Spring Fling gives attendees an opportunity to hear from agents and editors, as well as pitch your manuscript to them. Here are the industry pros who’ve signed on for 2024. Some will take pitches virtually (online) only; others will hear pitches both virtually and in person.
Melissa Edwards
Virtual and in-person pitches
Melissa Edwards joined Stonesong as a literary agent in August 2016. Previously, she was a literary agent at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, where she managed the foreign rights for a forty-year backlist. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt Law School, Melissa began her career as a litigation attorney before transitioning into publishing. She is a tireless advocate for her clients and a constant partner during the publication process and beyond. Melissa also acts as a contract consultant for authors and agents under the business MLE Consulting.
Melissa is currently highly interested in developing her adult commercial fiction list, with a particular eye out for vibrant and fun young women’s fiction, mysteries and thrillers featuring characters from underrepresented backgrounds, and upmarket book club fiction.
Holly Ingraham
Virtual and in-person pitches
Senior Editor Holly Ingraham is an award-winning editor with fifteen years of industry experience. During her career, she has worked at BookEnds Literary, spent ten years as an in-house acquisitions editor for St. Martin’s Press, and launched Holly Ingraham Editorial in 2018. She joined Alcove Press and Crooked Lane Books in early 2022.
Holly is looking for upmarket women’s fiction, high-concept book club fiction with a commercial hook, domestic suspense and witty rom-coms. She is especially drawn to complex family dynamics, female friendships, motherhood, and moral dilemmas. Holly would love to receive projects perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Colleen Hoover, and Emily Henry.
Christina Lopez
Virtual and in-person pitches
Christina Lopez is an assistant editor at St. Martin’s Press, where she started as an intern in 2021. In her time at SMP, she has worked on a wide array of books in several genres and with several amazing authors including Katherine Center, Kristin Hannah, and Sally Hepworth. She is dreaming of acquiring a fun Texas book with a diverse cast and is passionate about giving a voice to writers of underrepresented backgrounds.
Christina graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in English and International Relations. Aside from reading, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Nova, rock climbing, and watching bad reality TV. Originally from the sunny border town of El Paso, she currently lives in Austin, Texas.
She is acquiring adult commercial fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance/rom-com, domestic suspense, some non-fiction focused on pop culture, and impactful stories that read like fiction. Manuscript wish list
Jenny Macey
Virtual (online) pitches only
Jenny Macey (she/her) is an Assistant Editor and acquires for four Harlequin series: Harlequin Historical, Harlequin Medical Romance, Harlequin Presents, and Harlequin Romance. Jenny is particularly interested in uplifting and emotionally intense medical romances (fresh takes and unique medical settings encouraged!), rom com inspired submissions for Harlequin Romance, diverse perspectives on popular historical eras (i.e. queer Regency and Victorian romances!), brand new time periods that haven’t yet been published in Harlequin Historical (think the 1950s, the Great Joseon and the Harlem Renaissance!), and stories for Harlequin Presents that take the drama and intensity to the max! She’s especially keen to see submissions by diverse voices, stories featuring characters that are underrepresented in the romance genre, and higher sensuality submissions, as appropriate for each of these series. You can find Jenny on Twitter: @JENNYMACEY227.
Eva Scalzo
Virtual and in-person pitches
Eva Scalzo has a B.A. in the Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico and a M.A. in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College. Since graduating, she has spent her career in scholarly publishing, working for Houghton Mifflin, Blackwell Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, and Cornell University in a variety of roles. She has been with Speilburg Literary since 2013 and started accepting clients in 2017. Eva is a member of the AALA (formerly AAR), RWA, and SCBWI.
In Adult Fiction, Eva represents Romance (all subgenres but inspirational) and Science Fiction/Fantasy. She also represents all subgenres of Young Adult Fiction and select Middle Grade.