We are thrilled to have these stellar agents and editors on board to review the pitch submissions.
If you think you might want to sign up for a one-on-one pitch review, peruse the list of judges below carefully now. If they will be offering one-on-one reviews, I’ve noted that after their name.
Get ready to sign up for Pitchfest as soon as registration opens on February 12th, because the one-on-one review openings will sell out quickly!
The 2026 KCU Pitchfest Jury
Agents
- Alexandra Weiss, Literary Agent, Azantian Literary Agency (one-on-ones will be available)
- Alexandra Weiss joined the world of publishing in 2016, focusing on book publicity and marketing, but quickly fell in love with agenting. In 2021, she joined Azantian Literary Agency where she represents fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and select adult fiction and nonfiction. Prior to publishing, she earned her BFA in creative writing and publishing from Columbia College Chicago.
- Andrea Colvin, President & Literary Agent, Andrea Colvin Creative Agency, (one-on-ones will be available)
- Andrea Colvin founded Andrea Colvin Creative Agency in 2025 after three decades in a variety of editorial leadership roles. She is best known for having acquired and published the graphic memoir Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, one of the most banned books in the US for the past half decade, and for her development role in Jerry Craft’s New Kid, the first graphic novel to win the prestigious Newbery Award.
- Erica Rand Silverman, Senior Literary Agent, Stimola Literary Studio
- Erica Rand Silverman is a senior literary agent at Stimola Literary Studio. She is known for building a shelf of exceptional illustrated books for children that combine kid appeal with deep respect for the book as object. Some of her clients in the graphic novel space include Eisner nominated Mika Song, and indie bestsellers Dan & Jason. She is a tireless advocate for her clients and proud to work with a team of people who are so thoughtfully entertaining young hearts and minds.
- Jane Chun, Literary Agent, Transatlantic Agency (one-on-ones will be available)
- Jane Chun is a literary agent at Transatlantic Agency. She joined Transatlantic in 2023 after four years at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Prior to her time at J&N, she worked on a freelance project for HG Literary and interned at Writers House and Maximum Films & Management. Jane represents writers and writer-illustrators across middle grade, YA, and adult. To see more information on what she’s looking for and how to query her, please refer to her MSWL: https://jane-chun.com/mswl.
- Jas Perry, Agent, Looking Glass Literary & Media (one-on-ones will be available)
- Jas Perry is an agent with Looking Glass Literary & Media representing authors and illustrators; she has a particular passion for comics and illustrated projects. Jas has a background in PB/MG/YA/GN editorial at Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books and Levine Querido, and began building her list as an agent in 2020 at KT Literary. She’s genre agnostic but has a particular fondness for the unsettling, the horrifying, and the absurd.
- Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency (one-on-ones will be available)
- Jemiscoe cannot say that her love of reading came organically. Rather, pizza inspired this new obsession. At seven, her school offered free Pizza Hut coupons as a reward for reading books, and Jem was sold. Eventually, the books held more interest than the pizza ever did. Jem joined the Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2020. She represents adult fiction, YA, MG, picture book authors, illustrators, and graphic novelists.
- Susan Hawk, Literary Agent, Upstart Crow Literary (one-on-ones will be available)
- Susan Hawk is an agent at Upstart Crow Literary, a boutique literary agency she joined after twenty-five years working across many areas of the children’s book world. She represents writers and illustrators of books for kids and teens. Her clients include NYT Bestseller S.E. Grove (Mapmakers trilogy / Viking), Autumn Krause (Before the Devil Knows You’re Here / Peachtree), Rachel Elliott (The Real Riley Mayes / Harper), and Ruth Spiro, author of over thirty picture books.
Editors
- Adam Wallenta, Senior Editor, Papercutz (one-on-ones will be available)
- Adam is a veteran author, illustrator, editor, publisher and educator with over 30 years of experience in comics. His award-winning Punk Taco graphic novel series, has earned multiple honors, including the 2019 Ringo Award for “Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel” and the Kids Comics Award for “Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Book”. Currently an editor at Papercutz, Adam oversees a variety of books, including The Smurfs, Flash Gordon Adventures, Herobear and the Kid, Three Thieves, among many others.
- Angelica Busanet, Assistant Editor, Abrams Fanfare (one-on-ones will be available)
- Angelica Busanet is an Assistant Editor at Abrams Books. With a passion for graphic novels, she has worked with award-winning graphic novel writers and illustrators. She continues to expand her list with a focus on graphic novels across ages and genres. When she doesn’t have her nose in a comic, Angie can be found creating zines and mini comics, starting up another Spotify playlist, or watching wrestling.
