Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2026: Full Schedule

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8:30am MDT

Read & Critique Session 1

Friday April 17, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am MDT

Fremont

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Faculty

Mary Robinette Kowal

Keynote

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost... Read More →

Agents & Editors

Anna Michels

Senior Editorial Director, Sourcebooks

Anna Michels has been at Sourcebooks for more than thirteen years and is Senior Editorial Director of Sourcebooks nonfiction and Poisoned Pen Press. Anna is looking for a wide variety of books under the nonfiction umbrella, including history, narrative and prescriptive nonfiction... Read More →

Bowen Gillings

Associate Agent, Savvy Literary

Bowen Gillings joined Savvy Literary in 2025 and has nearly a decade of experience as an author and champion of authors. Currently building his list, Bowen seeks to partner with writers who possess a sense of professionalism and a sense of humor. He loves books with a strong narrative... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am MDT
Fremont

Business of Writing

Moderator DJ Cochran, Torie Fox-Phillips

9:45am MDT

Read & Critique Session 2

Friday April 17, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am MDT

Fremont

Fantasy/SciFi

Faculty

Carol Berg

Carol Berg, former software engineer, never expected to write epic fantasy novels. Nor did she expect to win the Colorado Book Award four times or hear that her books had been read on the slopes of Denali, in the war zone of Iraq, or underneath the Mediterranean. She certainly never... Read More →

Agents & Editors

Elisa Saphier

Agent, MacGregor & Luedeke

Elisa Saphier is an agent with MacGregor & Luedeke where she is the exception, looking for nonreligious nonfiction and upmarket genre fiction (especially mystery/thriller and romance) to balance out her mostly literary list. She represents upper middle grade through adult (fiction... Read More →

Kelly Stone

Associate Editor, St. Martin’s Publishing Group

Kelly Stone is an associate editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. She joined St. Martin’s in 2021 after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Communication. Her list consists of action-packed thrillers, rom-com/mystery mash-ups, elevated cozy mysteries, and humor-filled... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am MDT
Fremont

Business of Writing

Moderator DJ Cochran, Torie Fox-Phillips

3:15pm MDT

Read & Critique Session 5

Friday April 17, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm MDT

Fremont

Children/MG/YA

Faculty

Kelley J. P. Lindberg

President, Blue Raven Services Inc.

Kelley J. P. Lindberg writes adult and YA fiction, but her writing history is littered with dozens of how-to books (including several bestsellers) and hundreds of articles. Her fiction and essays have appeared in literary magazines, in anthologies including PPW’s Journeys into... Read More →

Agents & Editors

Drue VanDuker

Assistant Editor, St. Martin's Press

Drue VanDuker is an assistant editor at St. Martin's Press, where she has worked since 2022 after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English and a minor in Rhetoric and Writing. At SMP, she has worked across a wide range of genres, including book club... Read More →

T.S. Ferguson

Azantian Literary Agency

Before joining Azantian Literary Agency, T.S. Ferguson worked for 16 years as an editor for some of the top children's and teen book publishers in the business, including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Harlequin Teen/Inkyard Press, and JIMMY Patterson Books. He has worked... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm MDT
Fremont

Business of Writing

Moderator Chris Mandeville, DJ Cochran

8:30am MDT

9:45am MDT

3:15pm MDT

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