About the Mentors

		Alexandra Alessandri is a children’s author, poet, English professor, and PitchWars mentor. She’s a mountain girl living in South Florida with her husband, son, and hairless pup. She graduated from Florida International University and UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and went on to craft stories and poems heavily influenced by her Colombian heritage. She blogs too little, tweets too much, believes in magic, is obsessed with coffee, and wishes she could travel the world. Alexandra is represented by Deborah Warren of East West Literary.
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		Jeanmarie Anaya is a YA Contemporary writer represented by Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She’s a University of Michigan grad (Go Blue!) who somehow missed receiving her Hogwarts letter and has never gotten over the disappointment. You can find her on a beach in NYC, with a book in hand, wishing she could surf as well as her daughters.
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		Veronica Bartles is the author of TWELVE STEPS and the upcoming picture book, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROGS (coming November 15, 2016 from Balzer & Bray / Harper Collins). Veronica is a member of the OneFourKidLit group and has been a mentor in Pitch Wars (both for MG and YA) since 2013. When not writing, she's a cook, a recycle-knitter, and a graphic designer. She's also an incurable optimist who loves gray, drizzly days, because that's when rainbows come to visit.
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		Juliana L. Brandt writes fiction, focusing on Middle Grade Fantasy. Diana Wynne Jones is her muse. She lives in the middle Appalachia, and when she's not writing (or obsessively reading), she can be found in the mountains hiking, white water rafting, and rock climbing. She mentored Middle Grade fiction in 2014 & 2015 Pitch Wars and can't express how rewarding of an experience the mentoring process can be.
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		Katie Bucklein started writing at the age of twelve, when a girl challenged her to a dare: who could finish writing a novel first? Spoiler: Katie won, and has since written contemporary, historical fiction, and dystopian, but found fantasy to be her true love. Now a student of history at Idaho State University, she spends her days researching stories of past civilizations and people, with an intention to one day be a real life Abigail Chase, and her nights holed up in her writing cave, fueled by music and insomnia. Katie is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong Literary.
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		Julie C. Dao is a native New Englander who once studied to become a doctor – until she realized the only surgery she should be doing is revising her manuscripts. Though she is anything but a musical prodigy, she likes to write about them and relive her days as an orchestra geek. When she’s not working on her books, she enjoys reading, going for long runs, and beating everyone at Pictionary. She is represented by Tamar Rydzinski of the Laura Dail Literary Agency.
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		Helene Dunbar is the author of THESE GENTLE WOUNDS (Flux, 2014) and WHAT REMAINS (Flux, 2015) and BOOMERANG (coming from Sky Pony in Fall 2017). Over the years, she's worked as a drama critic, journalist, and marketing manager, and has written on topics as diverse as Irish music, court cases, theater, and Native American Indian tribes. She lives in Nashville with her husband and daughter, and exists on a steady diet of readers' tears.
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		Kate Foster is an MG Pitch Wars mentor, freelance editor and children's writer from the Gold Coast in Australia. Her first middle grade novel, Winell Road: Beneath the Surface, was published with Jet Black Publishing in 2015, and the second in the series is due out in 2016. As well as working for several small presses, Kate works for Ink Pantry Publishing, part of the Open University in the UK, and is the editorial director for new Australian boutique publishing house Lakewater Press.
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		Susan Gray Foster writes YA novels and strives to make a little magic with words. She lives with her ever-patient Aussie husband in Arizona’s beautiful Sonoran desert, where she also enjoys drinking tea, songwriting, reading, and hanging out with her dogs. She believes in empathy, creativity, and compassion for all living creatures. She’s her kids’ number one fan. Susan is represented by Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates.
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		K.T. Hanna writes and reads all types of speculative fiction, loves nail-biting thrillers, and curling up with a good paranormal novel. In 2012 she participated in the inaugural #PitchMadness, and has been slush diving with glee for every #PitchMadness since. This love of finding hidden slush gems as well as a turn as a #PitchWars mentor led her to seek to refine her skills further. She was also a New York City Agency intern, ecstatically devouring manuscripts and filling in reader reports. Originally from Australia, where she studied law, business, and psychology, K.T. now lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, corgi and cat. She’s lived on three continents and is bilingual in German. After seven years as a Human Resources Manager, she’s turned her critical eye and organizational skills to become one half of Chimera Editorial Services. Note: She is still searching for her Tardis.
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		Michelle Hauck lives in the bustling metropolis of northern Indiana with her hubby and two teenagers. Besides working with special needs children by day, she writes all sorts of fantasy, giving her imagination free range. She is a co-host of the yearly query contests Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query Street, New Agent, PitchSlam, and Sun versus Snow. Her Birth of Saints trilogy from Harper Voyager starts with GRUDGING on November 17, 2015. Her epic fantasy, KINDAR’S CURE, was published by Divertir Publishing.
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		Jennifer Hawkins is a Young Adult author, with short works published in the Decameron Journal. She's a wife, mother and part-time combat medic to two rowdy boys and a Great Dane. When she isn't reading or writing stories sprinkled with magic, you can find her sipping sweet tea and daydreaming about football season. She is represented by Amy Rosenbaum of Nancy Yost Literary.
