In this workshop will talk about different types of pitches and formats and then where authors can pitch those pitches - such as pitch competitions, agent speed dating, Threads pitch competitions, mood pitches, etc. We will discuss pitch competitions can be a great place to break rules, experiment and hone your craft. Then we'll practice some pitches and get some feedback!

Sarena Straus a multi-award-winning science fiction novelist. Her REINCEPTION trilogy got its three book deal through a Twitter Pitch competition. The trilogy has gone on to win more than ten awards including an IBPA Ben Franklin Award for “Best Audiobook-Fiction” across all categories as well as CIBA Cygnus and Pencrafts First Place Awards for Science Fiction. Book Three in the trilogy will be out in early 2026. She also published a true-crime memoir, BRONX DA: TRUE STORIES FROM THE SEX CRIMES AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNIT. In 2010, BRONX DA sold as a TV Pilot to CBS/Paramount. Sarena has been an adjunct professor in New York and Zambia and had a multi-year career as a talking head for TV and radio, where she commented on current criminal cases in the media. She has appeared on well over 100 TV and radio shows including Good Morning America, most shows on Court TV, and on such radio and network stations as NPR, Huff Post, Buzzfeed, and The O’Reilly Factor to name a small few. She has been a panelist and podcast guest sci-fi expert at the Nebula Conference, Readercon, Arisia, Boskone, Norwescon, HeliosphereNY, Ravencon, “Live From The Bunker,” “The Author’s Corner,” and many, many more. She has published numerous legal articles and works of poetry and, for many years, was an editor for a legal magazine. In addition to writing and lawyering, Sarena is an avid scuba diver and dive photographer. She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York, with her husband, two children, two dogs and a sweet old barn cat.