Wednesday, November 4, 10-11 a.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Virtual)

Are you unemployed, underemployed, or just thinking about a career change? Convene with WMG member Betsy Loredo and other job seekers in this weekly, informal online meetup. It’s a supportive space to share job-seeking ups and downs, pass along tips, and network with friendly peers who might have contacts to opportunities. On alternative weeks, we'll use the hour to work on resumes, applications, and other job search actions together—making it feel less overwhelming and more supportive.

Monday, November 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET

Arthouse Bar, Arthouse Hotel Lobby, 2178 Broadway (entrance on West 77th Street), NYC

WMG members only; FREE (attendees pay for their own food and beverages)

Join Women's Media Group for IRL networking with friends new and old. This Manhattan gathering at Arthouse Bar will provide an evening of genuine connection and in-depth conversation. Enjoy your favorite drinks, mocktails, and bites during this relaxed evening of networking and camaraderie with fellow WMG members.

Tuesday, November 10, 1-3 p.m.

Red Rooster Harlem, 310 Lenox Avenue, NYC

$100 for WMG members | $125 for non-members

Three-course lunch included

A Legacy in Storytelling Luncheon: Celebrating Marie Dutton Brown is a premier literary gathering honoring the legacy of publishing pioneer Marie Dutton Brown. Inspired by her decades-long commitment to championing authors of color and expanding whose stories are heard, the series brings together leading voices, visionary thinkers, and influential creators to celebrate literature, spark meaningful connection, and help shape a more equitable future for publishing.

This event marks the exciting debut of Stories She Championed, Women’s Media Group’s new literary series celebrating the stories, books, and lasting legacy of literary trailblazer Marie Dutton Brown. The series launches at Red Rooster Harlem, a celebrated restaurant in the heart of Harlem known for its food, music, and deep ties to the neighborhood’s cultural history.

Marie Dutton Brown is an iconic editor and literary agent, who has been called a living legend who paved the way for marginalized writers and editors. President of her eponymous literary agency in Harlem’s Sugar Hill community, she also devotes her time and expertise to many nonprofit Boards, including Faith Ringgold’s Anyone Can Fly Foundation and the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling. Marie is the recipient of WMG’s Media Trailblazer Award, given to a woman or female-focused organization that has broken ground and blazed a trail for other women in the media industry.

Panelists:

Malaika Adero is an accomplished writer, book editor, and literary agent. She is the founder of Adero’s Literary Tribe, a decades-old boutique book and author development agency. Her award-winning career as a book publishing executive began in the mid-1980s at Simon & Schuster with the acquisition of Miles: The Autobiography by music legend Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe. In the early 1990s she was hired by the founder of Amistad Press to launch the then-independent company, where she served as an executive editor who signed the most successful title on the company’s list, In the Spirit by Susan L. Taylor. Malaika currently works as an executive editor-at-large with AUWA Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Anita Kopacz is the author of the Simon & Schuster novels Shallow Waters, The Wind on Her Tongue, and A Taste of Honey. All three were released through Charlamagne tha God’s imprint, Black Privilege Publishing. Anita is the former editor-in-chief of Heart & Soul Magazine and managing editor of BeautyCents Magazine. She is an award-winning writer, a spiritual psychologist, and a certified tantra coach with a passion to see people thrive.

Christine Pride is a writer, editor, and long-time publishing veteran. She has held editorial posts at various Big Five imprints and published many bestselling and critically acclaimed novels and memoirs during her 20-year career. She is the author of three novels: two with Jo Piazza entitled We Are Not Like Them (a Good Morning America Book Club pick) and You Were Always Mine, as well as her solo debut, All The Men I’ve Loved Again, which was an instant USA Today bestseller. In addition to writing, she does select editorial work, proposal/content development, and teaching and coaching.

Moderator:

Abby West is the VP, Editorial Director for Amistad, an imprint at HarperCollins. She drives the editorial direction of the 40-year-old imprint, which includes Pulitzer Prize-winner The Known World and all of Zora Neale Hurston’s books. Abby was previously Director of Inclusive Content Programming at Audible and co-founded the Black Employee Network, an Audible ERG. She is a recovering journalist, whose years at prominent media organizations such as Essence, Entertainment Weekly, and People gave her a love of stories that explore, empower, and celebrate the narratives that often go untold.

Refunds available up to 72 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 72 hours of the event.

Wednesday, November 11, 10-11 a.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Virtual)

Are you unemployed, underemployed, or just thinking about a career change? Convene with WMG member Betsy Loredo and other job seekers in this weekly, informal online meetup. It’s a supportive space to share job-seeking ups and downs, pass along tips, and network with friendly peers who might have contacts to opportunities. On alternative weeks, we'll use the hour to work on resumes, applications, and other job search actions together—making it feel less overwhelming and more supportive.

Wednesday, November 18, 10-11 a.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Virtual)

Are you unemployed, underemployed, or just thinking about a career change? Convene with WMG member Betsy Loredo and other job seekers in this weekly, informal online meetup. It’s a supportive space to share job-seeking ups and downs, pass along tips, and network with friendly peers who might have contacts to opportunities. On alternative weeks, we'll use the hour to work on resumes, applications, and other job search actions together—making it feel less overwhelming and more supportive.

Wednesday, November 18, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway (between 55th & 56th Streets), Cerf-Lane Room, 14th floor, NYC

$20 for WMG members and partner organizations; $25 for non-members; $10 for active Scholars

What does it take to land a book deal in this tough market?  In this conversation, acclaimed agents, editors and authors share unexpected ways that can help you get your book published. 