- Celina Sun, Associate Editor, Penguin Workshop (one-on-ones will be available)
- Celina Sun is an Associate Editor at Penguin Workshop, where she works on picture books through YA, including graphic novels. She aims to champion joyful, escapist stories by underrepresented voices. In the graphic novel space, she’s looking for works that take full advantage of their format in the contemporary realistic, fantasy, and speculative spaces. She’d love to see fresh takes on beloved tropes, irresistible characters, and well-placed page turns.
- Cindy Harris, Editorial Assistant, Andrews McMeel Universal (one-on-ones will be available)
- Cindy Harris joined AMP in 2022. Before that, she worked freelance on graphic novels and comics for publishers such as HarperCollins, Random House Graphic, and WEBTOON. Outside of work, books, and comics, Cindy loves gaming, tabletop RPGs, baking pan dulce, and spoiling her cat, Nutmeg.
- Emily Daluga, Editor, Chronicle Books (one-on-ones will be available)
- Emily Daluga (she/her) is an editor at Chronicle Books who works on middle-grade novels and graphic novels for kids of all ages. She enjoys both heartfelt contemporary fiction and funky genre fiction and is most drawn to stories that feature a diverse cast of queer characters, monsters of any kind, unexpected twists, and tug-at-your-heartstrings emotions. When not working, she enjoys writing in cozy coffee shops, seeing musicals with her partner, and overanalyzing bad horror movies.
- Ivan Taurisano, Associate Editor, First Second Books (one-on-ones will be available)
- Ivan Taurisano is an Associate Editor at First Second Books, where he’s on the lookout for commercial, laugh-out-loud stories with quirky characters. He holds an MA in Children’s Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children, and worked across every corner of children’s publishing—from board books and picture books to middle grade and graphic novels. Ivan has collaborated with beloved brands and series, including How to Catch, Sesame Street, Disney, Marvel, tokidoki, and Pokémon.
- Jenna Lettice, Senior Editor, Random House Graphic
- Jenna Lettice is the editor of the Magic Tree House Graphic Novels, Jennifer L. Holm’s and Matthew Holm’s The Big Adventures of Babymouse, and the forthcoming Squirrel Lock Holmes series, an early reader graphic novel by Ashley Belote (Spring 2026). She is a true generalist, working on everything from early reader through YA, but her specialty lies in books for early elementary schoolers (ages 6-10). The more laugh-out-loud humor and friendship, the better!
- Josh Sippie, Editor, HarperAlley (one-on-ones will be available)
- Josh Sippie is an editor of comics and manga for all ages at HarperAlley. He loves stories that reach even the most reluctant readers in inventive ways, from bonkers humor to frightful scares. Learn more about him at joshsippie.com, or on his Substack about manga, MangaCraft.
- Lydia Nguyen, Assistant Editor, Abrams ComicArts (one-on-ones will be available)
- Lydia Nguyen is an Assistant Editor at Abrams ComicArts, where she acquires adult graphic novels and occasionally works on MG and YA graphic novels. She has previously worked in M&P at Oni Press and early reader graphic novel editorial at TOON Books, and she teaches Manga History at the School of Visual Arts.
What Are the One-on-One Reviews Like?
Last year was the first time we offered submitters the opportunity to sign up for a 15-minute one-on-one pitch review with a member of the jury. We sent an anonymous survey to participants after the event, and got some excellent feedback about these reviews. Here are some of the things participants said:
“[My critique was] wonderful—encouraging and kind, but focused and actionable.”
- “[My critique was] wonderful—encouraging and kind, but focused and actionable.”
- “It was nice to just shoot the breeze with an agent and get a new contact/learn more about the industry. She asked some probing questions that I will no doubt think about moving forward, like what I like to work on, how flexible I may be with the subject matter of projects I take on, what makes me tick as a creator, etc.”
- “[It] was wonderful, she was very nice and went straight to the feedback, she talked very clearly about the things she loved and things that could be improved. She also answered all my questions regarding future steps (pitch packet and query).”
- “Genuinely wonderful to speak to, he was very friendly…. There were a couple of points he mentioned for me to focus on improving which are areas I know I’m weak in. A couple of tidbits of information were new to me, which was great.”
In other words, people loved having the chance to talk privately with an agent or editor about their pitch and get their direct feedback on what was working, and what they should focus on to improve.
Needless to say, we’re thrilled to be offering one-on-one reviews again this year!
Help Us Spread the Word
If you know any creators who might want to submit work for this event, please share the Pitchfest info page! Feel free to link to it on your social media or newsletter, or in any Discords, online groups, or forums that you belong to.
As always, thank you for your support! And of course, if you have any questions, just leave a comment below.
