Tricking Your Brain into Plotting for MG & YA

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper series for adults (Starting with Blood Ties) under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she’s not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.

Karly is an agent at Fuse Literary building KidLit universes with stories that matter. She first joined the agency in 2016 as a reader for Tricia Skinner and then promoted to Literary Assistant soon after. In 2019, she was promoted to associate agent. Karly has built a career with a strong background as a freelance editor as well as extensive experience with graphic design and marketing. She is looking to develop long-term career authors and nurture their entire writing journey as a strong editorial agent with marketing, social media, and design support. Karly is also the KidLit track coordinator for the San Francisco Writers Conference. Karly’s clients have won or been nominated for such awards as Kirkus Best Books of the Year, NCTE Notable Books List, SLJ Best Book of the Year, and Kirkus Prize Finalist.

Matt Phipps is an Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, acquiring picture books, middle grade, and YA, including graphic novels for all ages. Titles he has edited include At the Cookout by Nadia Fisher, The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez by Jasminne Paulino, The Crayon Stub by Marcus Cutler, Majestica by Sarah Tolcser, and Trapped in the Horror Dome by Matt McMann. Prior to joining Putnam in 2020, he spent several years on Penguin’s School and Library Marketing team. He was an Editor Mentor with The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary and volunteered with the Representation Matters Mentorship Program, in addition to serving on the board of the Penguin Random House LGBTQ+ Network and the Children’s Book Council Early Career Committee. He has also worked as a bookseller, a Spanish-English translator, and a college writing instructor.

Kelsey Murphy is a Senior Editor at Viking Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. She joined Penguin Random House in 2018, and before that spent about 5 years working at Balzer + Bray, HarperCollins. She graduated from New York University with a degree in dramatic literature, film studies, and theater history, and a minor in creative writing. Kelsey edits picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as select graphic novels.