This page will be updated as more faculty members are
confirmed for the 2024 Writers Conference of Dallas.
Registration information can be found here.

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Michelle McGill Vargas is an author. At the 2024 Dallas conference, she is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees.

“I am writer of speculative historical fiction, flash fiction, and short fiction. I’ve published in The Lutheran Witness, Splickety Magazine, The Copperfield Review, and Typehouse Literary Magazine. I’ve also contributed at Short Fiction Break and Noir Expressions.

“I’m currently represented by the amazing Melissa Danaczko of Stuart Krichevsky Literacy Agency, Inc. I pay the bills as a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing. I’m a member of Highland Writers Group, Valparaiso Writers Group, served as vice-president of the Indiana Writer’s Consortium and chair of its 2016 Steel Pen Conference, and am currently on the board of Midwest Writers.”

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Chuck Sambuchino (@chucksambuchino) is a freelance editor, bestselling book author, and former longtime staffer for Writer’s Digest Books. For many years he edited the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and the CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog was one of the largest blogs in publishing, and he wrote the platform guidebook CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM.

His humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, was optioned by Sony Pictures. Chuck’s books have been mentioned in Reader’s Digest, USA Today, the New York Times, The Huffington Post, Variety, New York Magazine, Buzzfeed, Mental Floss, and many more media outlets.

His most recent books are all about pickleball, and his 2025 daily tearoff calendar (Sellers Publishing) came out on Sept. 1, 2024, and is called ULTIMATE PICKLEBALL.

He is a successful freelance editor of queries, synopses, and manuscripts—seeing dozens of clients get agents or book deals following his consultations/edits. He loves meeting new writers.

Chuck is a co-director for Writing Day Workshops. At the 2024 WCD, he is teaching, and also offering add-on query critiques for attendees.

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Joel Brigham is the founder of Brigham Editorial, a fiction editing service that has helped writers find agents and agented authors prepare for submission and publication.

He also is an editorial consultant for The Purcell Agency, a literary agency based out of Chicago, Illinois. As an author, he writes YA contemporary fiction and has two books on submission, both represented by agent Tina P. Schwartz.

He also edits content for Basketball News and spent 12 years covering the NBA as a senior sportswriter for HoopsWorld and Basketball Insiders. He has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and a master’s degree in English Education and has taught high school English for 18 years.

At the 2024 WCD, he is offering add-on optional manuscript critiques for attendees.

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Eve Porinchak is an author, as well as a former literary agent.

At the 2024 WDC, Eve is offering add-on manuscript critiques to attendees.

Since earning degrees in Biology and Psychology from UCLA, Eve has lived all over the planet and spent much of her time in and out of jail – as a creative writing teacher for teen inmates. A former agent with Jill Corcoran Literary Agency, Eve also attended medical school, served as a social worker with foster youth and homeless populations, and taught everything from first grade to college courses.

Eve writes stories featuring youth she feels have been underrepresented in children’s literature, such as those born into gang life, the abandoned, and the incarcerated who – ironically – have the most fascinating tales to tell. Her first book, the critically acclaimed ONE CUT – a haunting nonfiction story with a juvenile justice bent – launched Simon and Schuster’s new young adult true crime line, Simon True.

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Swati Hegde is a desi adult romance and YA author. By day, she’s a mindset coach and freelance editor. She is also a self-proclaimed coffee shop enthusiast who lives in Bangalore, India, and can usually be found at the nearest café with a hot mug of tea.

At the 2024 WDC, Swati is offering add-on virtual manuscript critiques for attendees.

Swati is represented by Rachel Beck at Liza Dawson Associates. Her debut romantic comedy novel MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is out 2024 from Ballantine Bantam Dell, Penguin Random House.

“I write funny romance novels featuring strong heroines, sweet-as-honey heroes, and happily-ever-afters that will make you tear up and laugh all at once. Oh, and did I mention they’re all desi characters? I live in Bangalore, India, and my writing always centers people like me living in my home country. Right now, I’m working on MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, my desi romantic comedy out 2024 from Random House, ft. an aspiring matchmaker heroine, a pub owner hero, and tons of mis-matchmaking and misunderstandings.” See her website here.

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Anna Hawkins works for Writing Day Workshops and is helping coordinate the 2024 Writers Conference of Dallas.

Anna is a biologist turned speculative fiction author based in Houston, Texas. Writing as A.P. Hawkins, her short fiction has appeared in various fiction magazines and anthologies, including Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine and “The Librarian,” an anthology from Air and Nothingness Press. Anna is a co-founder of Tomeworks, an editing collective dedicated to helping genre authors build better books, and a first reader at Hexagon, a magazine for speculative fiction.

She’s appeared as a panelist at conventions and events such as Comicpalooza, WriteHive, and Weeknight Writers’ Storycrafting Sessions. She also volunteered as Houston’s Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month from 2021-2023. When she’s not writing or editing, Anna dabbles in gaming, cosplay, baking, crafting, and painting minifigures for TTRPGs. You can follow her on social media (@ahawkwrites) or check out her website (aphawkinsauthor.com) for updates.

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Rosie J. Pova is a multi-published and award-winning children’s book author, poet, writing coach, and speaker. Her picture book, Sunday Rain, was featured in The New York Times and recommended by Parents magazine. The School of Failure: A Story About Success is a Readers’ Favorite Awards silver medal winner and is now available in both China and the USA. Her latest picture book, Sally’s Musical Tale will be released in the spring of 2025.

Rosie loves doing school visits to encourage kids to read, write, create and inspire them to follow their big dreams. In her role as a Writing Coach, Rosie’s has helped many aspiring picture book authors advance their careers and reach their publishing goals through her popular mentorship programs and signature Picture Book Mastery course.

Originally from Bulgaria, Rosie now lives in Texas with her family. At the 2024 Dallas event, Rosie is teaching a class.

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Ali Kominsky is an editor, and also Head of Business Development and Senior Literary Agent at House of Story. At the 2024 conference, she is teaching a class. (She is not taking pitches.)

Ali is a West Virginia native and graduate of Vanderbilt University. Her interests in books are varied, but include literary fiction, poetry, social justice, fashion, and multimedia form storytelling.