We launched the Publishing Matchmaker program after watching thousands of fellow writers slog through How-to-Get-An-Agent guidebooks, databases, websites, book acknowledgement pages, to find a literary agent who (might) like their manuscript. Writers may ask their author friends, acquaintances, or a random publishing person they’ve vaguely met to connect them with agents they know– if they’re lucky enough to even have such connections in the first place. While this traditional method can be worthwhile, we believe there’s got to be a better way– both for writers and for agents.

While other conferences let writers pitch or send manuscript samples to agents (often for a fee), the burden is still often solely on the writer to choose which agents to meet with. (Read: the writer must still do tons of research, and often their chosen agent doesn’t jive with their manuscript anyhow.) Agents’ taste is subjective, after all. And there are countless market- and career-related factors that agents must account for in their selections, which writers don’t have access to..

Publishing Matchmaker turns this old model upside-down. We put the onus on the *agent* to say they’re interested in a writer’s manuscript, before anybody’s time or money gets spent. Here’s how it works:

1. You (the writer) upload a query letter, synopsis, and 20-page sample of your manuscript into our secure Publishing Matchmaker app by November 1st, 2025. You’ll also select which of the 22 agents attending TBR 2026 you’re most interested in– this will be your “Agent Wishlist.”

2. Then, the 22 agents who are attending TBR will briefly review each submission, and rate each one on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, indicating how enthusiastic they are to meet with the manuscript’s author.

3. TBR will contact you by November 20th, 2025 to tell you how many agents on your Agent Wishlist rated your manuscript with a 4-star or 5-star rating (this is called a “double-match”). We’ll also tell you how many agents rated you highly who were NOT on your Agent Wishlist– this is called a “single match,” and can be just as valuable to you. No agent names will be given out at this stage.

4. Once you know how many TBR agents are enthusiastic about your work, YOU get to decide how many meetings with them you’d like to purchase, and from which list. They’re $195 apiece, and you can purchase just one or many. All meetings will take place in-person and on-site at TBR, for 20 minutes each. 

5. After submitting payment, we’ll send you the list of agents you’ll be meeting with. They’ll get to work reviewing your entire submission (i.e. your query letter, synopsis, and 20-page manuscript sample), to discuss with you in person at TBR.

Our goal is to produce meetings between agents and writers in which BOTH parties already arrive with verifiable enthusiasm. We hope to greatly reduce going-nowhere meetings that waste everyone’s time and money.

This program is available only to TBR attendees, and is entirely optional.