Meet Agent Fest Online 2024 Faculty Amy Giuffrida, Belcastro Agency

10 Sep at 5:24 pm

Meet Amy Giuffrida

After Amy earned her BA at the University of Kutztown and a M.Ed. from Lock Haven University, she incorporated her love of reading and books with being a middle school teacher. Amy’s biggest joy was to put the perfect book in the hands of a teen and change their minds about reading. Amy turned this love into a career by reading romance slush for a publishing company, then interned for various literary agencies, until she became an associate literary agent in 2020. In her spare time, you can find Amy either listening to, reading, or talking about books. She also loves binge-watching teen and reality TV shows—all while snuggling with one or more of her three rescue dogs.

Some of Amy’s favorite books: It by Stephen King; The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; Looking for Alaska by John Green; Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; The Grace Year by Kim Liggett; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab. Her favorite TV shows are Buffy, The Boys, Schitt’s Creek, Stranger Things, and anything remotely likeMarried at First Sight.

Amy will be teaching “The Agent Phone Call” and participate in Friday evening’s “First Page Read – Love It or Leave It.” She is also on the Query Letter/First Page Critique team.

Wishlist

In all fiction, I am a sucker for dysfunctional families, messy and unlikeable characters, unreliable narrators, diverse casts, undercurrents of social commentary, and twists I couldn’t possibly see coming. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I love stories that are joyful and tender-hearted—it’s hard to make me laugh or cry, but if you have a story that will do either or both…I’d love to see it! I am especially passionate about stories with a feminist slant and about representing BIPOC and historically under-represented voices, so please send me your diverse #OwnVoice stories.

I am closed to ALL picture books and middle-grade.

Non-Fiction: If you have a strong platform and love what you do, feel free to pitch me a concept. But I’m currently on the hunt for: Narrative non-fiction; Self-Help for Women and Teens; Popculture

Young Adult: Dystopian

Adult: Upmarket & Commercial Fiction; Horror; SFF – especially dystopian and grounded sci-fi; Fantasy – including, but not limited to romantasy; Baseball, skiing, farmer/cowboy/lumberjack, or meet-cutes at the dog rescue romances – all heat levels (closed to all other romances)

I am ESPECIALLY looking for: Werewolves and vampires – especially if written by BIPOC writers

Please do NOT send to me: Thrillers; Princes & princesses; Erotica; Zombies; Mafia; Pandemic/virus stories; Summer camp stories; Historical; Memoir/Biography; Military-based stories; Novellas, short story collections, screenplays; Previously self-published work; Stories that include: religious themes, suicide, rape, physical/mental abuse, sexual abuse

Take a look at bios and wishlists for our full Agent Faculty

Check out the Agent Fest Online schedule!

Register for Agent Fest Online 2024

Q&A with Amy

MWW: What led you to your current wishlist? Has it changed, ever?

AG: My wishlist is always evolving—although I do keep some things the same, genres I am seeking do change. This is usually due to what my clients are writing and something missing on my current list.

MWW: What kind of manuscript have you not seen much of recently (or at all) that you’d like to work with?

AG: I would LOVE to work with an adult werewolf or vampire story/series. I’ve been dying to find something especially written by a BIPOC author, but haven’t yet.

MWW: What should a person do to make an impression during a pitch session and what specifically should they do to impress you?

AG: Your writing is what makes an impression with me, so in the query I really look for communicating your story well. If your story includes something unique—setting, characters, trope in an interesting way—I will be really interested in reading more.

MWW: What’s the most exciting part about working with a new author on an accepted project?

AG: I am always excited to work with a new author! That feeling when you read a new manuscript and fall absolutely in love with it is just…well there’s nothing like it. I love to talk about new work and thoughts on editors with new clients. It is truly so much fun to get ready for submission and then finally send those email pitches out. I get that butterfly feeling every time!

Meet Amanda Byk, Amy Giuffrida’s Assistant for AF2024

Midwest Writers Workshop likes to include interns, mostly college students majoring in English, to coordinate and facilitate the agents’ pitch schedules. You’ll be hearing from them regarding your appointment time, and they’ll help you meet the agents in the Zoom room when it’s time for your pitch.

Amanda Byk is a Ball State graduate who studied Creative Writing and Social Media. She currently works as an SEO Content Specialist, writing articles and navigating the MWW social circle in her spare time. She loves learning about the literary world one agent at a time, surrounded by people who love writing as much as she does.

Finish an essay, a book, a paragraph? Have something published? Tell us about something exciting you’ve done with writing and/or publishing in the past year. Bonus points if you can tell us how MWW has made an impact on your writing.