Query Letter Walkthrough: Debut Novelist Shares the Letter that Got Her an Agent

Querying your finished manuscript is the first professional milestone on the path to publication. This industry-specific cover letter serves as an introduction to you and your work with the purpose of enticing an agent to read your book and ultimately sign you as a client. Effectively crafting this document requires a difficult degree of distance from the project you’ve poured your heart into and an awareness of the market you’re seeking to enter. This craft talk will guide you through the basics of query letter writing using the speaker’s own successful letter as an example.

*Note: The price of this course includes a pre-ordered copy of Sonia's debut novel Girl's Girl, which will be shipped to the address you input. Books will ship after release on June 2, 2026.

Instructor: Sonia's debut short story won the PEN America PEN/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, and her poetry and fiction have been published in literary journals like The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and Waxwing. She also runs Sonia's Poem of the Week, a popular email newsletter. Girl's Girl, her first novel, is being published by Dial Press and comes out on June 2, 2026. Sonia lives and writes in Cleveland, OH.

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Details: Query Letter Walkthrough: Debut Novelist Shares the Letter that Got Her an Agent takes place Saturday, February 28 from 10:00AM-12:00PM ET remotely online via Zoom.

Genre: Business of Writing

Level: All levels

Format: One session craft talk

Location: Remotely online via Zoom

Size: Limited to 50 participants.

Cancellations & Refunds: Cancel at least 48 hours in advance of the first class meeting to receive a full refund. Email info@litcleveland.org.

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