VIP PRESENTERS
Check out our exciting lineup for 2026! The VIP Presenters are listed below in alphabetical order of surname.
ALYSSA COLE
Alyssa Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, romance, and graphic novels. She currently lives in France, where she spends her free time wrestling with the French “R,” wrangling her menagerie of pets, and watching K-dramas with her husband.
Alyssa writes across (and blends) genres, including: thriller, mystery, suspense, contemporary romance, sci-fi romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, fantasy romance, and graphic novels.
Alyssa and her work have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, the Washington Post, Slate, Jezebel, BookRiot, Kirkus, Library Journal, and many other publications. She has also written articles, op-eds, and reviews for Oprah Daily, the Washington Post, Vulture, the New York Times, et al.
JANE FRIEDMAN
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education.
Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Today Show, Wired, Fox News, and BBC.
RACHAEL JOHNS
Rachael Johns is the bestselling author of The Patterson Girls, winner of the ABIA for General Fiction, and a two-time recipient of the Romance Writers of Australia’s RUBY Award. With more than 30 titles to her name, she’s one of Australia’s most beloved authors of warm, witty women’s fiction and heartfelt rural romance.
A passionate advocate for books and readers, Rachael co-hosts two podcasts—Reading Between Deadlines and Dear Rach & Soph—and leads the 6,500-strong Rachael Johns’ Book Club on Facebook.
She lives in Western Australia’s Swan Valley with her family and their adorable Sheepadoodle. On her Substack, Pink Ink, she shares a behind-the-scenes look at writing life and publishes her hit romance serial, Meanwhile in Mount Merry Glen.
ASHLEY POSTON
Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of magical contemporary romances, and swoony young adult novels. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a BA in English, she moonlit as a book cover artist, a marketing designer, a social media coordinator, a hotelier, an ice cream cashier, a barista, and a library page.
Now, she writes full-time from her little grey house, and spoils her three cats. When not writing, she bides her time between South Carolina and New York, and all the bookstores between.
T L SWAN
T L Swan is a Wall Street Journalist, USA Today and #1 Amazon Best Selling author.
With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twelve languages and have hit #1 on Amazon in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. She is currently writing the screenplays for a number of her titles.
Tee resides in Sydney, Australia with her husband and their three children where she is living her own happy ever after with her first true love.
SARAH YOUNGER
Sarah Younger is an Executive Agent at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she began her publishing career at Press53 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she helped launch the company’s digital publishing program.
She went on to earn a graduate certificate from the University of Denver’s Publishing Institute before relocating to New York City. Since joining NYLA in 2011, Sarah has built a dynamic and diverse list of authors, with a focus on bestselling adult commercial fiction.
She became a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) in 2014. To learn more, visit www.nyliterary.com.