Does your opening hook your readers? Bring 5 copies of your first page and find out. Published authors and industry professionals will sit down with you to critique your work and help you learn what makes a first page shine.
Faculty
- Alle C. HallSeattle author Alle C. Hall (pronounced AL-lee) is a veteran essayist and short-story writer (Dale Peck’s Evergreen Review, Tupelo Quarterly, The Seattle Times). Alle’s debut novel—As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back— earned 16 honors, including two #1 Kindle rankings and a nomination for The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award.… Read more: Alle C. Hall
- Brian U. GarrisonBrian U. Garrison, he/him, is President of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Check out his Etsy shop to see wall art that combines his words with visuals from collaborators. His chapbook Micropoetry for Microplanets (Space Cowboy Books) earned 3rd Place in the 2025 Elgin Awards. He lives under a tall, leafy tree… Read more: Brian U. Garrison
- Christopher DiazChristopher Diaz (he/him) is an indigenous CHamoru from the Pacific Island of Guåhan. As a writer, performer, and photographer, he’s been featured by NBC News, Poets & Writers.org, and more. Recently he was awarded a fellowship with Indigenous Nations Poets and an artist grant from the Washington State Arts Commission. In 2025, he was the… Read more: Christopher Diaz
- Dana HaynesDana Haynes is the author of 14 mystery and thriller novels from such publishers as Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, MacMillan Publishing, Blackstone Publishing and Bantam Publishing. Under the pen name James Byrne, he has written four thrillers featuring Dez Limerick for Minotaur Books, including 2026’s STORM WARNING and CHAIN REACTION, nominated for best series… Read more: Dana Haynes
- Emmett WheatfallEmmett Wheatfall is an American poet, Oregon Poet Laureate nominee, and recipient of the prestigious Oregon Poetry Association Patricia Ruth Banta Award. His poetry has been published in several books, collections, anthologies, and one of them, As Clean as a Bone, was a 2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist and a da Vinci Eye award finalist.… Read more: Emmett Wheatfall
- Lara C. JonesLara joined Emily Bestler Books in 2015. Prior to joining the imprint, she held an editorial position at Europa Editions, working on a wide range of critically acclaimed and bestselling novels in translation. Raised in Portland, Oregon, Lara is a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course and Seattle University, where she studied English and Italian.… Read more: Lara C. Jones
- Melissa HartMelissa Hart is the author of several nonfiction books and novels; her latest is Find Your Nature: 40 Ways to Deepen the Connection to Your Flora, Fauna & Community. Her short-form writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Nat Geo Kids, Orion, and numerous… Read more: Melissa Hart
- Suzy VitelloSuzy Vitello’s award-winning short pieces have appeared in The Rumpus, The Southampton Review, Mississippi Review and other journals. Her next novel, Griftopia, releases May 05, 2026. Her recent release, The Bequest, has been called “a riveting, fast-paced crime caper.” Other novels include Bitterroot, Faultland, The Moment Before, The Empress Chronicles, and The Keepsake. She works… Read more: Suzy Vitello