The Prose Pros

Tali Shammas and Lauren Khan

The Prose Pros is a podcast where publishing insiders get real. We confess creative missteps, celebrate our triumphs, and spill trade secrets. Whether you’re a writer, editor, or book lover, join us as we explore the art, the craft, and the chaos of storytelling. talishammas.substack.com

  1. 3d ago

    The Ultimate Querying Guide with Alyssa Matesic and Patrick McDonald

    Preorder THE MODERN GUIDE TO QUERYING LITERARY AGENTS here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Modern-Guide-to-Querying-Literary-Agents/Alyssa-Matesic/9781637749005 Alyssa Matesic is an independent developmental book editor and publishing consultant specializing in adult fiction. After holding editorial roles at Henry Holt & Company (an imprint of Macmillan), The Book Group literary agency, and Ballantine Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House), she founded her own editorial services company, which helps hundreds of authors per year strengthen their manuscripts for publication. She shares writing and publishing insights to help aspiring authors on her popular YouTube channel (@AlyssaMatesic) and newsletter (Chapter Break). Patrick McDonald is the creator of QueryTracker and QueryManager, which are the industry-leading online querying tools. He has been bringing agents and authors together since 2007. This gives him a unique perspective since he has worked extensively with both groups and understands the needs and expectations on each side of the query trenches. Patrick started as an aspiring fiction writer when he found the query process lacking proper tools. At the time, he was working as a software engineer and decided to take his two passions, programming and writing, and combine them to create QueryTracker. When it became an instant success, no one was surprised more than Patrick. He lives in Billings, Montana surrounded by his three adult children and five spoiled grandkids.

  2. Jun 2

    How to Land a Literary Agent with Danya Kukafka of Trellis Literary Management

    Danya Kukafka is the author of the bestselling novels Notes on an Execution and Girl in Snow. She works as a literary agent, and is actively building her client list at Trellis Literary Management. Danya began her career as a student at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she created a major titled “The Art of the Novel.” After internships at various literary agencies, she followed that passion to Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, where she was privileged to work as an assistant editor for writers like Meg Wolitzer, Paula Hawkins, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett, Emma Straub, Gabriel Tallent, Helen Oyeyemi, Maile Meloy, Sigrid Nunez, and many more. Danya’s most recent novel, Notes on an Execution, won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Novel and was chosen as the New York Times Best Overall Crime Novel of the Year.  Her debut, Girl in Snow, was released in 2017—it was alsoa national bestseller, an IndieNext Pick, a B&N Discover pick, and received favorable reviews from The New York Times (Editor’s Choice) and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Her fiction has been translated into over a dozen languages worldwide, and Notes on an Execution is currently in development as a feature film. Danya is interested in representing literary fiction with particularly propulsive storylines. She is seeking literary suspense, sophisticated thrillers, book club fiction, speculative fiction, and experimental fiction. She also loves true crime that feels attuned to today's cultural conversations, and upmarket fiction you can read in one gulp. Her dream authors include: Megan Abbott, Angie Kim, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Rene Denfeld, Julia Phillips, Celeste Ng, Akwaeke Emezi, Susan Choi, Alex Marzano-Lesnevish, Jia Tolentino, Karen Thompson Walker, and Gabrielle Zevin.

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About

The Prose Pros is a podcast where publishing insiders get real. We confess creative missteps, celebrate our triumphs, and spill trade secrets. Whether you’re a writer, editor, or book lover, join us as we explore the art, the craft, and the chaos of storytelling. talishammas.substack.com

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