Quressa Robinson
If you’re a writer with a dream, get one step closer to being a writer with an agent. Learn how to hone your craft, your pitch, and your query, at the conference with a long history of launching careers.
The SDSU Writers’ Conference was among the first to pioneer 1:1 appointments with agents and editors, giving you unprecedented access to top-tier publishing professionals — many of whom interact with unpublished authors only through conferences.
The 32nd annual conference is Jan. 22-24, 2016 at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley. Register now for three days that could change your writing life.
Meet Quressa Robinson, an editor with Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s Press, at the 2016 conference:
1. What’s the best advice you can give to writers who are currently polishing their pitches and query letters in preparation for the upcoming SDSU Writers’ Conference?
Writers, remember that this is one step in the process. You’re doing yourself and your writing a great service by getting feedback. You may not hear the kind of feedback you are expecting, but do remember that you are getting the feedback that you need at this stage in your writing. Don’t let it discourage you!
2. Can you share one of the best/worst opening lines from query letters you’ve received?
I don’t have any best or worst lines to share, but I often find it puzzling when I receive unsolicited submissions where the author indicates that they researched my interests but has sent me a submission in a genre that I don’t acquire in.
3. What’s the first book that spoke to you as a young reader?
The Giver and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Both hit me at an age when I needed them the most. I learned a great deal about myself and what writing could do for the spirit with these two titles.
4. If you had to choose only one, what’s your favorite book?
I can’t choose! I don’t have a favorite. I read too much to ever settle on one. But the book that I read last year that I love, love, loved was Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I can’t wait to read her other books.
5. What do you hope to find at the 32nd Annual SDSU Writers’ Conference?
I hope to meet some amazing new writers, finally meet in-person some West Coast agents who I’ve only emailed, and get to know some other industry professionals who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.
