Conference Add-Ons

Mariah Ankenman, the bestselling author with a flair for creating vibrant and engaging content, will guide you through the maze of social media do’s and don’ts.

Z.S. Diamanti, the mastermind behind the award-winning Stone & Sky series, will share his secret sauce for crafting content that sticks.

As an active member of the Denver literary community, Angie Hodapp has served as a board member for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and she regularly teaches highly regarded writing and publishing workshops, including at Denver’s prestigious Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She is the author of two nonfiction books for writers: Do You Need a Literary Agent? and Query Craft. She began her career at NLA in 2011, where she has worked as a reader, contracts manager, and royalties auditor. Currently, she devotes most of her time to literary development. In partnership with the agents, she edits client material, prepping and polishing manuscripts before they go out on submission. She also works one-on-one with clients to develop new story ideas and directions, and she screens manuscripts requested by the agent team. When not working, she writes a little fiction of her own (mostly of the dark variety), teaches and practices Pilates (she’s a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher with a specialization in exercise for people with neurological conditions), knits (she can’t stop buying yarn), waits on her cat (an adorable tabby named Pluma), and travels the world with her husband.

Mira Landry is an associate literary agent with Corvisiero literary agency, currently acquiring upmarket and literary YA and Adult fiction. After a decade building her own business as a photographer, she’s eager to help authors turn their art into a career. As a chair on the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ board of directors, she’s dedicated to building writing and literary communities through events and educational programming, and was co-chair for their Colorado Gold Conference. She has a Bachelors from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate of Creative Writing from Simon Fraser University. She also co-hosts a podcast called Writers Who Read, analyzing recently published books using Literary Forensics.

Nicole Luongo is an editor at Park Row Books. She joined the Park Row team in 2021, after working as an Editorial Assistant at Mango Publishing, an independent publisher based in Miami, Florida. Prior to this, she interned at Foundry Literary & Media and Pegasus Books, and she has experience working as a bookseller. Originally from Madison, Connecticut, Nicole graduated with Distinction from McGill University, where she earned a Joint Honors B.A. in English Literature and International Development. Nicole is drawn to voice-driven, contemporary upmarket “book club” fiction featuring strong female protagonists, psychological thrillers that subvert the genre (i.e. unreliable female narrators, female perpetrators, etc.) select coming-of-age stories and select historical fiction, with an emphasis across all genres on amplifying underrepresented voices. While she doesn’t acquire genre fiction, she loves genre-adjacent fiction, such as speculative, magical realist (especially when based off cultural folklore) and feminist dystopian fiction. Across all genre subsets, she is on the lookout for millennial and Gen Z voices, especially those that spark conversation around mental health. In the nonfiction space, Nicole is drawn to standout, accessible narrative nonfiction and compelling memoirs geared towards a female readership.

Rachel Letofsky is an agent at CookeMcDermid. She specializes in children’s literature (middle-grade and YA with some picture books), literary fiction, upmarket fiction, historical fiction, narrative-driven memoir and quirky non-fiction for adults. Her clients include National and International bestsellers, and nominees and winners for awards such as the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Awards, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Awards, the Trillium awards, the OLA’s Forest of Tree Awards, the BC Book Awards, CBC’s Canada Reads, the Sunburst Award, the Canadian Jewish Literary award, the Lambda Literary Awards, and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Awards. She frequently acts as a judge for writing competitions, and travels throughout North America to writers’ festivals and literary events.A transplanted Canadian, Rachel moved to Oregon in 2017. When not travelling or reading, Rachel loves spending time with her family, cooking, gardening, planning for the upcoming alien/zombie invasion, and swimming in lakes and oceans as much as possible.

#1 Amazon bestselling author Peggy Waide entered her first book in the Colorado Gold. The editor offered a contract. She has published four romances with Dorchester. Montlake now publishes her books. She is shopping an amateur sleuth and a romantic suspense. She’s also been a trainer, personal coach and speaker.

Nick Thacker is a USA Today bestselling author with over forty thrillers published. He owns and operates Conundrum Publishing, Book Career In A Year, and runs the write/repeat workshops and writing intensives. 

In addition, he’s built businesses for authors: Author.Email, the only email marketing platform for authors, and RadioWrite.com, the 24/7 writing inspiration radio platform. He’s currently the VP of Author Success with Draft2Digital, focusing on getting authors to the next level. His passion is helping authors figure out what their plan is — not just the “what” but also the “how” and the “why.”

October K Santerelli is a local author from Denver, Colorado. He identifies as queer and disabled, and writes characters that share his life experiences. His works are primarily fantasies, ranging from dark to epic and everything in between. His debut novel, City of Day (Nightfall, Book 1) was named GoIndieNow’s Cover of the Year 2023. His other works include a YA science fiction in David Brin’s Out of Time series (Storm’s Eye), a historic romance short story (Mi Jaculpo, Hold Your Fire anthology), and more. Outside of novels, novellas, and short stories, October writes comic scripts for both Webtoon Canvas and Featured Webtoons. He has worked as an LGBTQ+, neurodivergency, and chronic illness sensitivity editor for six years for both traditionally and indie published authors.

Bestselling and award-winning author Stephanie Reisner has a B.A, in English from MSUD in English-Creative Writing (1995) and is both traditionally and independently published. She has been a professional author since 1996 when she landed her first column in a national trade magazine. With over 100 books published, both fiction and nonfiction, under various pen names, she makes her living writing and teaching. She taught classes and sat on panels at her first writing conference in 2005, and has been teaching writers both in person and online ever since. She has taught for RMFW, Pikes Peak Writers,and in an independent capacity. She was the 2019-2020 RMFW Independent Writer of the Year and her independently published novel, Thirteen Covens: Bloodlines Part One was a 2018 CIPA EVVY award winner.