Jiwon Choi, Kavita Das, Amina Iro, Kate McKean, Rebecca Morrison, Sarah Robbins, and Kaitlyn Wells will offer guidance to help you find your own path to publication. The conversation will be moderated by Susan Shapiro, professor and author of 18 book including her writing guide The Book Bible: How to Sell Your Manuscript―No Matter What Genre―Without Going Broke or Insane.

Panelists:

Jiwon Choi is a poet, preschool teacher, and urban gardener. She is the author of three poetry collections. Her most recent book, A Temporary Dwelling, was published by Spuyten Duyvil in 2024. Jiwon’s reviews, essays and poems have been published by Mom Egg Review, Heavy Feather Review, Rigorous, and Broken Lens Journal, among other platforms. She started her Brooklyn community garden’s first poetry reading series, Poets Read in the Garden, to support local writers. She is an editor at Hanging Loose Press. Find her online at iusedtobekorean.com. 

Kavita Das came to writing after working for social change and social justice for nearly fifteen years and writes about culture, race, gender, and their intersections. She is the author of Craft and Conscience: How to Write About Social Issues (Beacon Press, 2022), inspired by her Writing with Conscience class and her music biography, Poignant Song: The Life and Music of Lakshmi Shankar (Harper Collins India, 2019). Kavita is pursuing her MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Screenwriting at Antioch University. 

Amina Iro is an editor at Legacy Lit where she has edited books by authors Colin Kaepernick, Al Roker and Courtney Roker Laga, and Langston Hughes. Amina has held writing fellowships at Rosemary’s House, Take World Lisbon, the Watering Hole, and the Hustson/Wright Foundation. She is interested in books with brave motifs that invite readers to the juncture of identity and social change. On the side she works as a developmental editor who helps with ideas, written proposals, and fully written nonfiction manuscripts. 

Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. She earned her MA in fiction writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her first book, Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life, is available from Simon Element. In 2026, Sourcebooks published her picture book, Pay Attention to Me. She writes the Agents & Books newsletter at agentsandbooks.com. You can find her at katemckean.com.

Rebecca Morrison is a lawyer and writer born in Iran. She immigrated to the United States in her teens. Rebecca’s debut novel, The Blue Dress, is based on her childhood as an Iranian immigrant trying to fit into her family's expectations of beauty and her American homeland. She writes for The New York Times, The Washington Post, TODAY, NBC News, Salon, HuffPost, and Newsweek and lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and two kids.

Sarah Robbins (they/them) is an associate editor at Abrams Books, acquiring narrative nonfiction, memoir, and gift books for Abrams and Abrams Press with notable titles including Paper Doll by Dylan Mulvaney, We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo, and Wards of the State by Claudia Rowe. They were named a Rising Star Honoree by Publishers Weekly in 2025. Sarah is an original organizing committee member of the Abrams Union and is currently on the bargaining committee working towards their first union contract.

Kaitlyn Wells is a staff writer at The New York Times' Wirecutter. She’s an award-winning journalist and author of Under the Clam Moon and A Family Looks Like Love, which received an NABJ Outstanding Books Award and is a Children’s Book Council pick. She is also the lead author of the National Geographic Kids Encyclopedia of African American History & Culture. A double lung transplant recipient, Kaitlyn inhales every moment with her wonderful husband, a clever toddler, energetic dog, and floofy cat. Find her online at kaitwells.com.

Moderator:

Susan Shapiro is the bestselling author/coauthor of 18 books her family hates including the memoirs Lighting Up and Five Men Who Broke My Heart. She freelances for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others. She has taught writing at NYU, The New School, and Columbia University’s MFA program and now teaches private classes online, using her practical guides, Byline Bible and Book Bible, to help students of all ages publish. Follow Susan on Instagram @profsue123 or email Profsue123@gmail.com.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

Tuesday, December 15, 12-1 p.m. ET

Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members (Zoom)

Most of us were taught that fulfillment shows up after the next promotion, the next breakthrough, the next better version of ourselves. Authors Michelle Garside and Dr. Helen Krug von Nidda discuss why that chase leaves so many capable women stuck, and what opens up when you stop editing out the parts of yourself you'd rather hide. Expect honest stories and practical tools for designing a work life that fits who you are now.

Meet the speakers:

Michelle Garside is a brand architect and writer who helps thought leaders, experts, and practitioners build personal brands around who they actually are. After starting her career in pharmaceutical advertising at Ogilvy and Cline Davis Mann, she ran her own brand strategy agency for 14 years. Today she works independently with authors, coaches, and clinicians to position their work for book deals, media, and speaking. She co-founded Soul Camp and serves on the Board of kindness.org. Her book, (NOT) Awakened: Stop Chasing Your Higher Self and Start Owning the Real You (Balance/Hachette), will be published in February 2027.

Dr. Helen Krug von Nidda is a USA Today-bestselling author, executive coach, international speaker, and advisor who helps women build fulfilling careers and helps organizations create the conditions for their people to grow. She has over 20 years of global HR experience spanning the United Nations system and Fortune 500 companies. Helen holds a Doctorate in Education from Columbia University and is an instructor at Stanford. Her book, Closing the Fulfillment Gap: How to Design the Work Life You Want (Post Hill Press), was released in 2026.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.