Literary Agents return for the 2026 Nonfiction Writers Conference!
Our unique Pitch-the-Agents LIVE event is a special double session held during the Nonfiction Writers Conference. This event is a HUGE HIT with participants and attendees alike!
NFWC Gold, Platinum, VIP, and Thought Leader attendees have the opportunity to apply to participate in the live pitches, and 16 finalists are selected at random to share their pitches with a panel of literary agents who are actively pursuing nonfiction book deals.
Hundreds of conference attendees cheer on the participating writers as they share their pitches and received feedback from the agents.
Congratulations to Past Pitch Participants Who Have Landed Book Deals!
Big congratulations to Jamie Smith, who pitched the agents at the 2024 Nonfiction Writers Conference. As a result, she received an offer of representation by literary agent Rita Rosenkranz for Jamie’s book Transfer Savvy: Find Your Fit and Finish College. They then inked a book deal with Jason Gardner of New World Library!
Read Jamie’s success story here.
“I’m so grateful to Stephanie, the NFAA community, and the professionals who shared their wisdom at the NFWC conference. My book project took a giant leap forward when I decided to become a member and attend the conference.”
-Jamie Smith
Heather Sweeney’s book about leaving her military marriage will be released in the fall of 2025. Congratulations to Heather and her agent, Najla Mamou.
How it Works
Pitches for NFWC 2026 take place on Thursday May 7, 2026 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET. This special double session lasts approximately two hours.
Participants will have up to two minutes to deliver a pitch, leaving the agents with three minutes (or remaining time) to ask questions and give feedback on ways to improve your pitch and/or your book project. If a participating agent finds a pitch compelling, he or she may ask to receive your book proposal! That’s right, it is possible one or more attendees can end up with agent representation and a book deal! (Though please note there are no guarantees of any book deals or representation.)
How to Participate
NFWC Gold, Platinum, VIP, and Thought Leader attendees are eligible to participate, however you must submit an application to participate in the pitch sessions. Up to 16 writers are selected at random to share a pitch live. (And notified a few days prior to the session.)
Be sure to register for NFWC to participate.
How to Prepare Your Pitch
- Distill your book into a one or two-sentence “elevator pitch” that succinctly tells us what your book is about and why you are the best person to write it.
- Distinguish your book from what has already been published: what makes your book different, and why is it needed in the marketplace?
- Don’t forget to reference competitive titles if they help you better encapsulate what your book is about. You don’t always need to use comps, but one or two well-known comps may be extremely helpful.
- If you have any kind of author platform (blog or newsletter subscribers, social media following, website traffic, etc.), be sure to mention the details during your pitch.
Don’t Want to Pitch? Here’s Why You Should Still Attend
Even if you don’t want to pitch your book project to the agents, there is a tremendous amount of value you can gain simply by watching the participating writers and agents in action. You will learn how a book pitch works, what makes it sizzle, what captures the interest of agents, and what recommendations they offer for improvement. Even if you’re self-publishing, it’s important to understand how the traditional publishing world works so that you can remain competitive. We can all learn from what sells well in traditional publishing and gain wisdom from these experienced literary agents!
Meet the Agents for NFWC 2026
A well-established agent, who began her career as an editor at major publishing houses, Rita Rosenkranz represents almost exclusively adult non-fiction titles. Her wide-ranging list includes health, history, parenting, music, how-to, popular science, business, biography, sports, popular reference, cooking, writing, humor, spirituality, illustrated books and general interest titles. She represents first-time as well as seasoned authors, and looks for projects that present familiar subjects freshly or lesser-known subjects presented commercially. Rita works with major publishing houses, as well as regional publishers that handle niche markets.
Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency
Jason Gardner is the executive editor at New World Library, an independent San Francisco Bay Area publisher. For over twenty-five years, he has acquired books on spirituality, philosophy, personal growth/psychology, parenting, mythology, animals, and nature/environment. New World Library publishes The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Before joining New World Library, Jason worked as a writer and editor for a nonprofit magazine covering urban environmental issues, for a literary agency, and as a bookseller. He lives with his wife and children in Berkeley, California.
Lynn Johnston is a literary agent and president of Lynn Johnston Literary, an esteemed agency representing mostly nonfiction. For over 20 years, Johnston has represented numerous New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and USA Today bestsellers and a multitude of “best of” honorees for their influence in business and society. Her clients have received the Pulitzer Prize, George Polk, Peabody, Global Teaching Prize (finalist) and GLAAD Award, to name a few. She was elected in 2022 to her second term on the board of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) where she serves on the Contracts and Ethics committees and co-founded the People of Publishing Conference. She has an MBA and BA in Philosophy. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Johnston lives and works in New York City.
She is interested in the wide range of nonfiction, especially reported narrative, current events, business, science, health, and self-help.
To participate in Pitch-the-Agents, you must be registered as a Gold, Platinum, VIP or Thought Leader attendee and then fill out an application.
NFWC attendees can find instructions to participate in your conference materials folder.