Andre Gonzalez is the author of all things thriller and horror. He and his wife run M4L Publishing, bringing other authors’ books to life in the same genres. Andre has been a member of RMFW since 2016, and has served as the liaison for the Professional Authors Alliance since 2019. He oversaw the merger of the former PAL and IPAL groups into the now united PAA. He is the recipient of RMFW’s 2021 Independent Writer of the Year Award.

Andre enjoys connecting with other authors and is always happy to talk about writing and publishing. You’ll likely find him buried under a long to-do list or his three young (and energetic) children.

Susan Brooks is Editor-in-Chief at Literary Wanderlust. She has many years of editorial experience and a master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University. She was on the board of directors for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and played many roles from 2009 to 2019. 

Oliver Blakemore has been writing novels since he was twelve. He’s written fifteen books, and two of them may even be worth reading. He spent four years as a technical writer and six years in brand marketing as a content writer. His credentials include a hard head and nine Honorable Mentions from the Writers of the Future contest. He currently runs RMFW’s newsletter and Front Range Programs events.

Carol Berg writes epic, mythic, and adventure fantasy novels and short fiction under her own name and her pseudonym, Cate Glass. Her eighteen novels have won national and international awards, including four Colorado Book Awards and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. Carol is a regular presenter at writers’ conferences and fantasy/sf conventions and is a two-time Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Writer of the Year. All of this is amazing to a former software engineer who earned degrees in math at Rice University and computer science at the University of Colorado to avoid writing papers. Carol/Cate’s most recent work is A Summoning of Demons. She lives in Colorado in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

A 40-year television, film, and education veteran, Kevin Campbell started his career as a TV news journalist. He produced hundreds of news stories as well as TV commercials, marketing videos, and education/training content. He also taught video production for high school and college students. He wrote and produced his first feature film, Cheerleader Ninjas, which sold to Lionsgate Entertainment and is now streaming on Tubi, Apple, Amazon Prime, and Philo. In 2008 he worked with “Save the Cat” author Blake Snyder at the Creative Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. Kevin was a finalist in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Gold Rush Literary Awards in 2021 for his rom-com novel, “Kamikaze GIrl,” and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2022 Emerging Screenwriters competition for his horror-comedy Blood Rush.

Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now, as an independent developmental editor and book coach, she’s reviewed hundreds of novel manuscripts, providing writers with feedback to revise their stories. Her areas of interest include historical, YA, women’s fiction, romance, and upmarket. She teaches creative writing at GrubStreet and The Loft, and she’s presented workshops at writing conferences around the world.

Caitee Cooper is an author, mom, and chocolate enthusiast who loves all things artsy and outdoorsy. She studied psychology, music, and business management at the University of Wyoming and, together with her husband, has helped start and manage several small businesses, including her author business. Caitee currently lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming with her husband, their two young sons, and a mostly feral barn cat.

Miranda Darrow is a freelance editor, #RevPit board member, and writer. After graduating with a degree in English (and then a law degree), she became a practicing attorney but never lost the urge to read and write fiction. Taking an in-house counsel position fifteen years ago allowed her the time to develop her writing and editing skills. She’s a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, the Professional Editors Network, has a certificate in developmental editing from Jennifer Lawler’s Club Ed, and is a frequent presenter to writing groups. Her logic skills honed as an attorney are an asset in detecting and remedying timeline issues, plot inconsistencies, as well as pacing and story arc concerns. Miranda loves forced proximity, ‘80s music, obscure sports, Schitt’s Creek, crochet, reality TV, and road trips (through history, space, or to someplace new to discover). She works with most fiction genres and age categories.

John Gilstrap is the New York Times and Thriller Award-winning author of over two dozen thrillers. A frequent speaker at literary events, he has taught writing seminars at dozens of venues, including the Smithsonian and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

Amber Herbert is a (mostly) speculative fiction author living in Colorado Springs. She holds a BA in English Literature and has worked as a freelance editor for seven years. Lipstick Covered Magnet was her first novel. She is also the current RMFW technology chair and conference admin.

In addition to serving as current RMFW Conference Co-Chair, Kate Jonuska is a freelance writer, indie author, and part-time yoga teacher based in Boulder, CO. Her novel, Transference, was a finalist for the BookLife Prize and a Denver Post Staff Pick, and she often teaches workshops based on her non-fiction book, The Dictionary of Fiction Critique at Cons and conferences.

Laurel McHargue—a West Point grad raised near Boston—lives and laughs and publishes and podcasts in the breathtaking beauty of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. After years as an Army Officer, a mother of two sons, and an English teacher, Laurel abandoned paid employment to concentrate on her creative Muses. She does her best to keep her darker ones hidden, releasing them only when they scream to tell their tastier tales. A multi-genre author, Laurel writes about life, real and imagined, and hosts the podcast Alligator Preserves.

Cindi Myers became one of the most popular people in eighth grade when she and a friend wrote and illustrated their first romance novel. It would be another couple of decades before Cindi saw her first novel published, but since then she has published over 100 novels — historical and contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and romantic suspense. A popular speaker and teacher, Cindi is a former RMFW WOTY, and has won a Colorado Book Award. Over half a million copies of her books have been sold in 17 countries and 16 languages.

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, a ‘90s sci-fi horror comedy, and her debut short story collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls are out now. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in or on over fifty anthologies, magazines, and podcasts, including Southwest Review, Apex, and The NoSleep Podcast. She lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains with her sweetheart and three creepy cats.

Laura VanArendonk Baugh writes award-winning fantasy of many flavors as well as non-fiction. She has summited extinct, dormant, and active volcanoes, but none has yet accepted her sacrifice. She lives in Indiana where she enjoys Dobermans, travel, fair-trade chocolate, and making her imaginary friends fight one another for her own amusement.