Manuscript Mentors
Rebecca Cantrell
- Historical Fiction (specializing in historical mystery)
- Horror
- Thriller
Rebecca Cantrell is a New York Times bestselling thriller author who has won the Macavity, the Bruce Alexander, and International Thriller Writer's Best Ebook Original awards, and been nominated for the Barry, the RT Best Historical, the APPY, the Mary Higgins Clark, and the GoodReads Choice award. Her novels include the Order of Sanguines series [co-written with James Rollins], starting with THE BLOOD GOSPEL; the Hannah Vogel mystery series, starting with A TRACE OF SMOKE; and the Joe Tesla thrillers, starting with THE WORLD BENEATH.
Laura Chasen
- Women’s Fiction
- Memoir
Laura Chasen is a freelance book editor who recently relocated to Los Angeles from New York City. In New York she spent six years as an editor at St. Martin’s Press, where she worked on a range of wonderful books -- from literary fiction to young adult to upmarket women’s fiction, current affairs, memoir, science, and parenting. Her interests are varied, but she’s particularly drawn to immigrant stories, international and school settings, family sagas, and anything to do with the dance world. She’s edited many acclaimed books, including an Editor’s Buzz Panel pick at Book Expo of America, several New York Times Book Review “Editor’s Choice” books, and numerous “Best Books of the Year,” in outlets like the Miami Herald, Bustle, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Redbook among others.
Sara J. Henry
- Crime
- Health (Non-Fiction)
- Suspense
Sara J. Henry is the author of two award-winning suspense novels and co-author of books on health, sports, fitness, and nutrition. She has a masters degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa and has written for magazines, worked as an editor for magazines and newspapers, and taught a correspondence school writing course. She has edited more than sixty books, both fiction and nonfiction, on a variety of topics and in various genres. Her suspense novels LEARNING TO SWIM and A COLD AND LONELY PLACE have won the Anthony, Agatha, Mary Higgins Clark, and Silver Falchion awards, and were nominated for the Barry and Macavity awards.
Kris Neri
- Traditional Mystery
- Paranormal
- Humor (Fiction)
Kris Neri is the award-winning author of the Tracy Eaton mysteries, featuring the daughter of eccentric Hollywood stars, and the Samantha Brennan & Annabelle Haggerty paranormal mysteries, starring a questionable psychic who teams up with a modern goddess/FBI agent. Her novels have been finalists for the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity awards, to name a few. She has received three Lefty Award nominations for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. Kris has also had some sixty-plus short stories published in the US and overseas, her short fiction has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize and won two Derringer Awards.
Kris also teaches writing for the Writers’ Program of the UCLA Extension School and is a popular freelance editor.
Chantelle Aimée Osman
- All Fiction Genres
- Screenplays
Chantelle Aimée Osman is a freelance editor and consultant as well as the former editor in chief of RT Book Reviews magazine. An instructor at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, she is former lawyer and head of development for production companies in Hollywood, Chantelle is the author of the non-fiction series on writing THE QUICK AND DIRTY GUIDE TO… she has also published numerous flash fiction and short stories. Creator of the Anthony Award-nominated Sirens of Suspense website, she was Fan Guest of Honor at LCC 2016. She is currently editing an episodic anthology, SERIAL KILLER, for Polis Books to be released Summer, 2017.
Jean Rabe
- Young Adult
- Urban Fantasy
Jean Rabe is a USA Today bestselling author with more than 30 novels and nearly 100 short stories to her credit. She's published in the fantasy, science fiction, adventure, urban fantasy, and mystery genres; has edited several dozen anthologies; and edited more magazine issues than she cares to count. She lives in a tiny town in the middle of Illinois surrounded by farm fields and train tracks. The sky is huge, the yard is just the right size for her cadre of dogs, and the back porch is perfect for writing. She is a WWI buff, gamer, and a devotee of warm weather. Her urban fantasy POCKETS OF DARKNESS was recently nominated for an ITW award.
Alex Segura
- Comic Books
- Graphic Novels
Alex Segura is a novelist and comic book writer. He is the author of the Miami crime novel SILENT CITY, the first in a series featuring Pete Fernandez. SILENT CITY and its sequel, DOWN THE DARKEST STREET, are out this year via Polis Books. He has also written a number of comic books, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed ARCHIE MEETS KISS storyline, the “Occupy Riverdale” story and the upcoming ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES. He lives in New York with his wife. He is a Miami native.
Michael A. Stackpole
- Science Fiction
- Fantasy
- Media Tie-In
Michael A. Stackpole is the multiple New York Times bestselling author of over forty fantasy and science fiction novels, his best known books written in the Star Wars® universe, including I, JEDI and ROGUE SQUADRON, as well as the X-Wing graphic novel series. He has also written in the Conan, Pathfinder and World of Warcraft universes, among others. Currently the Virginia G. Piper Center Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, Stackpole’s other honors include: Induction into the Academy Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame, a Parsec Award for “Best Podcast Short Story,” and a Topps’s selection as Best Star Wars® Comic Book Writer. Stackpole is the first author to sell work in Apple’s App Store, and he’s been an advocate for authors taking advantage of the digital revolution.
Robert E. Vardeman
- Western
- High Tech (Fiction)
- Sports (Non-Fiction)
Robert E Vardeman has published 150 westerns and more than 100 science fiction, fantasy, mystery and high tech thrillers. He has worked as editor for My Family Magazine, the SFWA Forum, and still works on the editorial staff for four magazines, including the 2013 FSTA award-winning Fantasy Football ProForecast and the 2016 FSWA award-winning Fantasy Sports Diehards. Vardeman's awards nominations include five Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards nods, in addition to Scribe, Peacemaker and World Science Fiction Convention Hugo fan writer nominations.
He has taught at Longridge Writers Institute and has served as judge for the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and awards chairman for the Western Fictioneers. He holds a BS in physics and an MS in materials engineering, and worked at Sandia National Laboratories in solid state physics research before becoming a full-time writer.