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		Sharon Johnston is a writer of weird fiction and soulful contemporaries from sunny Queensland. Her New Adult sci-fi romance novel DIVIDED is out now with City Owl Press. By day she’s a PR senior specialist focusing on branding and sponsorship (she gets to buy stuff and give money away!) As well as writing in her spare time, she helps organise Sugar City Con, the premier regional pop culture convention in Australia. She’s also a YA editor for Lakewater Press and runs the charity publisher Elderflower Press. She loves her family and fur babies. The Shattered: An Open Heart Novel Book 2, will be out in Summer/Spring 2016.
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		Samantha Joyce has wanted to be an author since she picked up her first book and realized authors get to create new worlds with just a pen and paper (or laptop, if you will). She loves to write about romance because, as someone who married her high school sweetheart, she absolutely believes in true love. She also loves making people laugh and feels love and laughter go hand in hand. If she can make someone both swoon and giggle with her words, she considers that a success. When not writing or at her day job, Samantha can be found either singing and dancing on stage in local musicals, or at home watching geeky television shows with her husband and their pet rabbit. Her debut, FLIRTING WITH FAME will be published by Pocket Star/Simon & Schuster on February 29, 2016.
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		Lynnette Labelle is a freelance editor with over fifteen years of experience. She’s the owner of Labelle’s Writing on the Wall, an editing and coaching service for writers. Lynnette’s clients range from new writers to New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors like Roni Loren, Rebecca Hamilton, and Cristin Harber. Lynnette works with writers seeking traditional publishing and indie authors. In her spare time, Lynnette is a romantic suspense author who injects a dark edge into romance. She finaled in the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest, and she won first place in the 2015 Molly Contest (romantic suspense category) offered through the Heart of Denver Romance Writers. She won first place in the romantic suspense category of the 2014 Winter Rose Contest offered through the Yellow Rose RWA chapter.
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		Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather disobedient black lab.  She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life.  She writes Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. Her YA Contemporary novel, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, was named one of the best YA novels for summer by Teen Vogue and received starred reviews from VOYA Magazine and School Library Journal (audio).
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		Molly Lee is a writer, editor, and mentor, best known from Pitch Wars which connects promising writers to established authors in the community. She writes YA and NA contemporary and urban fantasy. Molly is a military spouse with two children and one English Bulldog. She enjoys watching storms from the back porch of their Midwest home or digging for treasures at local antique shops and adores anything Star Wars or Harry Potter related.
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		Kim Long is an attorney in the Chicagoland area, where she spends her days expressing her clients’ (always true) stories to judges and juries. She writes MG and YA contemporary fantasy that contain a sprinkle of science and is represented by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger. When not managing her fantasy baseball and football teams, she can be found biking, watching Star Wars for the zillionth time, or teaching her nieces about the importance of choosing the correct racer (Toad) and vehicle (standard bike) to obtain success in Mario Kart. She has also served as a judge/mentor in Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query Street, and Pitch Wars.
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		Tamara Mataya is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a librarian, and a musician with synesthesia. Armed with a name tag and a thin veneer of credibility, she takes great delight in recommending books and shushing people. She puts the 'she' in TWSS and the B in LGBTQIA+. As a freelance editor, she has worked with NYT Bestsellers.
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		Marty Mayberry writes anything from ya sci-fi and contemporary, to adult historical fantasy. When she's not dreaming up ways to mess with her character's lives, she works as an RN/Clinical Documentation Specialist. She has a BA in International Affairs in German and an Associate's Degree in Nursing. She lives in New England with her husband and children, as well as three neurotic cats and a geriatric chocolate lab. She's a member of SCBWI, YARWA, and a PRO member of RWA.Her young adult sci-fi thriller, PHOENIX RISING, recently won the YARWA's Rosemary Award for speculative fiction.She's represented by Jessica Watterson of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency
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		Fiona McLaren is a displaced Scot living in the sunny island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. She is represented for her fiction by Tom Witcomb of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency and is the lead scriptwriter for a movie-length animation due out sometime in the next 12-18 months. Plagued by wanderlust, she has traveled to over 30 countries and applies the same attitude to her writing, having freelanced everything from DVD narration scripts, articles and private ghost writing to copy writing, content and blogging. There are three important things in her life which she couldn't do without: 1) her boys, 2) her family and 3) her partner. Other than that, she'll fight you for the last can of Coke in a room.
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		Kara Leigh Miller combines her knowledge and prior editing experience with a passion for the written word and a love for all things romance. Represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency, Kara is a multi-genre published author, and an avid reader with eclectic tastes that range from the tame to the taboo. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband, three kids, three pit bulls, and two cats. When she's not busy writing romance novels that leave readers swooning, she's spending time with her family.
