Group Editorial Appointments (Friday Only)

Editor / agent appointments can be requested on the on-line registration form if you're paying by credit card or by emailing your top three choices to renewal@nwchristianwriters.org. Priority is based on date of registration so register early. Appointment times and names will be available when you check in on Friday, May 17. After Friday, May 10 appointments will only be assigned at the conference.

Editor and agent bios are below. See the Editor Agent Needs page for detail about their current needs to see if they might be interested in your work.

Beth Adams, Senior Editor, Howard Books

Beth Adams is a senior editor at Howard Books, focusing mostly on fiction. Previous to Howard, she worked at Guideposts and Random House, and has degrees from Princeton and New York University. She works out of the main Simon and Schuster office in New York.

Jessie Florea, Editor, Clubhouse/Clubhouse Jr. Magazines

Jesse Florea has worked at Focus on the Family for more than 19 years. For the past 16, he’s been the editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse (for boys and girls ages 8 to 12) and is currently the editorial director for youth publications where he oversees Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. He co-hosts the biweekly “Official Adventures in Odyssey podcast” that often exceeds 1 million downloads and is regularly the No. 1 ranked podcast for children and families on iTunes.

Kimberly Shumate, Living Word Literary Agency

As a member of the ECPA, advisory staff of George Fox University, and Willamette Writers, Kimberly Shumate has 12 years of publishing experience. She pursues her passion through Living Word Literary Agency to help new and hungry authors find a home within the publishing community. 

David Van Diest, Agent, D.C. Jacobson Author Management

Since starting in publishing in 1988, David Van Diest has worked directly with many leading Christian publishers, ministries, and bestselling authors including Max Lucado, Karen Kingsbury, and Chuck Swindoll. He’s worn a variety of hats in the past 20+ years, including marketing director, vice president of sales and literary agent. While in marketing at Multnomah, David wrote the marketing plan for a little book called The Prayer of Jabez, which surprised everyone by selling over 10 million copies. He believes that the best books are yet to be written. 

Terry Whalin, Acquisitions Editor, Morgan James Publishing

Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial desk--as an editor and a writer. He worked as a magazine editor and his magazine work has appeared in more than 50 publications. A former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 books through traditional publishers in a wide range of topics from children’s books to biographies to co-authored books. Several of Terry’s books have sold over 100,000 copies.