2025 Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
“Having an opportunity to get feedback from someone who knows the industry is just amazing.”
We know how important seeing the right agent, editor, or publisher can be, and that’s why we give you ample opportunity to meet them at network dinners, lunches, social gatherings, and classroom sessions. We also work within the changing schedules of agents, editors, and publishers. We have made every effort to give everyone their specific choices of Agent / Editor / Publisher Critiques, but have sometimes had to make changes in time slots or agents, editors, or publishers to accommodate logistics. Should you have a problem with any pairing, please contact us at contact@killernashville.com and we will make every effort to move you to a new time slot if space is available. Our goal is for you to reach your goals.
Killer Nashville offers manuscript critiques to its registered attendees for the low additional charge of $89 per critique.
A manuscript critique offers a specialized one-on-one meeting with a professional writer or literary agent who will read a section of your manuscript and then offer you a face-to-face analysis of what works and what does not in your submission. It is a unique opportunity and one of the features that makes The Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference such an indispensable tool for writers. If you want to see how your work appeals to the professionals, choose an agent or editor. If you prefer a more detailed craft analysis, you may prefer to choose an author for your critique.
TYPES OF CRITIQUES AVAILABLE
Fiction Critique: A published author or agent will read and critique the first ten pages (or to the end of the chapter) of your novel. All manuscripts should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman or other “reasonable” font.
Non-Fiction Critique: An publisher or agent will read and critique the first ten pages (or to the end of the chapter) of your non-fiction book or article. Your manuscript should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman or other “reasonable” font.
Short Story Critique: A published author or agent will read and critique your short story (up to ten pages). All manuscripts should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman or other “reasonable” font.
Query Critique: An agent, published author, or the leader of a query-writing workshop will read and critique your query letter. The query letter should be no more than one page long, in standard query format and in 12-point Times New Roman or other “reasonable font.”
“Thank you so much for the helpful feedback on my work in progress. I appreciate the review, as well as the source recommendations.”
Alicia Brooks / Literary Agent
Alicia Brooks began her publishing career over twenty five years ago as an editorial assistant at Penguin USA (Dutton/Plume). She advanced to an assistant editor position at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday where she worked with groundbreaking authors, including Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Ian McEwan. She then became an editor at Picador/St. Martin's Press where she edited over 40 hardcover titles and several trade paper original titles, including Good Morning America Book Club Pick Noelle Howey's Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine, Nega Mezlekia's award-winning Notes from the Hyena's Belly, and Jaclyn Moriarty’s FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, an ALA Best Book of the Year and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
She became a literary agent at The Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 2019. Her client list included categories such as Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse backgrounds, Self-Help, Pop Culture, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club Fiction, YA Fiction, Horror, and Historical Fiction.She represented Boyah J. Farah, author of the earth-shattering memoir AMERICA MADE ME A BLACK MAN (Harper/Nominated for the NAACP Image Award and NPR Best Book of the Year), Kathleen S. Allen, author of the YA Gothic Horror novel THE RESURRECTIONIST (Roaring Brook) Jennifer Sherman Roberts' THE VILLAGE HEALER'S BOOK OF CURES: A Novel (Lake Union/Named an Editors' Choice by the Historical Novel Society and Named a First Reads Editors' Pick by Amazon) and Sofia Romero, author of the linked story collection WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WHO WE ARE (Blackstone/Shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction).
Her wishlist for Martin Literary Management includes the following:
• Narrative Nonfiction from writers with diverse voices
• Memoir with big concepts
• Self-Help
• Pop Culture
• Social Justice
• Literary Fiction
• Book Club Fiction
• Jewish Fiction and Nonfiction
• Historical Fiction
• Horror
• Romance
• YA Fiction and Nonfiction
• Thrillers
Alicia graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and Philosophy. She has a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in the Teaching of English Grades 7-12. She was raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Manhattan with her writer husband Michael Londra and their cat Tut Baby.
Miranda Darrow / Editor
Miranda Darrow is a freelance fiction editor and #RevPit online revision contest board member and contributing editor. She's a frequent presenter at writing groups, conferences, and online writing events. Miranda’s Concise Fiction Academy series of writing craft books and courses combines her experience as a freelance editor and a corporate attorney into an executive summary of complex writing topics with an overview, key recommendations, and sources for more information, all with a dash of humor. Miranda is doing a slow tour of the upper Midwest: she grew up in Wisconsin in a county with six times as many cows as people, attended college in Iowa surrounded by tall corn, and now lives in the great north woods of Minnesota with her husband, teen sons, and a bossy little dog. See www.mirandadarrow.com for more information.
John DeDakis / Editor
Writing Coach, Manuscript Editor, and Award-winning Novelist John DeDakis is a former Senior Copy Editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of six novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. In his most recent novel, Enemies Domestic, Lark is a pregnant White House press secretary forced to make an abort-or-not-to-abort decision in a highly toxic public fishbowl while dealing with an attack on the presidency. DeDakis, a former White House correspondent, regularly teaches novel writing at literary centers and writers’ conferences. He is also a podcaster and a rank amateur jazz drummer. www.johndedakis.com
Tara Gelsomino / Literary Agent
Tara Gelsomino is the founder and CEO of One Track Literary Agency, a boutique editorial agency launched in April 2018. A twenty-plus year veteran of the publishing industry, she was formerly the Executive Editor of Simon & Schuster’s digital imprint, Crimson Romance, and also worked for BBC Audiobooks America/AudioGO and Romantic Times Magazine. She primarily represents genre fiction, including mystery/thriller, romance, and women’s fiction, as well as the occasional non-fiction title and licenses audio rights on behalf of small publishers and agencies. Tara is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents, and serves on the media and digital innovations committee. She is a Rhode Island native and lives in Johnston with her husband and her rescue dog, Yoda.
