Literary agent helps writers prepare query letters at Guild’s July 12 workshop

Inklings Literary Agent Whitley Abell

Literary agent Whitley Abell will help writers gear up for the Publish Your Dreams contest by explaining the dos and don’ts of writing query letters from 10 a.m. to noon, July 12, at the St. Louis Writers Guild (SLWG) workshop.

Whitley, who joined Inklings Literary Agency in 2013, will also talk about what agents look for in submissions. The workshop will be held at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Rd. in Kirkwood. Free to St. Louis Writers Guild members; $5 for nonmembers.

Jennifer Stolzer, SLWG secretary and contest coordinator, will join Whitley to explain the Guild’s submission guidelines for the members-only Publish Your Dreams contest. The winner will be announced Aug. 23 at SLWG’s free conference, Writers in the Park.

Prior to joining Inklings Literary Agency, Whitley completed successful internships with Carol Mann Agency and P.S. Literary Agency. She is based in St. Louis, Mo., where she daylights as a production manager for several medical and S & T journals. She graduated in 2011 BA in English and Creative Writing, and again in 2012 with a MAT in Secondary English Education, which basically means she can tell you anything there is to know about feminist literary theory and the Common Core Standards. Whitley is primarily interested in Young Adult, Middle Grade, and select Upmarket Women's fiction.

The winner of SLWG’s Publish Your Dreams contest and entries from other Missouri Writers’ Guild chapters will be submitted to Walrus Publishing Inc. for possible publication. If the SLWG manuscript is selected, it will be placed on their editorial schedule for publication between Winter 2015 and Summer 2016, said Walrus founder Lisa Miller. If not selected, Walrus will provide a one-page review of the manuscript with recommendations for editorial assistance.

Learn more about the St. Louis Writers Guild at www.stlwritersguild.org