The Prose Pros

Mid-Year Review Pt 2: Tali is a Literary Agent!

Tali grew up devouring books by flashlight long past her bedtime. After several years practicing corporate law, she joined Storm Literary Agency as an Associate Literary Agent. With her legal knowledge and skills in client advocacy and contract negotiation, she looks forward to building a diverse client list. She is an editorial agent who loves to sink her teeth into a great manuscript and work with the writer to make their story shine. Tali is a champion for underrepresented voices, gives back by offering mentorship to up-and-coming writers, runs workshops on legal issues writers should consider, and hosts a literary podcast called The Prose Pros. She lives with her husband, two children, and a very spoiled (and handicapable) cockapoo with wheels. Query Tali: https://QueryTracker.net/query/talishammas [https://QueryTracker.net/query/talishammas] Storm Literary Agency: https://www.stormliteraryagency.com/tali-shammas.html [https://www.stormliteraryagency.com/tali-shammas.html] MSWL: https://manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/tali-shammas/ [https://manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/tali-shammas/]

How to Land a Literary Agent with Danya Kukafka of Trellis Literary Management

Danya Kukafka is the author of the bestselling novels Notes on an Execution and Girl in Snow. She works as a literary agent, and is actively building her client list at Trellis Literary Management. Danya began her career as a student at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she created a major titled “The Art of the Novel.” After internships at various literary agencies, she followed that passion to Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, where she was privileged to work as an assistant editor for writers like Meg Wolitzer, Paula Hawkins, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett, Emma Straub, Gabriel Tallent, Helen Oyeyemi, Maile Meloy, Sigrid Nunez, and many more. Danya’s most recent novel, Notes on an Execution, won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Novel and was chosen as the New York Times Best Overall Crime Novel of the Year.  Her debut, Girl in Snow, was released in 2017—it was alsoa national bestseller, an IndieNext Pick, a B&N Discover pick, and received favorable reviews from The New York Times (Editor’s Choice) and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Her fiction has been translated into over a dozen languages worldwide, and Notes on an Execution is currently in development as a feature film. Danya is interested in representing literary fiction with particularly propulsive storylines. She is seeking literary suspense, sophisticated thrillers, book club fiction, speculative fiction, and experimental fiction. She also loves true crime that feels attuned to today's cultural conversations, and upmarket fiction you can read in one gulp. Her dream authors include: Megan Abbott, Angie Kim, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Rene Denfeld, Julia Phillips, Celeste Ng, Akwaeke Emezi, Susan Choi, Alex Marzano-Lesnevish, Jia Tolentino, Karen Thompson Walker, and Gabrielle Zevin.

The Whirlwind of a Publishing Auction with Eli Raphael

Eli Raphael grew up in Miami, Florida, and now lives in rural Washington State. NIGHT OBJECTS is her first novel. This suspenseful novel transports readers to the windswept coast of Washington State and a boarding school steeped in privilege and deadly secrets—a remarkable story of grief, power, and the dangerous price of belonging. “Eli Raphael announces herself in Night Objects as a writer to watch. Her prose is vivid and immersive; her storytelling is top-notch. Part mystery, part coming-of-age tale, Night Objects will keep readers guessing all the way through, but it’s the book’s emotional center—a daughter in deep mourning for her late mother—that elevates this novel into something truly memorable.” ―Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods

Mid-Year Review Pt 1: Lauren's 47 Full Requests and Signing with a New Agent

In this episode, co-hosts Lauren Khan and Tali Shammas sit down for part 1 of their mid-year review. This episode focuses on Lauren's querying journey, which led her to sign with her dream agent. Covering topics ranging from craft to querying, we tackle the nitty-gritty of writing and marketing a standout manuscript. Join us next week for part 2 and Tali's path to becoming a literary agent!

The Long Road to Publishing with Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay is a bestselling novelist who has been hailed as “one of the genre’s most exciting voices” (E! News) having “earned a reputation for producing suspenseful, fast-paced thrillers” (Associated Press). His novels include the 2021 breakout, Every Last Fear, the 2022 Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller, The Night Shift, the 2023 LibraryReads Hall of Fame recipient, What Have We Done, the 2024 national bestseller, If Something Happens to Me, and the 2025 the instant national bestseller, Parents Weekend.  His work has been an Indie Next pick, a five-time LibraryReads selection, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, a Barnes & Noble best mystery, as well as a Cosmopolitan, CNN, Newsweek, E!, BuzzFeed, Business Week, Goodreads, Parade, PopSugar, and Reader’s Digest best or most anticipated thrillers of the year. Hollywood has scooped up rights to his work for adaptation to the screen, including his May 2025 release, Parents Weekend. Finlay’s novels have been translated into twenty-seven languages and are sold in countries around the world, including Denmark, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, to name a few. He's a director of the thriller/mystery section of the Leopardi Writing Conference in Italy, and a board member of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Finlay, who writes under a pen name, is a magna cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School and a prominent Washington, D.C. lawyer who has represented clients in more than 40 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He lives in Washington, D.C.