Ronald Gerber / Literary Agent
Ronald Gerber has been a literary agent at Lowenstein Associates since 2019. Recent titles from his clients include THE PERFECT HOME by Daniel Kenitz (Scribner, 2025), OLIVE BLACKWOOD TAKES ACTION! by Sonja Thomas (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2024) and FIRST TO THE FRONT by Lorissa Rinehart (St. Martin’s Press, 2023). Ronald is always on the lookout for cinematic stories with strong hooks and relatable characters. He lives in Queens, New York.
Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong / Literary Agent
Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong is a literary agent with Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. A prolific reader of many genres, Cathie represents Romance in all categories; Commercial, Book Club, and Women’s Fiction; Domestic and Psychological Suspense; “light” Horror; and Mystery. Cathie looks for manuscripts that catch her attention within the first few pages. If you can evoke an emotional response in the opening pages—make her laugh out loud, cause her pulse to race, make her cry, make her curious—you’ve got a winner. Cathie is never interested in Science Fiction or High Fantasy in any genre; however, “accessible” fantasy with paranormal or supernatural elements, and without excessive world building or difficult magic systems, are often a good fit. At this time, Cathie is only accepting adult fiction, and welcomes authors from all backgrounds and experiences.
Dean Krystek / Agent: WordLink Incorporated
After retiring from a long military career, Dean put away his uniform and decided to follow his passion for books. He is an alumnus of the University of Maryland and the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in English. He’s a published novelist and short story writer. He currently resides in Pennsylvania with his wife Lynda. Dean is looking for authors with distinctive voices whose narratives invoke a strong sense of time and place and whose stories create a memorable reading experience. He’d like to see paranormal; crime (police procedural); mysteries (whodunit, cozy); sci-fi (space opera, dystopian, alternate history, time travel); psychological suspense; thrillers (looking for small town America setting vs international in scale); military fiction (character-driven pieces; favoring post-WWII. **Vietnam**). In YA and middle-grade fiction he would like to see mysteries, paranormal, sci-fi, coming of age, and suspense with writing that stirs the imagination and caters to the young reader’s sense of wonder and adventure. Dean is also looking for film & television projects to develop in his areas of interest either as original works or adaptations of an author’s work (published or unpublished).
Amber Meyer / Editor
Amber Meyer is a Story Grid Certified Editor with a passion for murder mysteries. If you long to commit fictional murder, then Amber may be your ideal partner in crime. Amber currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three crazy kids and four fur-babies. She dreams of living on a beach in Hawaii and becoming the next Agatha Christie.
Katie Monson / Literary Agent
Katie Monson has been self-employed, watching children in her home for the last 12 years, and has enjoyed the privilege of being home to raise her children. She recently made the decision to massively change up her life and find a different path to take while still being able to home with her kids, leading her to SBR Media. Katie has always had a passion for reading ever since she was a little girl. Over the years she developed a strong interest in reading indie romance books, which naturally led to blogging, beta reading and editing small manuscripts for authors. She is self-motivated, organized and ready to represent clients and help lead them to success.
When Katie isn’t reading, sitting by the pool, or complaining about the cold Rochester winters, she can be found traveling to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and spending time with her husband and four children in Rochester, NY.
James Mustelier / Literary Agent
I’m looking for a range of commercial and literary fiction and non-fiction. Across genres I prize economical prose, complex characters, steadily building tension, narrative gravity, and the momentary relief of dark humor, even amid dire circumstances.
In commercial fiction I’m looking for compact horror and mysteries with unique hooks and intricate plotting. In sci-fi and fantasy I’m drawn to stories that are grounded in reality and have high stakes that touch on contemporary issues — much more speculative fiction and alternate histories than space opera or high fantasy.
In nonfiction I’m looking for books that give me a vivid look into subcultures and events I might not otherwise have had the chance to explore. Much of my favorite nonfiction melds a distinct narrative voice with rigorous research.
Jaden Terrell / Editor
Jaden Terrell is a Shamus Award finalist and the internationally published author of the Nashville-based Jared McKean private detective series. Terrell’s short stories, which range from cozy to noir, have appeared in several anthologies, and she’s a contributor to ITW’s The Big Thrill online magazine and Now Write! Mysteries, a collection of how-to essays for writers of crime fiction. Terrell is the recipient of the Killer Nashville Builder Award and two awards for service to the Southeast Mystery Writers of America. She offers workshops, coaching, and courses for writers.
Website: https://www.jadenterrell.com
Helen Thornton-Gussy
Helen Thornton-Gussy has been editor and owner of Edit Co. for the past eight years, providing editing services such as developmental (structural) editing, line editing, copy editing and proofreading. She works in both US and UK English and loves a good Oxford comma.
With many strings to her bow, Helen decided to give up the corporate world to focus full time on her editing business. With the knowledge she has gained over the years, Helen has now added publisher to her resume, with several books (fiction and non-fiction) published through her Southlight Press publishing company.
In adult commercial fiction, the genre’s she edits are crime, thriller, mystery, epic fantasy/fantasy, and women’s fiction. She loves a good thriller or epic fantasy and considers herself fortunate to have been able to work with Grim Oak Press (based in Washington State) who produce limited edition copies for fantasy authors such as Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks, Raymond E. Feist and many more.
Born and bred in New Zealand, Helen, as is typical of most Kiwi’s, has travelled the world, learning as much about different cultures as she can. Every visit to the United States ends with a standing invitation to those she meets, to come and visit her beautiful country.
Learn more about Helen, and the services she offers here (https://www.editco.nz/) or on Instagram
@edit_co._ or Threads https://www.threads.net/@edit_co._/
“I have always received the most insightful critiques through Killer Nashville! They are a huge help in revising my works-in-progress.”