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		Natasha Raulerson grew up as a tomboy hanging with the guys, getting skinned knees, and swimming in the South Florida sun. Though she’s more inclined to wear dresses now, she still prefers a good pair of chucks and comfy pair of jeans. Tattoos, Jack Daniels, and hanging at the pool are three of her favorite things. An author of adult romantic suspense, she’s represented by the amazing Laura Bradford of The Bradford Literary Agency.  By day she writes about the characters driving her imagination wild. By night she enjoys a good book, hanging with her hubs, and getting snuggle attacks from her two spoiled pups.
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		Nikki Roberti is a professional journalist and marketer with more than a decade of published writing experience. She is also a young adult author represented by Suzie Townsend of the New Leaf Literary Agency. Before writing novels, she was a seven-time award winning playwright with her short pieces performed around the country, including The Kennedy Center in D.C. Check
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		Stephanie Scott writes Young Adult stories about teens who put their passions first. She’s an active member of Romance Writers of America and its online YA chapter YARWA, and a current writing mentor in online pitch contests. She enjoys dance fitness and cat memes, and Pinterest is driving her broke. Born and raised in Kalamazoo where there are no zoos, she’s a Midwest girl at heart. She now lives outside of Chicago with her tech-of-all-trades husband. You can find her chatting about TV and all things books on twitter and Instagram at @StephScottYA. Her debut ALTERATIONS about a fashion-obsessed loner who reinvents herself is set for 2016 release by Bloomsbury Spark.
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		Kelly Siskind is the author of CHASING CRAZY and the soon to-be-released Over the Top series, all published through Grand Central’s Forever Yours. A small-town girl at heart, she moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head. She laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings—gummy Bears heal all. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning.
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		After graduating with honors, (that’s what she tells her parents anyway), Rebecca Sky set out on a five-year, 24 Country, exploration to find herself. From sleeping in a hammock in the Amazon Jungle, to skinny dipping in the Atlantic off the West African Coast, eating Balut while holding a monkey in the Philippines, (that’s a long story), and falling in love in Cuba, (then again in Brazil, and a final time in Canada). She returned home to the West Coast captivated by the world, and with even less of a clue of what to do with her life. So Rebecca did what every wanderer does when they’re standing still—she began writing. Her work has since garnered over 20 million reads on Wattpad, and she’s had the opportunity to partner with some really great brands. Rebecca is represented by Foundry Literary and Media.
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		Rachel Lynn Solomon is a contemporary YA writer, educator, and tap dancer living in Seattle. She loves working with fellow writers to make their books stronger, and Pitch Wars is her favorite contest. Fun fact: she is a Guinness World Record holder.
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		Hayley Stone is a science fiction and fantasy author. She has lived her entire life in sunny California, where the weather is usually perfect and nothing as exciting as a robot apocalypse ever happens. When not reading or writing, she freelances as an editor and graphic designer, falls in love with video game characters, and analyzes buildings for velociraptor entry points. MACHINATIONS is her debut novel, releasing July 26th from Hydra/Random House.
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		Kes Trester has been in the entertainment business her entire life.  Determined to combine her love of reading and writing with the excitement of Hollywood, she became a film development executive.  She worked on a variety of independent films, from gritty dramas to hot vampire love stories (long before Twilight!) to teens-in-peril genre movies. As a producer, Kes’s credits include the feature film True Rights and the short film Up Above the World So High, both award-winners on the festival circuit.  As head of production for ZOO Films, she supervised the budgeting and production of national television commercials and award-winning music videos for artists such as Radiohead, Coldplay, and OKGO. When the reading material of her two young adults inspired her to write YA novels, it was only natural that she was drawn to high-concept, cinematic tales.
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		Jessica Vitalis worked for a private investigator, owned a modeling and talent agency, dabbled in television production and obtained her MBA at Columbia Business School before finding her passion: reading and writing middle grade fiction. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, Jessica enjoys eating chocolate, volunteering with the literary community, and trying to keep up with her two precocious daughters. Jessica is represented by Saba Sulaimain at Talcott Notch. Her debut novel, NOTHING LIKE LENNON, is currently out on submission.
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		Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with her first love: writing. Her novels are available now through Berkley and St. Martin's Press.
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		Jenni L. Walsh is an author of YA and Adult fiction who has spent the past decade enticing readers as an award-winning advertising copywriter. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. Her debut historical novel, Becoming Bonnie, telling the untold story of how Bonnelyn Parker becomes half of the infamous Bonnie & Clyde duo, will be released by Tor/Macmillan in Spring 2017. Jenni is a proud graduate of Villanova University, lives in the Philly ‘burbs with her husband, two kiddos, and one Goldendoodle, and is represented by the fabulous Stacey Glick of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.
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		Kendra Young writes middle grade and young adult fiction, often set in the South and with a bit of the fantastical thrown in. She lives in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and family which includes a precocious Australian Shepherd and a bossy calico feline. By day, Kendra teaches eighth grade in an urban middle school where she shares her love of writing and dreaming "big dreams" with her students. She was a middle grade mentor in 2015 Pitch Wars and is already looking forward to 2016. Kendra is represented by Taylor Haggerty of the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.