a number of classes and workshops on various aspects of the business of writing.
As a podcaster Bob is the man behind the Tales by Bob Podcast Network. His first show, Books, Beards, Booze, is a conversational style podcast that has run for over 170 episodes. Southern Fried Fantasy, is a completed interview style podcast where he interviews Southern Authors who write genre fiction set in the South. The Tales by Bob Podcast is an inside look at the business side of the writing business.
A long-time freelance writer, he has worked on a number of tabletop and video games. As a huge fan of one sheet and simple rpgs, he has released over 40 games in that space across a number of platforms.
At the 2024 in-person ATLWW, he is teaching a class and offering add-on manuscript critiques.
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Ismita Hussain is a literary agent & social media manager with Great Dog Literary.
At the 2024 ATL event, she is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one pitches. Learn more about her wishlist on her bio page here.
Ismita is a Georgia native and graduate of Emory University, where she studied Human Health and Italian. During college, she also worked for various Atlanta area hospitals in departments ranging from neonatal to geriatric care. In her Desi household, she grew up speaking Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu. Ismita is a founding member of Disability in Publishing and currently serves on their Board of Directors. She also participated in the 2022 Literary Agents of Change Mentorship Program.
Some of her favorite authors are Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Oscar Wilde, and Tom Perrotta. Ismita is especially drawn to fiction with a Southern setting, gritty realist writing, and any books that explore health or disability. Ultimately though, she’s a sucker for writing with a great sense of humor. Member: AALA
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Brian A. Klems (@BrianKlems) is the former online editor of WritersDigest.com. He is current the director of Writing Day Workshops.
He is the coordinator of the 2024 Atlanta Writing Workshop. At the event, he is offering add-on query critiques for attendees.
His blog during his tenure there, The Writer’s Dig—which covered everything writing and publishing—was one of the largest blogs in the writing community.
Brian’s first book, Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl: A Dad’s Guide to Raising Daughters (Adams Media) was released in 2013. It received high-level buzz and praise from some of the funniest writers alive, including Dave Barry and Bruce Cameron. Brian is also a proud graduate of the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, a husband, softball infielder, perennial fantasy sports underachiever, and father of three lovely girls.
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Kristen Terrette is a literary agent with Martin Literary Management.
At the 2024 ATL event, she is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one pitches. Learn more about her wishlist on her bio page here.
Kristen is a literary manager excited to build her list featuring titles in middle grade, young adult, female-driven crime thrillers, faith-based books, and the occasional picture book with an author/illustrator.
She has a BA in Early Childhood Education and MA in Theology and Religious Studies which led her into children’s ministry for many years. Eventually, her lifelong love of books and authors drew her back to her original dream of entering the publishing world. Kristen is a multi-published author and freelance writer. She’s held such positions as the Blog Manager for a national women’s ministry and the Social Media Manager for a publishing house. All these components landed her a spot in the coveted Writers House Intern Program. There, she received valuable hands-on agenting and publishing experience which she brings into her new position.
Kristen has long been a voice for diversity. She’s written extensively on topics of racial reconciliation and unity and is a facilitator of groups around these topics in her church. In all her focused genres, she welcomes books with BIPOC or disabled main characters and diverse friendships. She believes books change people in all the best ways and that every child should see themselves in the pages.
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Zoie Janelle Konneker (she/her) is an editorial assistant at Peachtree Publishing Company.
Raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, she interned at two local publishing houses in 2019 and graduated from Georgia Tech in with a BS in Literature, Media, & Communication in 2020. Between her graduation and her acceptance of a full-time role at Peachtree in the winter of 2021, she worked as a Foster Coordinator at a metro-Atlanta animal shelter and attributes her love for animals and spreadsheets to her time there. Her goal is to leave the world better than she found it through elevating underrepresented voices in children’s literature and putting relatable, relevant stories in the hands of those that need them most.
At the 2024 ATL event, Zoie is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one pitches. Learn more about her wishlist on her bio page here.
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Brittany J. Thurman writes award-winning books for kids. At the 2024 ATL event, she is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees.
She is the author of Fly, (Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text) and Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams. Her upcoming works include Forever and Always, illustrated by Shamar Knight Justice (2024), Fearless: The Takeover (2024), The First Library: The True Story of the First Library by and For Black America, illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera (2025) and Come Catch a Dream, illustrated by Islenia Mil (2025). (Find all her books here.)
She holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Art in Theater from Kingston University, London, England. Her plays have been produced in Aspen, Colorado, and in New York City. Brittany is a former children’s early literacy specialist. She lives in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where she holds tight to her elders, roots, and her childhood home.
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Kimiko Nakamura is a literary agent with Dee Mura Literary, representing YA and adult titles within the genres of contemporary, literary, historical, and women’s fiction. In the categories of non-fiction she specializes in cookbooks and memoir.
At the 2024 ATLWW, Kimiko is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees. (She is not taking pitches.)
A graduate of Boston University’s Book Publishing program and Skidmore College, Kimiko has called the publishing industry home since 2006. From production to sales she’s worked within publishing houses to release new titles and foster backlist profits. As an agent, she uses this diverse background to assist her clients with all stages of publication, and well beyond.
Kimiko works with aspiring and established authors alike. She loves projects that reimagine what’s possible, characters with something (or nothing) to lose, unique viewpoints, trailblazing heroines, and cookbooks she can read like the Sunday morning paper.
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Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve published novels, including Time Salvager, The Rise of Io, and The Walking Dead: Typhoon. He won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. His debut, The Lives of Tao, won the Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award.
Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Paula, and two boys, Hunter and River.
At the 2024 ATLWW, Wesley is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees.
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Amberly Finarelli is a former literary agent with Andrea Hurst & Associates.
At the 2024 ATLWW, Amberly is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees.
Amberly has a B.A. in English with a concentration in career writing and has worked in the publishing industry since 2006 as a literary agent, manuscript evaluator, copy editor, proofreader, and writer. She has been a featured speaker at UC Davis, has taught for Sacramento Public Library, and Truckee Meadows Writers Conference, and has been a judge for the Rose City Romance Writers writing contest.
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Carey Blankenship-Kramer is a literary agent with Belcastro Agency.
At the 2024 ATLWW, she is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one pitches.
After growing up surrounded by books and people who loved to read them, Carey dreamed of bringing more books to the hands of avid readers like herself. She graduated from Berry College with a dual degree in English and Creative Writing. She later received her master’s in Writing and Digital Communications from Agnes Scott College. She has experience working with both publishing houses and literary agencies and loves her role as Junior Agent at Belcastro Agency. As an editorial agent, she loves working closely with her authors to ensure their stories come to life on the page.
While her sweet spot is horror and middle grade, Carey’s tastes are wide and varied. From mystery to fantasy to science fiction, she loves anything that can draw her in and have her rooting for the main characters.
Kristen Terrette is a literary agent with Martin Literary Management.
At the 2024 ATLWW, she is teaching a class. She is also meeting with attendees for one-on-one pitches.
Kristen is a literary manager excited to build her list featuring titles in middle grade, young adult, female-driven crime thrillers, faith-based books, and the occasional picture book with an author/illustrator. Kristen has long been a voice for diversity. She’s written extensively on topics of racial reconciliation and unity and is a facilitator of groups around these topics in her church. In all her focused genres, she welcomes books with BIPOC or disabled main characters and diverse friendships. Kristen is seeking middle grade (all genres except sci-fi), young adult (all subgenres except sci-fi), women’s crime thriller, faith-based fiction and faith-based memoirs, and picture books by author-illustrators. Learn more about Kristen here.