Here’s the list of agents and presenters for the conference.

Naomi Davis
Naomi Davis
Agent
— Day 1: Panels —
Kids These Days: What’s happening in children's publishing?
– bio –

Naomi Davis is a literary agent at BookEnds Literary Agency. Naomi seeks dynamic, character-driven adult and young adult titles in fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. LGBTQ+ elements and diversity in all fiction are a particular plus. Naomi is particularly passionate about finding new fantasy and sci-fi settings with unique magical structures that surprise the reader and change the rules readers associate with those worlds.

Reiko Davis
Reiko Davis
Agent
— Day 2: Roundtables —
Middle Grade/Young Adult 2
– bio –

Before joining DeFiore in 2016, Reiko Davis was at Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency for four years. She grew up in Kansas City, received her BA in Comparative Literature and Art History from Brown University, and is a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course.

Reiko's interests are varied, but on the children’s side, Reiko is actively looking for middle grade projects that aren't afraid to tackle big questions or important emotional truths, and do so through remarkable storytelling, humor, and heart. Right now she's especially on the lookout for middle grade non-fiction in the areas of mental health, science, political activism, environmentalism, and narrative history. She has a real soft spot for middle grade novels that empower kids to make a difference in their communities.

Her titles include Running Wild by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, The Wild World Handbook by Andrea Debbink and the White House Clubhouse series by Sean O'Brien.


Samantha Fabien
Samantha Fabien
Agent
— Day 1: Panels —
Query Q&A
– bio –

Samantha Fabien is a literary agent at Root Literary Agency. After attending the Columbia Publishing Course in 2016, she went on to intern and work part-time at three agencies: Ayesha Pande Literary, Writers House, and Chalberg & Sussman. From there, Samantha fostered her love for sharing diverse, lasting, and inclusive stories with the world. Samantha also works with events and organizations like DVcon and The New York Writing Room among others.

George Jreije
George Jreije
Presenter
— Day 1: Panels —
This Way Out: How do you get to a great ending?
– bio –

George Jreije is the Lebanese-American author of the Shad Hadid children's fantasy series as well as the upcoming graphic novel, Tarik’s Bazaar Adventure, both with HarperCollins. He has also written short stories published in collaboration with UNICEF. When not wrangling words, George enjoys scouring the world for tasty food, messing with new yoga poses, and meeting other readers and writers.

Alexandra Levick
Alexandra Levick
Agent
— Day 2: Roundtables —
Middle Grade/Young Adult 2
– bio –

Alexandra Levick is a junior agent at Writers House where she is developing her picture book, middle grade, young adult, and adult lists. She represents a diverse list of creators whose style ranges from literary to commercial, and just about every space in between. Above all else, she seeks a captivating voice and a strong thematic point behind any work she represents.  

Bibi Lewis
Bibi Lewis
Agent
— Day 2: Roundtables —
Middle Grade/Young Adult 1
– bio –
James McGowan
James McGowan
Agent
— Day 1: Panels —
Query Q&A
– bio –

James McGowan is a literary agent and author of the picture book Good Night, Oppy! He began at BookEnds as an intern and has worked in all departments at the agency, now a full-time literary agent. He represents illustrated projects for young readers (board books, picture books, chapter books, and middle grade) as well as adult nonfiction and upmarket, mystery and suspense novels. To learn more about James, his wishlist, or upcoming client books please visit the BookEnds website or his personal website. To send a query, please use QueryManager. And to find a growing archive of thoughts no one asked for, follow James on Twitter and Instagram.


Ammi-Joan Paquette
Ammi-Joan Paquette
Agent
— Day 2: Roundtables —
Picture Book 2
– bio –

Ammi-Joan Paquette is a Senior Literary Agent with Erin Murphy Literary Agency, where she represents a list of New York Times Bestselling and award-winning authors and illustrators.

Sera Rivers
Sera Rivers
Agent
— Day 2: Roundtables —
Picture Book 2
– bio –

Sera Rivers is a Literary Agent at Speilburg Literary, an AALA member, and a writer. She holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University. Prior to agenting, Sera worked as an editor in educational publishing for seven years. Sera lives in Western Massachusetts with her partner and their puppy Jett. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found running all over New England training for her next marathon. 


Lev AC Rosen
Lev AC Rosen
Presenter
— Day 1: Panels —
This Way Out: How do you get to a great ending?
– bio –

Lev Rosen writes books for people of all ages, including the Evander Mills series, which began with the Macavity Award winning Lavender House (Anthony finalist, Lambda finalist, Best Book of the Year from Buzzfeed, Library Journal, Amazon, Bookpage, and others) and continued with The Bell in the Fog, (Publisher’s Weekly Editor’s Choice, Best Book of the year from Amazon, CrimeReads and Autostraddle). His most recent YA novels are Emmett (Best Book of the year from Kirkus and Amazon), Lion’s Legacy (Best Book of the year from Booklist and the New York Public Library) and Camp (Best Book of the year from Forbes, Elle, and The Today Show and others). The third Evander Mills mystery, Rough Pages, will be out in fall 2024. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat.